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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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7 years ago

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Last time I did grades, a Canadian team was visiting Orlando and James O’Connor rolled out a Lions team that unexpectedly played with a back four. Anyone getting déjà vu? Luckily that’s where the similarities ended as Orlando left it late but claimed all three points, beating Vancouver Whitecaps for the first time. O’Connor revived his 4-3-3 for only the second time on the year as he made four changes from last week’s road trip to Utah with Lamine Sané, Uri Rosell, Nani, and Dom Dwyer all returning to the starting lineup.

Here’s how they performed:

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 7 — A pretty quiet game for Rowe compared to the other games he’s had as an Orlando player so far, which I’m sure he’ll appreciate. He dealt with a long distance Ali Adnan free kick, which was fiercely dipping in front of the former Whitecaps goalkeeper — one of only two saves he was forced into on the day. On a couple of occasions he hesitated in coming off his line before retreating again, something that doesn’t breed any particular confidence, but other than that it was a straightforward performance that was tough to fault.

D, João Moutinho, 7 — Moutinho looked like he was struggling to get into the rhythm of a back four early on, leaving gaping holes on the counter for his opposite number, former-Lion Scott Sutter, to run into and he just didn’t have the awareness to cover. Luckily he grew into the game on both sides of the ball. Defensively he registered two tackles and one interception. Offensively, we’ve previously seen him link well with Nani and that continued down the left flank. He was third on the team in passes, ahead of his countryman, but 10th in accuracy, connecting on 80%. He finished with three shot attempts (second on the team), including one on goal in first-half stoppage time on a good attacking run. Not the best performance from the 2018 first-round draft pick but room to improve.

D, Robin Jansson, 7.5 — Jansson is another that had a quiet day, which, for a defender, especially one in purple (or Parley, as it was today), is a nice change. Vancouver offered very little from open play but the big Swede stayed alert just after the hour mark to intercept a threatening through ball. He was overall very tidy, leading the team in clearances, with seven, and conceding no fouls.

D, Lamine Sané, 7 — Again pretty difficult to grade as Vancouver didn’t particularly ask any questions, shown by the fact Jansson and Sané were the only outfield Orlando players to have an average position on the defensive side of the halfway line. He only registered one tackle, one interception, and one clearance, and got done on a back heel by Fredy Montero to tee up an onrushing Hwang In-Beom, but excelled with his passing, making seven of eight long balls, and was also a regular target on set pieces, most notably when he narrowly put the ball over the bar on a corner as a Nani cross skimmed off his head.

D, Ruan, 8.5 — Ruan was everywhere today. He made a couple of early mistakes, but did well to quickly clean both of them up himself before impressing with a very well-timed slide tackle, making a joint-high two to go along with two interceptions and one clearance. The change in shape should have meant Ruan had slightly more defensive duties than normal but that didn’t stop him bombing forward — he was ever-present on the overlap, was second on the team for touches with 91, and attempted nine crosses — fewer only than Nani. Excluding substitutes, he also led the team in passing accuracy with 94.4% on 54 attempts, and it was his cutback to Sacha Kljestan that created the goal. If it wasn’t for Nani, he’d be my Man of the Match (spoilers!).

MF, Uri Rosell, 8 — Yes it’s perhaps largely down to Vancouver’s lack of interest in coming out of its bunker, but Uri’s return to midfield coincided with Orlando’s season high in possession, with 61%. The team’s average before today was just under 50%. The Lions dominated the ball and Rosell saw a large part of that, leading the team with a massive 101 touches. He was a cool head in dictating play, completing 89.7% of his 97 passes (the next highest was Méndez, with 69), and he was effective in preventing the out-ball when Vancouver tried to clear, helping keep the pressure on. The tackling was occasionally sloppy, leading the team in fouls with three, but that’s nitpicking on an otherwise accomplished performance.

MF, Sebas Méndez, 7.5 — Méndez played off to the right of Rosell, helping to provide a link to both Chris Mueller and Ruan, as well as cover for the Brazilian fullback. He made 92.8% of his 69 passes, second-most on the team, and led the team in interceptions, with three, stopping the counters that the Whitecaps were probing for. The 21-year-old had a confident performance in a box-to-box role in a midfield that did not include Kljestan for the first time in the Ecuadorian’s time with Orlando, playing in the same pockets of space that Kljestan usually occupies. O’Connor might have some thinking to do for his next lineup.

