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Boca Juniors

Austin FC Brings in Tomás Pochettino as the Second Designated Player

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Austin FC’s newest Designated Player (DP) is Tomás Pochettino, who was developed in the Boca Juniors’ youth and second-team system.

Tomás Pochettino

The Designated Player Rule allows Major League Soccer (MLS) franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee for the player).

Tomás Pochettino, a 25-year-old midfielder, has played his entire pro career to date in Argentina.

Pochettino joins Austin FC’s first DP Cecilio Domínguez.

Pochettino was born in Rafaela, Argentina, in 1996. His career began at Boca Juniors on the Boca Juniors U-20 team, transitioning to Boca Juniors II in 2014, and then joining the prestigious Boca Juniors first team for its Argentine Primera División winning season in 2015.

Pochettino was loaned by Boca Juniors to fellow Argentina Primera Division side, Defensa y Justicia, making 51 appearances in league and cup competitions, scoring four goals and providing five assists.

In 2018, Boca Juniors loaned Pochettino to Club Atlético Talleres, a deal that lasted until 2019 when he was formally transferred to the Córdoba-based Club.

While with Talleres, Pochettino appeared in 62 matches, scoring seven goals and recording 10 assists, including one goal and two assists in the 2019 CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores and three goals and four assists in the 2020-21 Copa Diego Maradona.