Orlando City may have just signed Marco Pasalic, but there are still holes in this squad and plenty of questions to go with them. We are still hoping that the club will sign some more players, but time is running short. Given what we currently know, how can Oscar Pareja deploy the players he currently has on hand?

3-5-2

A back line of Rodrigo Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and David Brekalo sounds quite appealing. While the three would be a good group to defend in front of Pedro Gallese, what happens when one of them gets hurt? What happens when they simply need to rest? Does Oscar then switch formations? Is Kyle Smith coming off the bench as a center back?

Moving up the pitch, Wilder Cartagena’s injury was the impetus for me to consider the 3-5-2 formation. This allows Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Michael Halliday, or Rafael Santos to push forward a bit to assist with the defense in front of the back three, depending on who is playing. That gives Cesar Araujo some cover in the center of the pitch. It also allows one or the other to push into the attack depending on the opponent.

The two attacking midfielders can be any combination of Martin Ojeda, Ivan Angulo, Nicolas Rodriguez, and the newly signed Pasalic. Along with Nico Lodeiro, this formation allows for a little bit of depth, even if it’s one of the few position groups that can make that claim.

Looking at the front of the formation, running a 3-5-2 allows Ramiro Enrique and Luis Muriel to play up top together. This won’t be much of a problem, since Muriel tends to drop a little deeper and Enrique isn’t afraid to make runs into the box. If they can develop some chemistry, it could be an effective attack. The issue comes when one is hurt or needs a break. Until Duncan McGuire is able to return, Pareja would need to change formation. Additionally, I’m not certain how well Muriel can play the traditional striker role.

4-3-3

If Pareja implemented a 4-3-3 formation, he’d be able to employ a back line that has everyone returning. Position battles between Brekalo and Schlegel, and Halliday fighting to return to the starting lineup over Thorhallsson are good problems to have. No real issues here.

Moving up top, I could see Angulo on the left, Enrique in the middle and either Muriel or Ojeda on the right until Pasalic is ready. In the midfield, either Muriel or Ojeda could be facilitating inside with Araujo in defense. The third piece is tougher to pin down. Most likely we’d see Rodriguez there but I still think this is the most problematic of the potential formations, and I don’t expect we’ll see it.

4-2-3-1

Traditionally, Pareja likes to utilize the 4-2-3-1 formation, so that’s what he’s most likely going to do. Of course, the linchpin of the whole thing is the defensive midfield pairing of Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo. We don’t know if the Lions will bring in Eduard Atuesta to help in the midfield, so we will go with what we have for the moment.

No issue with the back line as mentioned above for Pareja. It’s the replacement for Cartagena that presents an issue. Sure, Lodeiro could play more defensively, with Araujo ranging side to side behind him. Or, Pareja can move Thorhallsson into the defensive midfield and put Halliday at right back. The difficulty, once again, comes down to depth. I suppose Kyle Smith could also be utilized if needed.

The attacking midfield has many more options. Between Angulo, Ojeda, Muriel, Rodriguez, and Pasalic, there are plenty of options depending on who is healthy. With the first three acclimated to MLS, Rodriguez and Pasalic have time to adjust to their new surroundings.

That leaves Enrique up top. He proved he can do the job, but I still think Orlando City would be better served to find a big striker to own the starting role. If the plan is to run Enrique until McGuire is ready to return, while Muriel fills in occasionally, I’m not sure that’s the best way to go.

Should Pareja stick to his modus operandi or branch out a little this season? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

How’s it going, Mane Landers? It’s been a busy week for me, but I’m looking forward to spending the weekend building a new computer, reading, and trialing a few dessert recipes I’ve had my eye on. I’m also getting pretty excited for Orlando soccer to return, even though the off-season seems to be flying by. Let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City Signs Winger Marco Pašalić 

Orlando City officially added winger Marco Pašalić as its newest Designated Player, signing him to a contract through 2027, with a club option for 2028. Pašalić joins from HNK Rijeka in Croatia’s top flight, where he’s scored four goals in 19 games this season. The 24-year-old will help fill the void left by winger Facundo Torres leaving this off-season, although those are tough shoes to fill considering Torres’ impact in Orlando. It will likely take some time for Pašalić to acclimate to a new league and team, but hopefully he can give the club some needed firepower this season.

