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Orlando City GM Paul McDonough on Chicharito, Ganso, McInerney and Other Transfer Window Business

Published

11 years ago

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The MLS summer transfer window is history and one of the busiest men in the Orlando City SC organization over the month of July and into August was General Manager Paul McDonough. Many fans have no idea how much time goes into phone calls, research, and negotiations.

The only tangible benchmarks fans have from any transfer window are the moves the team made, the transfers that other clubs brought in, and the players that didn't arrive but were rumored about in the media for weeks.

It’s easy to see a Didier Drogba, Andrea Pirlo or a Gio Dos Santos arrive in MLS and become upset that your team didn’t land a big name player. What’s less apparent is what went into the thought processes and what happened in negotiations behind the scenes.

Before Saturday’s match against Philadelphia Union, I sat down with McDonough for a one-on-one chat to discuss what his transfer window was like and what thought processes went into some of the moves that did and didn’t get made.

Did you accomplish everything you wanted to get done during the summer transfer window?

Paul McDonough: "We're happy with it. We added depth to the squad. We brought a couple of guys in who we think will be impactful players. We were able to move some salary cap to protect us for the future, so that gives us some flexibility going forward. So, overall we're happy with it."

Did Cyle Larin's recent run of form affect how you approached the striker position?

PM: "No, we were looking to reinforce the striker position. We actively pursued multiple guys through the course of the window. We talked about a lot of guys and just to bring a guy in for the last 13 games of the season and playoffs, we might regret it afterwards. If you're going to go tie a guy up into an 18-month contract, which a lot of it was discussed like that, I felt as though it may have helped us in the short-term but we would probably have regretted it in December and it would have limited what we could do."

Was this window used more for setting up for the off-season transfer window?

PM: “No. Look, I think it’s always about trying to balance the now and the future. We were really happy with Earl (Edwards Jr.), so moving (Donovan Ricketts) allowed us to get rid of the salary cap. He could go to LA, where he wanted to go, so it got a good piece of salary cap off the cap for us. It got us a second-round draft pick, which the salary cap was more important for me.

"With the Amobi move it allowed us to free up a significant amount of money over multiple years and brought Servando (Carrasco) in, that maybe fits a little bit more in the playing style for Adrian. Mateos – we wanted a center back. His pedigree was very good, so that was more a (move for) now and the future. Winter was the same.

“Corey Ashe is in the last year of his deal. He was searching for playing time. He had a good pedigree. So, going and getting him, with the injuries we’ve had on the left-hand side, gives us a lot of depth and flexibility. We’ll revisit with him and his agent at the end of the season, depending on how he goes. If he likes it and wants to stay and things like that we’ll reevaluate him. So it wasn’t certainly one thing (or the other) – we didn’t give up on the season to plan for the future. I think Servando and Corey have come in and helped us over the last two games. They were both really influential in the Columbus win, so we’re happy with it. We just weren’t going to go crazy and mortgage the future though.”

Did the release of Sean St. Ledger and Martin Paterson affect how you approached the window?

PM: "When we brought in (center back David) Mateos we always had planned that Ledge would be here and we would go with four center backs. We'd have good depth there. We could get Conor (Donovan) and Tommy (Redding) out on loan. Some things happened that we didn't expect and we were forced to make a move.

"We waited all year, kind of, for Pato and he just really continued to struggle with the injury and it's just something that he couldn't do anymore. He's having a baby back at home and he just said, you know, ‘I want to go home.' It certainly wasn't the way we drew it up going into the window. But, the easy thing was, you could panic and you could go spend a ton of money to try to get a guy. But we talked about it and it just didn't seem to be the right thing to do if we weren't 100% convinced it was the right guy."

How close was the club to landing Chicharito Hernandez?

PM: "There were discussions. It just didn't work out for whatever reason. The club had authorized us to go and try to get it done. We did try. He's back at Man U right now and this is the last year of his deal, so we'll continue to monitor that and see how it goes. We looked at some other guys, too, and the finances in some of the places where these guys went were just so far out of reach it was ridiculous for us to compete with."

Does Orlando City own Chicharito's MLS discovery rights or would his signing require another move?

PM: "We have his discovery rights and we will forever."

How close was the club to making the deal for Paulo Henrique Ganso?

PM: "I think we were hopeful, but it's just kind of one of those things. Two clubs, when you get into negotiations, there's always different values on players. I think we thought as though we put in a very fair offer for his services. He wanted to come. But it takes two parties to get something done when a player is owned by another club. It just didn't work out."

When is his contract with them up?

PM: "I don't know if he's got one more or two more (years)."

Can you tell us about the thought that went into the Adam Bedell move, aside from getting cheaper and younger?

PM: "I know the question out there is about Jack (McInerney). It was economics. From our experience with Adam, and knowing some people, there's a bit of interest in him in Scandinavia. So he'll probably go out after the season and we'll send him over to Scandinavia and see how he does. When Adrian (Heath) and I were talking, we thought it would be good to, at some stage (get Bedell) — we thought it would be next year, but it presented itself so I moved on it.