MF, Will Johnson, 6 — The quietest of the midfield trio, Johnson registered one interception, one clearance, and only made 34 passes in his 75 minutes before subbing out for Kljestan, but completed 94.1% of them, second among starters. His 44 touches were fewer only than Dwyer among outfield starters. The Canadian also took two shots, neither on target, and drew three fouls while committing none. He didn’t do much but when he did, he did it well for the most part. He’s probably fortunate the Lions got the win though because had they not, he’s likely called out as a passenger.

F, Nani, 8.5 (MotM) — Practically everything that happened did so through Nani and he showed O’Connor why he can’t spend two thirds of the game on the bench. He seemed to have the beating of former Lion Sutter but didn’t have as much luck against South Korean international Hwang In-Beom in an interesting, reoccurring battle as the Whitecaps were determined to leave Orlando with a point, doubling up on Orlando’s wingers to prevent any service from a team that’s known to play wide. It was frustrating to watch him continually put his foot on the ball and slow play down as is his stop-start method of taking on defenders to limited success. The brightest spot was when he was allowed to put his foot on the gas and stretch his legs, streaking away on the counter before eventually feeding Mueller, only to fire a shot off on the ricochet. He was also a danger from set pieces as always and it felt like as the game went on, he eventually had to find the breakthrough. Ironically, the scoresheet says he did but he knew little about the Kljestan shot that he managed to deflect into the opposite corner from where it was heading as he attempted to get out of the way. He led the team in shots (4) and shots on goal (2).

F, Chris Mueller, 7 — Mueller was Orlando’s second most dispossessed player, losing the ball six times, but that’s the nature of the position. Nani is first on the list as he lost possession seven times with both wingers regularly facing up to two, if not three, Whitecaps players who nearly escaped Central Florida with a point thanks to their defensive approach. Mueller’s 78% pass completion was only good enough for 11th on the team and none of his six crosses found a Lion, but it’s par for the course in these situations. He looked better than he did last week as O’Connor started his super sub for a second consecutive game.

F, Dom Dwyer, 5 — Dwyer had a quiet first half to say the least, it took 20 minutes for me to realize he was in the game and his first bit of action was to overrun a Nani chip that would’ve gifted him a header from five yards out. He came out flying in the opening minutes of the second half to get an early shot in that was blocked and that was pretty much it in his 71 minutes. Overall he struggled to make an impact against a Whitecaps side that took a cautious approach to their third game in seven days, registering seven touches, five passes at 60% accuracy and failed to win an aerial challenge.

Substitutes

F, Tesho Akindele (72’), 7 — This was Akindele’s first substitute appearance as a Lion as O’Connor recognized Dwyer’s ineffectiveness against Vancouver’s low block and decided to swap in an aerial threat. The 6-foot-1 Canadian was targeted soon after he came on, nodding a Moutinho cross over the bar. In his 20-minute run-out he had 10 touches, three more than Dwyer, and completed all four of his passes.

MF, Sacha Kljestan (76’), 7.5 — Kljestan was benched for only the second time in O’Connor’s reign but had an early look at goal two minutes into his substitute appearance as he could only drag a volley wide. He strung a few passing sequences together well as he looked to unpick an ever-retreating Vancouver back line and was the grateful recipient of a Ruan pullback as he made a late run into the box, seeing his shot slice off Nani and nestle into the bottom corner to take all three points. He managed a strong 20 passes, one of them deemed key, in his 15-minute cameo.

D, Kyle Smith (90+8’), N/A — Smith was an extremely late defensive substitute as the Lions looked to cling on to the win (and waste some time), He was credited with two touches. I blinked and missed them both. In such a short spell, it’s unfair to hand him a grade.

So, there you have it. There’s nothing like being able to give out good grades with that winning feeling. Who was your Man of the Match for today? Don’t forget to vote in the poll below with your choice and leave a comment with your thoughts!

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Ruan48
Uri Rosell19
Sebas Méndez19
Nani49
Other (leave a comment telling us who!)1

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/12/26

Pride trade Emily Sams to Angel City, MLS transfer news, FA Cup roundup, and more.