NWSL Must Pay $5 Million in Restitution

As part of a settlement announced after an investigation into systemic abuse in the NWSL, the league must pay $5 million in restitution to those harmed. Other parts of the settlement that must be implemented by the league include players being entitled to mental health leave, anonymous annual player surveys, and teams having to employ at least two mental health professionals. Investigations into coach misconduct and player safety will also need to be conducted by outside and impartial investigators and not the teams involved. There will also be oversight by the three attorney generals who led the investigation, with the NWSL required to provide updates on the implementation every six months for the next three years.

Midge Purce Stays With NJ/NY Gotham FC

American forward Midge Purce signed a new one-year deal with NJ/NY Gotham FC after spending the past four seasons there. The 2023 NWSL Championship MVP missed nearly all of last season due to an ACL injury suffered in Gotham’s season opener in March and was a free agent this off-season. This move brings some stability to a Gotham squad undergoing quite a bit of turnover considering the departures of Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams), Crystal Dunn, Yazmeen Ryan, and Jenna Nighswonger.

U.S. Open Cup First Round Schedule Revealed

We now know the schedule for the first round of this year’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and all 32 matchups will pit an amateur team against a professional team. Of the 64 teams taking part in the first round, 26 will make their debut in the tournament when it kicks off next month. A pair of those new faces will collide here in Florida when the Sarasota Paradise face off against FC Naples in Lakewood Ranch. As for the other Floridian teams, Inter Miami II will host Miami United FC, Naples United FC will face Miami FC, and Harbor City FC will head to Georgia to play Tormenta FC. Orlando City and the 15 other MLS teams won’t join the fray until the round of 32 in May.

Free Kicks

• Rafael Santos celebrated his birthday in style, connecting with Alex Freeman for a goal in Orlando’s preseason match against Atlanta United.

• Forward Jordan Pefok is headed back to Stade Reims, signing a three-year contract with the French club. Hopefully this move can get the American scoring again after a few underwhelming seasons in the Bundesliga.
• The LA Galaxy have reportedly agreed to a deal with the Columbus Crew to sign forward Christian Ramirez, who recorded eight goals and six assists last season. I’m not sure what the Galaxy are paying just yet, but I expect I’ll be a little upset the Lions didn’t spend it instead.
• Newcastle booked its spot in the English League Cup final after beating Arsenal 2-0 at home. It will play whichever team advances from today’s second leg between Tottenham and Arsenal, with Tottenham leading 1-0 on aggregate.
• American midfielder Johnny Cardoso, who has reportedly garnered interest from Tottenham and Wolverhampton this winter, has signed a one-year contract extension with Real Betis.
• The English Premier League noted some of the improvements in VAR in the league and how it can be a model for other leagues moving forward.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

Orlando City has a new Designated Player on the right wing. Croatian international Marco Pašalić signed a contract with the Lions through 2027 and will be the club’s newest Designated Player. The contract includes a club option year for 2028. The club needed to act after selling Facundo Torres to Palmeiras just weeks ago on Dec. 20. Pašalić will wear jersey No. 87 this season for the Lions.

“This is an exciting signing for us and we’re happy to have Marco join us here in Orlando,” Orlando City Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “His desire to take on defenders and ability to be a constant threat on goal is exactly what we’ve been looking to add during this transfer window. He has a great personality and competitive drive that we feel truly fits the culture we’ve built here at Orlando City, and moreover, he has a constant desire to win that is infectious. We’re excited to have him wear purple and look forward to all he’ll achieve while representing our club.”

Pašalić, 24, arrives from HNK Rijeka in the Supersport HNL — Croatia’s top flight. The left-footed winger has scored four goals and added either three or four assists (depending on which stat site you use) in 19 games (18 starts) this season for HNK Rijeka, playing 1,372 minutes (or 1,374, again depending on where you look).

