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Osman Bukari to Austin FC as New Designated Player Signing

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Austin FC has announced an agreement with Red Star Belgrade for the transfer of 25-year-old Ghanaian international winger Osman Bukari.

Osman Bukari to Austin FC

Bukari joins Austin FC as a Designated Player on a three-and-a-half-year guaranteed contract through the end of the 2027 season with an option for 2028.

The deal is pending receipt of Bukari’s ITC and P-1 visa.

Bukari arrives in Austin after spending the last two seasons with Red Star Belgrade in Serbia. Bukari had 25 goals and 20 assists in 78 appearances across all competitions as Red Star won back-to-back Serbian league titles and back-to-back Serbian Cups.

In the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League, Bukari provided two goals and two assists. He scored away against then-defending Champions League winners Manchester City FC, and netted a late equalizer against Swiss side BSC Young Boys.

Bukari’s top speed was clocked as the tenth fastest of all players in the 2023-24 Champions League group stage. The season prior, Bukari was named Man of the Match for recording three goals and one assist in Red Star’s Champions League qualifying win over Pyunik.

At the international level, Bukari is a regular for the Ghana Men’s National Team and represented Ghana at both the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

Bukari scored a World Cup goal in Ghana’s match against Portugal and played 45 minutes vs. Uruguay at the tournament. Bukari has made 17 senior international appearances for Ghana to date with three goals and two assists to his name.

Bukari will occupy Senior, International, and Designated Player spots on the Austin FC roster.

Argentine Attacker Emiliano Rigoni Joins Austin FC

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Austin FC has announced that the Club has reached an agreement with Brazilian Série A club São Paulo FC for the transfer of Argentine attacker Emiliano Rigoni.

Emiliano Rigoni

Rigoni, 29, joins Austin FC on a Designated Player contract, guaranteed through the 2024 MLS season with options in 2025 and 2026.

Emiliano Rigoni will arrive in Austin in the coming weeks upon receipt of his P1 visa.

Rigoni began his professional career with Club Atlético Belgrano in his native Argentina in 2013, and also played for Club Atlético Independiente in his home country, with whom he won the 2016/17 Copa Sudamericana.

Rigoni signed with Zenit Saint Petersburg of the Russian Premier League in 2017, where he played alongside Austin FC midfielder and Designated Player Sebastián Driussi and helped the club win three Russian championships, one Russian Cup, and one Russian Super Cup between 2019 and 2021.

Rigoni scored a hat-trick in Zenit’s 3-1 UEFA Europa League group stage win over Rosenborg BK on October 19, 2017.

While with Zenit, Rigoni went on loan to Atalanta and Sampdoria of Italy’s Serie A, and to Elche of Spain’s La Liga.

Rigoni left Zenit in 2021 and signed with São Paulo in Brazil.

Across his club career, Rigoni has 55 goals and 36 assists in 307 matches. At the international level, Rigoni made two appearances for the Argentina senior men’s national team including his national team debut in 2017 in a World Cup Qualifying match vs Peru.

Rigoni will occupy Designated Player and International designations on the Austin FC roster.

New Contract, DP Role for Alex Ring at Austin FC

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Austin FC has announced a new contract with midfielder and Captain Alex Ring.

The deal includes two guaranteed years in 2022 and 2023 with two options in 2024 and 2025.

During the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) season, Alex Ring made 31 appearances, all of which were starts.

He scored four goals and tallied three assists last season, and led all Austin FC players in multiple defensive categories, including tackles (43), duels (301), and interceptions (52), with his interceptions total ranking third-most among all MLS midfielders.

A native of Helsinki, Finland, Ring enters the 2022 season with five years of MLS experience. A constant presence on the pitch throughout Austin FC’s inaugural season, his 2,708 minutes played in 2021 ranked first among all Austin FC outfield players.

Prior to joining Austin FC, Ring played four seasons with New York City FC, making 113 appearances with the club.

Ring has made 44 appearances for Finland at the senior international level and scored two goals for his country.

Get your Alex Ring jersey at MLSstore.com.

Austin FC Signs 25-Year-Old Argentine Sebastián Driussi as 3rd DP

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Austin FC has announced the signing of Sebastián Driussi, a 25-year-old Argentine attacking midfielder, as a Designated Player (DP). Driussi becomes Austin FC’s third DP alongside his new teammates Cecilio Domínguez and fellow Argentine Tomás Pochettino.

Sebastián Driussi

Driussi joins Austin FC on a multi-year contract after opting to exercise a buyout clause in his former agreement with FC Zenit St. Petersburg shortly after helping his former team win the Russian Super Cup on July 17.

With the recent attack-minded additions of Driussi as Austin FC’s third DP and Moussa Djitté as the third U-22 initiative player, Austin FC has maximized all three DP roster slots and all three U-22 initiative roster slots.

Terms of Driussi’s acquisition were not disclosed.

Sebastián Driussi 25

Born in the San Justo enclave of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Driussi (pronounced “dree-U-see”) debuted as a 17-year-old in 2013 with Argentina’s famed Club Atlético River Plate, where he made 110 appearances and 81 starts in four seasons, tallying 31 goals across all competitions.

With River Plate, Driussi won South America’s vaunted Copa Libertadores (2015), Argentina’s Copa Campeonato Primera Division (2013-14) as well as the Copa Sudamericana (2014), one Torneo Final (2014), two Recopa Sudamericana titles (2015 and 2016), one Suruga Bank Championship (2015), and one Copa Argentina (2016).

Driussi was part of the River Plate squad that finished second at the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, falling to FC Barcelona in the final.

In 2017, Driussi moved to FC Zenit St. Petersburg in the Russian Premier League, where he registered 119 appearances and 102 starts, scoring 25 goals across all competitions. Driussi won six trophies with the reigning Russian first division champions, including three consecutive league titles (2019, 2020, and 2021), one Russian Cup title (2020), and two Russian Super Cup titles (2021-21 and 2021-22). Driussi made eight starting appearances for Zenit over two UEFA Champions League campaigns.

Driussi played in 15 matches for the Argentina U-17 National Team and eight matches for the Argentina U-20 National Team, scoring a combined eight goals. Driussi helped Argentina win the South American U-20 Championship in 2015.

Unfortunately, due to current MLS protocols related to a players’ entry into the United States, Driussi is not available for this Saturday’s match against the Colorado Rapids.

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.