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2016 Orlando City Season in Review: Julio Baptista

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Veteran Brazilian striker Julio Baptista joined Orlando City shortly after the start of the 2016 season. The 35-year-old (then age 34) signed on March 23 after training with the club for about a month. The São Paulo native and former teammate of Kaká with Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team has a long history with Orlando City’s captain and brought a wealth of top flight experience to the Lions, who were desperate to find someone who could provide minutes at striker and depth behind Cyle Larin.

“The Beast” made his MLS debut at Philadelphia on April 8, playing just one minute in stoppage time in a 2-1 loss. Nine days later, Baptista got his first start for Orlando City, earning a penalty early in the game in a 2-2 home draw against the New England Revolution that we like to call the “Unhandball Game” around The Mane Land offices. He notched his first assist for the Lions against the New York Red Bulls on April 24, in just his second MLS start, and scored his first goal with Orlando on May 29 at New York City FC.

Throughout the 2016 season, Baptista appeared in more than two thirds of Orlando City’s matches, starting a handful, and provided an offensive threat and became a potential game changer every time he subbed on in the second half.

Statistical Breakdown

La Bestia played 729 minutes across 23 games (five starts) for the Lions in 2016. His six goals ranked fourth on the club and his three assists tied for fourth with Rafael Ramos, Luke Boden, and Larin. He was tied for fifth on the team in shots (27) and shots on goal (9) with both Brek Shea and Seb Hines. Baptista committed only six fouls while drawing 22 and drew only one yellow card. He was also only offside once this season, showing his awareness despite playing with a new group of teammates.

Baptista’s 0.74 goals per 90 minutes was easily the best among Orlando City players and fifth in the entire league (minimum 100 minutes played). He ranked just behind Bradley Wright-Phillips (0.78) and ahead of David Villa (0.72). That’s remarkable when you consider that he wasn’t getting regular playing time and it was his first tour of Major League Soccer.

Completing 77% of his passes, Baptista was more accurate than Orlando City’s other main strikers, Larin (73.4%) and Carlos Rivas (71.4%), and was just about dead even with rookie Hadji Barry (77.2%), who mostly played an attacking right wing position. If there was a knock on his game, it was that he averaged just 0.4 key passes per match. He also didn’t contribute much defensively, averaging just 0.3 tackles, 0.3 interceptions and 0.1 clearances per match, although that’s not atypical of Orlando’s strikers. One of his best attributes that set him apart from other Lions was his ability to do this:

Best Game

When looking for a best game for Baptista, one must weigh his contributions as a starter against the more numerous appearances he made as a substitute. He was at his best in the latter role, and I think his best performance of the season came at New York City FC on May 29, when he entered in the 59th minute and changed the course of the match.

Here’s what I wrote about his performance that day in our player grades post, when he earned himself a 7.5 rating for the match:

Changed the dynamic by coming into the center and moving Molino to the right. Gave his team a lifeline with his first MLS goal, taking an extra touch in the box but that was OK because the NYCFC defense allowed it. Then he turned and powered a shot into the left corner that may have taken a slight deflection off the defender. Helped as a coach on the field, giving instructions to his defensive midfielders to come up and close space, and also worked well with both Molino and Rivas. 

2016 Final Rating

The Beast gets a composite grade of 7 from The Mane Land staff for his first season in Orlando. Baptista came in and changed games off the bench with his experience, scoring prowess, and ability to be an on-field leader. He was able to make a few spot starts as well, helping provide much-needed depth for the club. Overall, his first season in MLS was a solid one and having him on the bench was a luxury for Orlando City in 2016.

2017 Outlook

It’s completely up to Jason Kreis and Orlando City whether Baptista is back with the club next season. The Brazilian has expressed a desire to continue his playing career and seems content with the role he played for the Lions this past season. As he told the Orlando Sentinel just a few weeks ago:

"My plan at the moment [is,] I stay here," Baptista said. "But, I need to talk with the club. I think the club will tell me what it wants of me. I just [have to] wait. I've played on good teams with players 34, 35, 36 and the most important thing is the mentality.

Baptista requires a valuable international slot, but his salary of $90,000 doesn’t make him cost prohibitive. I’d honestly have to put his return at 50/50 at this point. The team may wish to find a younger striker who can spell Larin more often, although it may be difficult to replace Baptista’s productivity. If he stays, and improves during his second go-round through MLS, Baptista could indeed be quite the beast for the Lions in 2017.