Published

18 hours ago

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January 12, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy at work, covering high school bowling and playing video games such as EA FC 26. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Pride Trade Emily Sams to Angel City FC

The Orlando Pride announced Friday that the club has traded 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year Emily Sams to Angel City FC. In exchange, the Pride received a club-record $650,000 in intraleague transfer funds. Sams had requested a trade and departs Orlando after three seasons with the club. The Pride had given Sams a contract extension 11 months ago through the 2027 NWSL season. She made 86 appearances for the Pride across all competitions, scored one goal and added two assists, and played a crucial role on the back line to help Orlando secure both the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship during the 2024 season. Sams also earned seven caps with the U.S. Women’s National Team. Orlando will now need to focus on finding a replacement at center back.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

We’ve got plenty of MLS moves to catch you up on from the last few days. Nashville SC announced Friday the club has signed former San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Cristian Espinoza to a Designated Player contract through 2028 with options through 2028-2029 and 2029-2030. The Earthquakes have signed Cristian “Chicho” Arango to a new contract through 2027, with club options for the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 season. Austin FC has reached an agreement with midfielder Dani Pereira on a contract extension through 2027-2028 with an option for 2028-2029. D.C. United announced the transfer of midfielder Boris Enow to Israeli Premier League side Beitar Jerusalem. San Diego FC has acquired Osvald Soe from Danish Second Division side Boldklubben af 1893. Soe is under contract through the 2027-2028 MLS season with options through 2029-2030. Meanwhile, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano is reportedly not in San Diego FC’s plans for the upcoming 2026 MLS season. Lastly, Toronto FC has reportedly submitted a transfer bid to Norwich City for forward Josh Sargent.

Third Round FA Cup Recap

There was plenty of drama and some notable upsets in the third round of the FA Cup. On Friday, Wrexham knocked out Premier League side Nottingham Forest 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw. On Saturday, Macclesfield FC, which plays in the sixth tier of English football, defeated defending FA Cup champion Crystal Palace 2-1 in one of the biggest upsets of the weekend. Manchester City demolished Exeter City 10-1, while Tottenham Hotspur fell 2-1 to Aston Villa. On Sunday, former Lion Daryl Dike played 60 minutes as West Bromwich Albion defeated Swansea City 6-5 on penalties after a 2-2 draw to move on to the fourth round. Brighton & Hove Albion beat Manchester United 2-1, and Gabriel Martinelli scored a hat trick as Arsenal cruised to a 4-1 victory against Portsmouth. Today, Liverpool hosts Barnsley, and Salford City takes on Swindon Town Tuesday to conclude the third round of the FA Cup.

2025 Africa Cup of Nations Quarterfinals Results

The quarterfinals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations concluded in Morocco, with four teams booking their spots in the semifinals. On Friday, Senegal edged Mali 1-0, with Iliman Ndiaye scoring the lone goal for Senegal to advance. Host Morocco shut out Cameroon 2-0 to advance to the semifinals. On Saturday, Nigeria defeated Algeria 2-0 with Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams scoring in the second half to advance to the next round. Egypt held on for a 3-2 win against Ivory Coast to eliminate the defending champions. Mohamed Salah scored a goal and added an assist as Egypt booked its spot in the semifinals with the win. The semifinals will kick off on Wednesday with Senegal facing Egypt and Morocco taking on Nigeria.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City players report today for preseason training at Osceola Heritage Park.
  • Orlando City forward Yutaro Tsukada revealed to his teammates that he is married.
  • Robin Jansson, Duncan McGuire, and the Orlando City technical staff shared their thoughts on the importance of preseason training camp.
  • Benfica has reportedly expressed interest in acquiring former Lion Facundo Torres, who is currently playing for Palmeiras.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Orlando City

New Year, Same Coach: It’s Time to Appreciate Óscar Pareja

Orlando City’s skipper is one of the best coaches in league history and deserves a lion’s share of the credit for the team’s success in recent years.

Published

4 days ago

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January 9, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The clock turned to midnight and 2026 arrived one week ago, and in the first week of 2026 there has been a lot of news about coaches, as the managers who started the season at two of the most well-known soccer clubs in the world, Chelsea and Manchester United, both lost their jobs. The manager carousel has been spinning aggressively at both clubs in recent years, so it was not a huge surprise to see either departure, but as we approach the beginning of the 2026 MLS season, the news from England’s Premier League made me appreciate even more the tenure of the man in charge of Orlando City: the iconic, white-shirt-wearing Óscar Pareja, who is about to begin his seventh season in charge of the Lions.