“We were looking for something a little bit different in the striker corps, like an Alan Gordon or a Steven Lenhart — someone that posed different problems for a team. We were looking for someone a little bit bigger. Cyle’s a very athletic guy and he can run behind, but Adam’s got good feet. We saw him at the Disney Classic last year and he caused our backs real problems. He caused us some problems in the U.S. Open Cup too. It’s just something that presented itself. The second-round pick for me — we have a lot of young guys. I don’t think I’ll do better with a second-round pick than the youngsters we have with Harrison and Tyler, Tommy. All of those guys for me are first-round picks and we’re just bringing them along. So the second-round pick didn’t matter too much, it was more a throw-away (to get Bedell) for me.”

Obviously people will see that Jack McInerney and Adam Bedell both were moved for a second-round pick. Were there discussions for McInerney?

PM: "We discussed Jack, but he's in the last year of his deal. His salary cap number was 300 grand. I spoke to his agent. To go and invest 300 grand at this stage of the season for 10-11 games — I don't know if it was a big enough run for us and the opportunity to re-sign him I think would be very difficult."

When you spoke with Kansas City recently, was there any discussion about trading for the rights to Herculez Gomez?

PM: "No."

Were there any deals that were on the table that were close but just couldn't quite finish with an agreement?

PM: "I think if we could have got one of the DPs that we really wanted, I think would have been…great! (Laughs) Because none of this other stuff probably would have changed. We would have still made the moves for a lot of the guys. The DP was something that we wanted to try to do but we weren't going to go and do something that we just didn't believe (in). It's better to wait, hold your money and make a run at another significant DP in January."

How well positioned is the team for the final stretch of 2015 and the off-season window?

PM: "I think when we get (Carlos) Rivas back, Rafa (Ramos) back…we're deep and we're talented. So we just have to bite down and bear it for another couple of weeks. When we get everyone back, we'll go. But we are really well positioned to make a significant move if it presents itself."

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 144: Gotham Rewind, Seattle Preview, and More

The Pride finished their home schedule with a loss to Gotham and hope to finish their road schedule with a win in Seattle.

Published

1 week ago

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October 28, 2026

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Image of Solai Washington running onto a ball behind the Gotham defense.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride tried to send their fans home happy in their regular-season home finale, but despite an impressive overall performance against the league leaders, the Pride wasted numerous chances in front of goal and paid for two big mistakes at the back in what ultimately ended as a 2-1 loss in a season filled with far too many defeats. Solai Washington did so many things well, but despite a month’s worth of chances, she could only muster one goal. Still, it was a promising outing albeit in a developing story that won’t continue much longer this year.

We discuss the key plays, players, and moments, look back at our score predictions from last week, and select our Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Marta, the reasons for the Pride’s struggles in 2026, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

Finally, we look ahead to Sunday’s season finale at the Seattle Reign. The Pride opened their 2026 season with a home loss to the Reign but would like to close it with a road win over Seattle to enter the off-season on a positive note. It won’t be easy, as the Reign are clinging to the last playoff spot and trying to catch rival Portland as multiple teams are trying to catch them. We look at Orlando’s attempt to play spoiler, check back on the series history, compare the teams’ positions in the table, provide our key matchups, and more.

Here’s how Episode 144 went down:

0:15 – The Pride finished their home schedule with a good performance but another poor result against the league’s top team.

20:07 – Our mailbagbox has questions about the GOAT.

38:26 – Seattle was the first 2026 opponent and will be the last 2026 opponent. We preview for the last time this season.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 140: Bay FC Rewind, San Diego Preview, and More

The Pride keep their playoff hopes alive by eliminating Bay FC but things get tougher with San Diego visiting Friday.

Published

1 month ago

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September 30, 2026

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Image of Jacquie Ovalle dribbling toward the Bay FC defense.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Justin Glatt

The Orlando Pride remained perfect on the road against Bay FC with a 3-1 win on Sunday. Deuces were wild, as Haley McCutcheon, who wears jersey No. 2, scored in the second minute of both halves, and her two goals in California gave the midfielder her second brace of both the 2026 NWSL season and her career. Barbra Banda figured heavily in pulling defenders out of position on two of the three Orlando goals and assisted on Jacquie Ovalle’s right-footed thunderbolt in stoppage time to put the game away. But make no mistake, it’s not as if the Pride played well, turning the ball over often and conceding 28 shot attempts to the hosts.

We break down a road win that may have been more exhausting to watch than to play in (although I wouldn’t bet on it), check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Haley McCutcheon, where to most strongly place the blame for the Pride’s disappointing season, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

Finally, we looked ahead to Friday, when Orlando will host San Diego Wave FC, looking to both complete a season sweep and to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. We look at the series history, provide our key matchups for the contest, and make our predictions for the final score.

Here’s how Episode 140 went down:

0:15 – The Pride improved to 2-1-1 under Yolanda Thomas, but a lot of good Cosette Morche saves were required to get that second win.

20:00- The mailbagbox asks us to play the blame game.

33:36 – The Pride continue to face California-based competition, but Friday’s opponent is much higher in the table than Sunday’s was.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

4 months ago

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July 22, 2026

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Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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