Sebastian Driussi joined Austin FC from Zenit Saint Petersburg on July 29, 2021. The Argentine attacker/attacking midfielder also previously played for River Plate. He had success at both of his prior clubs, but he found a new gear in Texas. He made his MLS debut on August 7th against FC Dallas, playing the last 28 minutes in a 2-0 away defeat. During the club's inaugural season, Austin struggled out of the gates. Losing was a normal thing in year one, the squad needed some more attacking life. Driussi scored his first MLS goal on August 21st in a 3-1 victory against the Portland Timbers. Wearing the No. 25, the first of three shirt numbers he's donned, Driussi smashed home his first-time effort into the top left corner. In mid-September against San Jose, he scored his second goal by crashing the net on a loose rebound, before adding an assist later in the first half. Driussi would finish his half-season with 5 goals and 5 assists, giving Austin a bright spot heading into their second year of existence.
In 2022, Driussi showed his ability straight from the jump. Now wearing the No. 7 on his back, he fired home a goal in the opening match of the season against FC Cincinnati. He also registered an assist. In the second match of the season, Driussi lit up Inter Miami. Fagundez set Driussi up for the volley to begin the match, then he flicked home the brace-clinching goal after an errant clearance. His additional assist in the match meant that Sebastian Driussi had scored 3 goals and assisted 2 in the first two matches of the campaign. On April 16th, he played a massive role in one of the latest turnarounds in MLS history. DC United led Austin 2-0 in the 80th minute, trying to kill the game down a man. After pulling one back right at 80', Driussi equalized at 85' on a lovely first-time finish off a cross. ATX would then score again at 90', to score three goals in ten minutes and win the match.
That perhaps was the moment that let the rest of the league know that Austin was in for a revenge season. Driussi just continued scoring goals, including a perfect curler to defeat Houston at April's close. Over the course of the season, he scored many of his goals in volley-fashion, crashing into the box on crosses. Despite being just 5'10, he popped up in the box constantly. On the road in Colorado on Independence Day, he steered home another goal off a long ball played towards goal. In a chaotic 4-3 loss to the Red Bulls at Q2 Stadium, he notched another brace, including a dipping volley into the bottom corner. The second? Even more impressive. Driussi picked the ball up in the middle of the park, pranced into the final third, before rocketing a long strike into the left side of the netting. This match kicked off a streak of seven consecutive matches with a goal for Driussi. In between, he was selected for and played in the MLS All-Star game. His next brace occurred against San Jose on the 6th of August. The first of his two goals came on another instance in which he sauntered into the box and cooly placed the finish.
If there's one thing we'll remember about this 2022 Austin FC side, it was that they truly never gave up. Down 3-1 to Sporting Kansas City on August 13th, Austin made their way back to 3-3 by the 85th minute. Though, as expected, they wanted more. Who else but Sebastian Driussi was there to slot home the match-winner in stoppage time to steal another three points. In a statement 4-1 victory against LAFC, he turned quickly and fired into the bottom right corner to ice the game. Austin qualified for the playoffs as the second seed, only behind the LAFC team they beat 4-1, as well as 2-1 back in May.
In a shocking display, Real Salt Lake struck twice and took a 2-0 lead over Austin in the opening 15 minutes of their first playoff game. Later in the first half, Driussi restored hope to the home crowd by rising like a salmon to power a header home. It wasn't until the 94th minute that Driussi equalized and helped Austin avoid a major upset. RSL's season was crushed by a controversial handball called on Scott Caldwell in stoppage time. The match advanced to penalties, where Driussi scored his and Austin won handily. In the Western Conference Semis, Driussi glided through the FC Dallas defense to score Austin's second goal and effectively put them into the WCF. It was only right that the first seeded LAFC, the team they had beaten twice despite only losing nine games all season, was the one to send Austin packing. Regardless, it was an incredible season for the new club. Driussi finished with 25 goals and 7 assists across the regular season and playoffs.
In 2023, the same success has not exactly been there for Austin, in fact they were the laughing stock of the CONCACAF Champions League. In the first match of the season, Austin also handed St. Louis CITY SC their first ever MLS victory. Driussi wasn't the one to blame for the loss, as he scored an absurd chip over the head of Roman Burki in first half stoppage time. Ahead of this season, Driussi finally made the switch to the No. 10. Back to CCL, where Driussi was left off the team entirely as Austin expected to go on the road and defeat Haiti's Violette AC with ease. They got slaughtered 3-0. Back at Q2 in mid-March, Driussi tried to turn the tide. He did, but not all the way. Driussi attempted a whopping 14 shots, scoring two goals, and ultimately fell 3-2 on aggregate. Violette sustained the constant pressure well enough to eliminate the MLS club.
Driussi's best performance of the 2023 season thus far took place in Minnesota on July 8th. He arrived at the back post to tap in his second of the day, also adding an assist. August 20th's match against St. Louis just about sums up the season thus far for Austin. The score read 3-0 STL after 60', only for St. Louis to win it 6-3. Driussi scored once in the match. His most recent goal was scored on August 30th against Seattle, in the same style that's been mentioned a countless number of times in this article. He simply knows where to be at all times, making the right runs and putting himself in positions to score. This time, new signing Memo Rodriguez whipped in the corner kick that Driussi put home. As it stands now, Austin FC are exactly one point out of a wildcard playoff spot. The team certainly has the talent to qualify, it will just be a matter of heart. Sebastian Driussi has scored 8 goals this season, and if Austin do make the playoffs, it's a guarantee that his contributions will be a the forefront. Through his astonishing runner-up MVP year in 2022 and his pure attacking ability, Sebastian Driussi rounds out the nineties at #90 in the ranking.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2023 | ATX | 1,798* | 8* | 3* |
2022 | ATX | 2,882 | 22 | 7 |
2021 | ATX | 1,379 | 5 | 5 |
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