Pareja took charge in Orlando back in 2019, and at 6.1 years as head coach, he is currently the second-longest tenured head coach in MLS, behind only Brian Schmetzer of the Seattle Sounders. The average tenure of the 28 (Atlanta has yet to hire a head coach) non-Pareja coaches in the league is 1.98 years, so Pareja, at just beyond six years in charge, has been at the club for slightly more than three times the league average, and he has been a lot more than slightly effective ever since taking the reins, as you can see from the chart below:

CompetitionWinsLossesDraws*Points Per Match
MLS9162571.57
Leagues Cup4351.42
U.S. Open Cup5221.89
Concacaf Champions Cup/League2131.50
Total10268671.57
  • * For this chart I used the result of the game at the end of regulation or extra time, I did not give a win or loss based on the result of penalty kicks, which is too bad, because Orlando City is 8-3 in shootouts since Pareja became head coach.

Pareja’s 210 games in charge of the Lions is the 15th most in league history by a head coach at a single club, and if the Colombian is still the coach after the 33rd league game this season, he will move into 10th place on that list. The points-per-match values in the chart above show why he has been in Orlando so long, as transfermarkt.com‘s tracking ranks him 30th on the all-time list in points per match among the 179 MLS coaches who have coached at least 25 games at one club. That site has Pareja at 1.60 points per match, so perhaps it is giving wins and losses instead of draws based on shootout results, or perhaps their math is just a bit off (I know a mathematics major who can help), but the main point is that since Pareja came to Orlando he has consistently been an excellent coach — among the top 20% (16.7%, if we are being specific) in league history in points per match.

One of the coaches that Pareja ranks behind on that list, funnily enough, is one Óscar Pareja from his time as the head coach of FC Dallas. Pareja coached 180 games in Dallas and earned 1.61 points per match, ranking 27th on transfermark’s list, but if Orlando City can put together another strong season in 2026, Pareja with Orlando City may jump Pareja with FC Dallas by this time next year.

That, of course, is a big if, as the 2026 roster is slowly coming into shape but still appears to be short a few players. Sean Rollins wrote earlier this week about some OCB players who might make their first-ever appearance with the senior team this season, and Gustavo Caraballo, Justin Ellis, Colin Guske, and Zakaria Taifi all could play more this season than they did in 2025, each with the idea that they could be the next Alex Freeman and go from a handful of MLS minutes in 2025 to thousands in 2026. Lightning does strike quite often in the City Beautiful, so it could happen, but it is more likely that the front office will acquire a few more seasoned professionals to fill out the roster.

Once the roster is filled out, it is likely that Pareja will do what he has done in — according to fbref.com’s tracking — 93% of his matches as head coach in Orlando by starting a back four. Three of the four spots seem set at the moment, with left back the one question mark going into training camp. It is possible that the team signs another center back, and David Brekalo continues to play as a left back or becomes a backup, but the more likely scenario is a Robin Jansson and Brekalo pairing in the middle with Freeman on the right, and Pareja oversees a training camp battle to choose a left back among several competing players.

In four of Pareja’s six seasons the club finished the season with excellent goal differentials across all competitions, finishing +15 in 2020, +14 in 2023, +17 in 2024, and +17 again in 2025. The Lions were dead even in 2021 and -2 in 2022, making the combined total for the six seasons a healthy +61. While he has played a 4-2-3-1 most often, he has adapted around the team he has every season, playing a 4-4-2 for most of 2026, for example, and so whether the front office acquires another left back, center back, or neither and goes into training camp with a bunch of young players competing to earn roster spots, Pareja has more than earned the trust of the team, front office, and fans that he will be able to take what he is given and, to turn a famous Orlando City phrase on its head, show us that Papi can do that.

Stability is an often underrated component of a team’s success, and while Orlando City’s roster will only bring back a maximum of 65% of its minutes played from last year, bringing back Pareja and his strategic planning acumen is an unquantifiable boost for the team. The best years in the club’s MLS era have been under his leadership, and while the Lions finished lower in the standings last year than in prior years, that was really more about the rest of the Eastern Conference playing well than an Orlando City regression, considering that the Lions earned the second-most MLS regular-season points in club history during the 2025 season.