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Five Preseason Takeaways

Here is what we learned from a 2-2 draw against Inter Miami.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City wrapped up the 2025 preseason in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium against in-state rival Inter Miami on Valentine’s Day. The two squads played to a 2-2 draw which saw Head Coach Oscar Pareja roll out essentially his opening-day lineup for the clash against the Herons. Orlando looked strong against Messi and Co. for the most part in several facets of the game but also showed that some things need to be cleaned up and addressed in the final week of preparation before the 2025 Major League Soccer season kicks off.

What follows are my five takeaways from the final preseason match.

Solid Start for Gallese

In the early part of the 2024 season, there was a quiet rumble regarding the form that Orlando City keeper Pedro Gallese demonstrated. The Peruvian No. 1 all but squashed those worries over the second half of last season, and by the end of the year, he was back to his old ways of making highlight reel plays. The final preseason game saw Gallese much in the same form he ended last season as opposed to how he started it. Gallese made several strong saves and was in good command of his goal for most of the night. Playing against a team of Miami’s caliber meant that Orlando City was going to spend a good portion of the night defending. Gallese, to his credit, made the saves he needed to in the moment, including a great reaction save on a Messi chip (which ultimately didn’t count due to the offside flag coming up).

Santos Struggles

The final preseason match is likely one that left back Rafael Santos will want to quickly forget. The Brazilian product struggled on the night and was caught either ball watching or out of position on several occurrences, which opened the door to quality chances for the Herons. Something just seemed off about his communication with his fellow defensive mates and he wound up being beaten badly on the equalizing goal for Miami in the first half.

The start of the 2025 season will effectively mark the third season in a row with more or less the same back line players, and the hope is that communication breakdowns are a thing of the past. Still, for Orlando City, Santos must improve his quality of play quickly as many teams in the Eastern Conference bolstered their attacking fronts during the off-season and will be looking to take advantage of any weak spots in the OCSC defense.

Ojeda Cooks

If Designated Player Martin Ojeda can consistently put in the type of effort that he showcased against Miami, the Orlando City attack might start in a better place than many had projected following the sale of Facundo Torres. Ojeda demonstrated good chemistry down the left side of the field with Colombian speedster Ivan Angulo and was responsible for the opening goal and then added an assist on Enrique’s goal.

The season changed last year when Ojeda was injected into the starting lineup, and against the 2024 Supporters’ Shield winners, the Argentinian looked confident. My boldest prediction for the 2025 season is that Ojeda will put up career numbers for goals and assists, and I cannot wait to be proven correct.

Go-Ahead Goal

Ramiro Enrique’s motor reminds me of the scenes from The Fast and The Furious franchise when the main characters effectively shift their cars into 14 gears as they race down the road. Enrique just never stops and seemingly can shift into more gears than the opposition’s defense is prepared to handle. After a mistake at the back from Miami, Ojeda found himself and Enrique in a 2-v-1 situation and played a well-weighted ball to Enrique, who took one touch and then calmly picked out the bottom right corner. At the time that Ojeda recovered the ball, Enrique was easily 10 to 12 yards behind the play, broke out into a dead sprint while running past three Miami defenders, and then had the composure to find the back of the net. Enrique was subbed off in the second half after picking up what appeared to be a cramp.

For the Love of VAR

The outcome of a preseason match matter doesn’t matter much, but it sure could have been a nice feather in the Orlando City cap if the Lions had defeated their foes from the south in a match in which Messi went almost 80 minutes. While the game became a tad sloppy over the final 15 minutes after numerous substitutions on both sides, Orlando City was in a great position to win. However, multiple failed clearances in the last minute of stoppage time allowed Robert Taylor a shot on net that was cleared off the line (by Colin Guske) to Fafa Picault, who found the garbage time equalizer. Had it been a regular-season match with video review, the play likely would have been negated as Santiago Morales committed an obvious handball in the buildup.


Those are my five takeaways from the final match of the preseason and one that saw Orlando City play competitively. What moments stood out to you from the game? Let us know in the comments below and as always, vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Final Score 2-2 as Lions’ Subs Can’t Hold Late Lead

Orlando mostly held Lionel Messi in check but couldn’t hold onto a late lead in a draw against rival Miami to end the preseason.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

TAMPA — Orlando City struck first through Martin Ojeda and regained the lead through Ramiro Enrique, but a second-half squad primarily made up of substitutes could not hold the late advantage, giving up a stoppage-time equalizer in a 2-2 draw against Inter Miami at Raymond James Stadium. A stadium soccer record crowd of 42,017 fans — most there only to see Lionel Messi — saw tying goals in each half from Miami’s Tadeo Allende and Fafa Picault spoil the night for Orlando, which finished the preseason winless for the first time.