“I think it was an easy option for me to decide I want to come make the next step here in Orlando,” Pašalić said about his decision to join the Lions. “I play with heart. I am a fighter on the field, but mostly on offense. My expectation is that we win everything. I like to win.”

A dual citizen of Croatia and Germany, Pašalić was born in Karlsruhe in the latter country. He split his youth career between several clubs —Karlsruher SC, SG Siemens Karlsruhe, SV Sandhausen, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, and VfB Stuttgart. He played 35 games with VfB Stuttgart II, scoring eight goals in 2020-2021 before a move in May 2021 to Borussia Dortmund. He played mainly for Borussia Dortmund II from 2021 to 2023, appearing 35 times and scoring six goals, and making one appearance for the first team in Bundesliga play in a loss against VfL Wolfsburg. He also came off the bench once for Borussia Dortmund’s first team in a 2021 loss to Bayern Munich in the DFL-Supercup.

In June of 2023, Pašalić moved to Rijeka, where he has scored 10 goals in 49 appearances since joining the club.

On the international level, Pašalić has represented Croatia at the U-17 and U-21 youth levels. He has also been capped five times with the Croatian National Team, scoring one goal, which came in a pre-tournament friendly against North Macedonia prior to UEFA Euro 2024 competition.

In addition to a Designated Player slot, Pašalić will require an international roster slot.

What It Means for Orlando City

While the intention and the appearance of this move may be a like-for-like replacement for Torres, this is not something fans should expect — at least not immediately. Torres posted better numbers in MLS last year than Pašalić has put up in Croatia, and while comparing leagues is problematic, there is plenty of evidence to suggest Torres’ statistics came against much better competition, although conversely, he also was surrounded by higher caliber teammates overall. Opta Analyst ranked MLS as the world’s ninth-best league in its October rankings. Meanwhile, the Supersport HNL was rated the world’s 19th-best league in Europe by globalfootballrankings.com recently and 25th in the world. That is below several second-tier leagues.

Pašalić’s age is a plus, however. Having just turned 24 in September, he’s still got some development potential that could see him climb to Torres’ level. Muzzi is clearly banking on that development. A return to European top-flight football is a strong incentive for Pašalić to try to maximize his time in Orlando.

However, at least in the short term, this seems to be a step backward for an Orlando side that came within one win of the MLS Cup final in December. Replacing 20 goal contributions isn’t easy, especially when Duncan McGuire is going to be sidelined for a while at the start of the season. There will be more pressure on Luis Muriel, Ramiro Enrique, and the team’s attacking midfielders to produce the difference in the shortfall between Torres’ dependable offensive contributions and whatever Pašalić will be able to provide while he acclimates to a new culture, MLS, and his teammates — a process likely lengthened by his late arrival and missing much of the preseason.

If Nicolas Rodriguez pans out, however, the combination of Orlando’s latest MLS U22 Initiative signing and most recent DP could combine to approximate Torres’ production at right wing.

With a reported deal nearing finalization for central midfielder Eduard Atuesta, which would mitigate the loss of Wilder Cartagena to the injury he sustained in the preseason opener, the Lions’ focus should be on providing coverage at striker for McGuire’s absence. Orlando is vulnerable if Enrique picks up a knock. Muriel arrived as a forward, but has not shown a willingness to do the dirty work in the penalty area or a lethality in front of goal the Lions will need to play alone up top in Oscar Pareja’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, and there’s no good second option to play two up top.

While highlight videos are hardly scouting reports, fans who were frustrated by Torres’ unwillingness to use his right foot will likely not be thrilled to see every shot Pašalić took in the eight-minute video below was with his left, however, he showed a willingness to center the ball for others with his right, which is something Torres didn’t show much in his time in Orlando.

“My left foot is my weapon and my dribbling,” Pašalić said in an interview released to media by the club.

Pašalić looks to have a good burst in the video, but it’s impossible to gauge his speed in the video relative to MLS competition. Nevertheless, the video shows what he will bring to the Lions.