Pareja’s six years of experience ranks second most in MLS and is longer than all but three coaches among the 92 professional teams in England’s top four divisions (Premier League, Championship, League One, and League Two). It is not a coincidence that the recent years have been among the team’s best with those large positive goal differentials and deep runs in the MLS playoffs and Leagues Cup.

Sustained excellence is extremely difficult in sports, and while Orlando City only has the one U.S. Open Cup in the trophy case during the Pareja era, according to fbref.com’s tracking, only five MLS clubs (LAFC, Inter Miami, the Philadelphia Union, the Seattle Sounders, and the Columbus Crew) have more wins in all competitions than Orlando City since he took over before the 2020 season.

I am not big on making new year’s resolutions, but in 2026 I resolve to show my appreciation more often for the consistent success that Pareja has brought to Orlando City.

Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/9/26

Nico Rodriguez loaned out, Orlando City preseason schedule released, Orlando Pride trade for a defender, and much more.

Published

4 days ago

on

January 9, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! It’s been a pretty busy week, but we have a weekend of what is hopefully some rest and relaxation to look forward to. I don’t have many plans beyond some deep cleaning of my apartment, but it should still be a nice couple of days. Let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Nico Rodriguez Loaned to Atletico Nacional

Orlando City loaned winger Nicolas Rodiriguez to Atletico Nacional in Colombia through 2026, with an option to buy as part of the deal. The Lions added him as an MLS U22 Initiative Player in January of last year, signing him to a three-year deal. He recorded a goal and an assist in 17 appearances across all competitions for Orlando, starting in just four games. This loan notably frees up an MLS U22 Initiative slot for the Lions to make use of, while also giving Rodriguez an opportunity for more minutes to hone his game.

Orlando City Announces Preseason Schedule

Orlando unveiled its schedule for this year’s preseason and training will begin on Jan. 12. There will be a closed-door scrimmage against the USL Championship’s Lexington Sporting Club on Jan. 24 before the team heads to Mexico for a training camp from Jan. 25 to the end of the month. The Lions will then play two more closed-door friendlies once they return, playing at Nashville SC on Feb. 7 and at FC Cincinnati on Feb. 11. Orlando’s final preseason game will be on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, when the Lions take on the Colorado Rapids in a match exclusively open to season ticket members, who will receive an email to RSVP for it.

Orlando Pride Acquire Defender Hannah Anderson

The Orlando Pride traded for defender Hannah Anderson, sending $70,000 in intraleague funds to the Chicago Stars in exchange. Anderson joins the Pride on a contract through 2027. Drafted in the third round of the 2024 NWSL Draft, Anderson has made 28 appearances across the past two seasons in Chicago. Hopefully she can add some solid depth to a Pride defense that has been formidable in recent years but has been tested by injuries.

Orlando Pride and Grace Chanda Part Ways

The Orlando Pride and Zambian midfielder Grace Chanda have mutually agreed to part ways, allowing her to sign with FC Gallos Queretaro in Mexico. The Pride signed Chanda to a two-year deal back in May of 2024 and exercised the 2026 option on her contract last summer. Injury prevented her from playing for the Pride in 2024, and she only made seven total appearances across all competitions in 2025. It’s unfortunate she wasn’t able to become a starter for a Pride team that could’ve used a creative force in the midfield at times last year, but hopefully she’ll be able to get more playing time with Queretaro.

USWNT January Roster Announced

United States Women’s National Team Head Coach Emma Hayes called up 26 players for training camp this month, including Pride defender Emily Sams. It’s a fairly inexperienced roster in terms of minutes with the USWNT, and four players were called up for the first time. Trinity Rodman, who is out of contract, is technically the only player called up not currently on an NWSL team. It will be Rodman’s first time at a USWNT training camp since April, as injuries limited her throughout 2025. The USWNT will play Paraguay on Jan. 24 and Chile on Jan. 27 in a pair of friendlies in California to conclude the camp.

Camping World Stadium Will Host Friendlies

A pair of international friendlies will be held at Camping World Stadium as World Cup teams set up their preparations for this year’s tournament. Colombia and Croatia will clash in the City Beautiful on March 26 before Croatia plays against Brazil on March 31. Tickets for the matches are scheduled to go on sale on Tuesday. According to Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan, construction may prevent Camping World Stadium from hosting other international friendlies before the World Cup.

Free Kicks

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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