“We’re happy with the performance,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “There is about a bunch of signs that we see from our team and the game that we want to put together, and then take advantage of the week of work on our training and see if we can get better. But we’re happy we got the objectives accomplished.”

Pareja’s starting lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Eduard Atuesta made his Orlando City debut in central midfield alongside Cesar Araujo behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Ojeda, and Marco Pasalic with Enrique up top.

The two Florida rivals exchanged half chances early, with Atuesta blocking a shot early and Pasalic firing over the bar from just outside the area a couple of minutes later.

Orlando City started to create off of its defense over the next several minutes, with the first chance coming from an Ojeda steal and pass to Enrique in the 14th minute. The forward took a heavy first touch and was leaning into what would have been a difficult lunging shot when he went down under contact, but referee Filip Dujic ruled that there was no foul in the box.

The Lions scored a minute later anyway off another steal. Ojeda knocked the ball to Angulo on the left and the Colombian slipped a pass back to the Argentine, who chipped onrushing goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, tucking his shot just inside the right post to make it 1-0.

Three minutes after the goal, Schlegel was fortunate he was playing in a preseason game. Jansson lost an aerial duel he would normally win against Allende, which allowed the ball to get in behind. Schlegel tried to nick it away, and may have gotten the ball cleanly, but he was called for a foul just outside the box. In a normal game, he likely would have been sent off for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, but Dujic gave only a yellow. Messi sent the free kick over Gallese’s crossbar in the 19th minute.

Miami equalized in the 22nd minute. Santos got caught ball watching, allowing Allende to get in behind and take a pass on the right. He sent his shot just inside the left post to make it 1-1 on what was a difficult first half by the Brazilian left back.

Allende came close to a second goal in the 25th minute but fired wide of the left post from the right as again Santos was caught napping. Luis Suarez fired wide of the right post from a tight angle on the left in the 28th minute. Eight minutes later, Telasco Segovia tried to chip Gallese but fired just over the crossbar and onto the roof of the net.

Orlando couldn’t do anything with a pair of corners, but nearly paid off the second on the recycle when Ojeda sent in a dangerous cross that deflected off Schlegel, which kept it from reaching Enrique with the goalkeeper out of position. The Lions should have scored in the 39th minute. Atuesta picked out a great pass to send Pasalic in behind. The Croatian probably had more time than he thought, shooting early, but Ustari made an outstanding save.

Gallese had his own moment of brilliance in the 44th minute to deny Suarez from close range. Moments later, Gallese denied a Messi chip but the Argentinian was offside anyway. The save didn’t count, but it was still fun to watch.

The teams went to the break tied with a goal apiece.

Miami had more shots (6-4) and each team won four corners. Each goalkeeper made one save and both were spectacular.

Shortly after the restart, the Lions generated a good attack, with Atuesta switching play to Angulo on the left. Angulo lost his defender and sent in a good cross that never made it to Enrique, who vehemently shouted for a handball. None was given and the ball cycled back out to Atuesta, who fired well off target.

Jansson was called for fouling Suarez just outside the box moments later, but Messi fired the free kick wide in the 52nd minute.

Orlando made Miami pay for the miss two minutes later. A long ball into the attacking half was misplayed by the Herons’ defense, ending up on Ojeda’s foot. The Argentine slipped his countryman Enrique in on goal and the forward smashed his shot just inside the right post to make it 2-1 in the 54th minute.

Suarez found an opening at the top of the box in the 57th minute, but his shot was no trouble for Gallese, who made a comfortable save. Ten minutes later, Gallese was perfectly positioned when a recycled ball fell to Messi, who had an open header after pushing off of Thorhallsson. El Pulpo made the easy save.

The next 15 to 20 minutes saw both teams making substitutes, with Messi’s departure prompting a bit of an exodus from fans. The game got a bit sloppier after the changes, which included the introduction of Nicolas Rodriguez for his first minutes as a Lion.

Orlando should have put the game away in the 82nd minute when substitute Luis Muriel made a filthy pass through traffic to pick out forward Gustavo Caraballo in the box. The teenager sent his shot too close to Ustari, who made a vital save to keep it a one-goal game. Three minutes later, Muriel fired just over the bar from the top of the box — another costly miss in the end, as it turned out.

In the final minute of stoppage time, as Miami pushed for an equalizer, Orlando’s largely substitute squad failed multiple times to sufficiently clear their lines. Robert Taylor picked up the ball on the left, worked across to the right and fired a shot that got past Gallese but was cleared off the line by Colin Guske. The rebound fell to Picault, who fired it in to tie the match. The game was played without video review, which was unfortunate, because there was a clear handball on Santiago Morales in the buildup to the equalizer.

