It’s been a busy off-season for Jon Gallagher.
Marrying his longtime girlfriend was the high point in his personal life, while the defender made a professional commitment to spending the best years of his career with Austin FC.
Gallagher, who will turn 27 in less than a month, signed a guaranteed four-year deal with El Tree almost immediately after the club’s defeat in the Western Conference Finals in early November, a move that tipped both him and Austin FC to pursue the relationship.
“It was a pretty easy decision for me,” Gallagher said. “In terms of the club’s environment and culture, I feel like there is no better place to play football in MLS. Then you add that we were so competitive last year and the growth we achieved, I was excited for the club’s future and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Gallagher had a breakthrough year in 2022, making a preseason move from attacking player to left-back and then essentially taking the starting spot for the final half of the year.
More: Claudio Reyna is stepping down as Austin FC sporting director and remains in an advisory role
After Gallagher had one-year deals with Atlanta – from whom he was loaned out for a season to Scottish club Aberdeen – and Austin for the first five years of his career, Gallagher can now have peace of mind in terms of stability and his financial situation.
“At this point in my life, when you start thinking about family, it makes a big difference,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard to get to this point in my career and it’s just a nice safety net to have guaranteed years. It’s nice to have that weight off your shoulders, to have that security and to settle in and focus on how to grow at this club and not just fight for my career.”
Having a full year at left-back should make a big difference for Gallagher this season.
While he was good for El Tree last season, the experience he now has should allow him to become one of the better players at that position in MLS.
“We uploaded a video from last year’s training camp and it was fun to look at and wonder what I was doing,” Gallagher said with a chuckle. “But that was only my second week at full-back and I was still learning. Now I’m more used to it and it’s more natural and luckily we have a good coaching staff who are critical and always help us to get better.”
Although his primary focus is helping Austin FC win trophies, Gallagher is not afraid to aim high.
More: Austin FC played aggressively with their MLS SuperDraft selections
Born in Ireland, he always had in mind playing for his national team. He knows he has to improve and excel for El Tree.
“Whether it’s specific stats I want to achieve, such as dueling quota, I try to leave no stone unturned,” he said. “I have a whole arc of goals and when I can play better, those things give me opportunities.”
It looked like Austin FC’s entire defense would return for most of the off-season from a year ago, but that changed when centre-back Ruben Gabrielsen – arguably the heart and soul of the defense – requested a return to his Norwegian Home for the family asked reasons for this.
El Tree have signed Finland international Leo Väisänen to replace Gabrielsen, but Gallagher said there is more to the way Austin FC defends than just the defense and goalkeeper Brad Stuver.
“What’s special about how this team plays is how collective we are as a group and how we defend as 11 players on the field,” he said. “We’ve obviously signed some new tracks and hopefully they can keep up with the way we want to play, but at the end of the day that’s how the group can play.”
As El Tree prepares for his return to Austin after spending the last two weeks training in Florida, Gallagher is ready and grateful for what will hopefully be a great next four years – and maybe more – both personally and professionally.
“We bought a house here and I’ve been really lucky because I’ve made some really good friends on this team,” he said. “My wife works in Austin and just got a new job here, so she’s settled in well. I’m not old, but I’m getting older, and having guaranteed years is nice to have for any athlete in pro sports. But it won’t make me any less hungry on the field.”
Austin FC sign defender Amro Tarek
Austin FC announced Friday that it has signed free agent defender Amro Tarek to a one-year deal for the 2023 season with an option for 2024.
Tarek, 30, mainly plays centre-back. He was born in Los Angeles but moved to Egypt at an early age and has dual citizenship. He will not have an international designation in the Austin FC squad; He has made two appearances for the Egypt men’s national team. He has spent most of his 12-year professional career at various MLS clubs and the Egyptian Premier League.
After loans from Columbus Crew (2016) and Orlando City SC (2018), Tarek played for the New York Red Bulls in 2019-21 and made 45 appearances.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to play for Austin FC and help the team win trophies this season,” said Tarek. “Everything I’ve seen about the club, from the fans and facilities to the players and coaching staff has been top notch and I can’t wait to get started.”
The League Cup opponents are set for Austin FC
Austin FC figured out their opponents in the group stage of the Leagues Cup last week.
El Tree meets Mexico’s Mazatlán FC and FC Juárez from Liga MX, with the top two teams in the group progressing to the knockout rounds. The Leagues Cup includes all 29 MLS teams and 18 Liga MX teams and takes place from July 21st to August 19th as both leagues pause their regular seasons.
Games will only be played in the US and Canada, and as a seeded MLS team, Austin FC will host all three games in the group. The date and time were not announced.
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