Shortly after the restart, the game was over. Although there had been talk about penalties if the game ended in a draw, there were no spot kicks and the match ended 2-2.

Inter Miami finished with more shot attempts (14-9) and corners (8-4), with the Lions finishing with more saves (5-2).

“Very happy, because we made a very good game,” Atuesta said after his first match as a Lion. “I was working just like five days with the team, and I feel very, very good on the pitch with my teammates. Trying to know each other is not easy, to know already what he’s doing, what I’m doing for them, I think is not an easy work, but they are very good players.”

“We need rhythm. We need much more rhythm,” Pareja said about what he needs to see from his team in the final week of preseason. “I thought we were not constant on our ways. It was good here and there, but we need more rhythm. I know the result was the most important part, but we were leading the game until the end. So, good for the players that played against a rival that has a bunch of games already. They’re good, but today we could end up just probably 3-1, because we had a few options in the box that we still have been better on that part.”

“I think we are in a good way,” Atuesta said. “It’s a very long season. We have to try to start well. I know the start is difficult because the rhythm is not there, but as soon as possible we’ll start to win points.”


That’s a wrap on preseason. Orlando City’s next match will be Saturday, Feb. 22 at home against the Philadelphia Union in the season opener.

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Opinion

Likes and Dislikes from this Week of Orlando City’s Preseason

Let’s break down some good and bad things from this past week of preseason preparations.

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It’s Friday once again, and just like that we find ourselves barely over a week away from the start of the 2025 Major League Soccer season. It feels like this off-season has passed by in a blur, and somehow the Lions are already about to play their final preseason match later today. This week was another busy one for Orlando City, so let’s run through some things that I liked from this week and some things that I didn’t.

Likes

Eduard Atuesta Arrives

It took awhile, and the transfer saga had some twists and turns, but Orlando City landed Eduard Atuesta to replace the injured Wilder Cartagena. Given the league’s budget constraints and the fact that he isn’t a Designated Player, Atuesta is about as good a replacement as fans could have hoped for. Not only is he familiar with the league, but he knows what it takes to win here, as he helped LAFC win the Supporters’ Shield and U.S. Open Cup during his time with the California club. Plus, he theoretically offers more going forward than Cartagena typically does, which could add a much-needed extra punch to the Lions’ offense. The structuring of a one-year deal with an additional club option also gives OCSC some flexibility at the end of the season if the Lions decide they want to move on, but if he replicates the form he typically showed at LAFC, then that option year can be triggered.

New Kit Looks Sharp

The club also debuted its new home jersey this week. Dubbed the “Perfect Storm” kit, no two are supposedly alike, as it pays tribute to the intensity and unpredictability of Central Florida’s weather. For my money, it isn’t anything revolutionary, but there’s a lot to like about it. The pattern is interesting without being too overwhelming, the collar adds a pop of welcome gold to the purple and white motif, and the 407 lightning bolt and doppler radar storm patches are nice, vibrant touches. Teams were also permitted to customize the Apple logo on the sleeves this year, and Orlando chose to do so by incorporating the lion’s mane/sun element of the club crest into the logo. My biggest gripe is that the pattern is only on the front of the jersey while the back is plain purple, but overall I really like it.

Dislikes

Thin Cupboards at Striker and Fullback

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Orlando City is still looking short on bodies at striker and fullback. Granted, the striker position will look better once Duncan McGuire returns, but that’s likely to be at least six to eight weeks away. Fullback isn’t quite as dire, as the Lions have Kyle Smith, Mikey Halliday, and Alex Freeman, who are all in contention to come off the bench. There are caveats though, as Halliday has struggled with injuries the last two seasons, and while Freeman was outstanding with Orlando City B last year, he’s almost completely untested at the MLS level. Plus, all three of Smith, Halliday, and Freeman are most comfortable on the right side. You obviously don’t want to take minutes away from the young guys, but I’d feel a lot better if there was a proven vet in the fold.

Final Preseason Match Prices

At the time of writing, the cheapest ticket listed for today’s preseason match against Inter Miami is $49 plus fees. That gets you in the door and up in the 300 level of Raymond James Stadium; any lower down than that and you’re looking at $65 plus fees and higher. It isn’t the most egregious pricing I’ve ever seen, but at the same time, when my season ticket in The Wall breaks down to being about $19 a game, it’s hard to not feel a little put off. I’m not saying that this is the club’s fault as I don’t know who set the pricing for the event, but I just don’t have much interest in paying over $100 for two people to go to a preseason match. It’s a shame, since Ray-J is about a five-minute drive from my house, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.


What stood out to you from this week of Orlando City’s preseason preparations? Be sure to have your say down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!

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