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2019 Orlando City Season in Review: Sacha Kljestan

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When Orlando City traded for veteran attacking midfielder Sacha Kljestan on Jan. 3, 2019, it seemed like a pretty big deal. Kljestan was, after all, coming off a 17-assist season with the New York Red Bulls. The Lions also received $150,000 in Targeted Allocation Money in the trade, which sent Carlos Rivas and Tommy Redding to New York. Neither of those players spent much time playing for the Red Bulls, while Kljestan received minutes but struggled to make an impact on a historically bad Orlando squad a year ago.

Year 2 in Orlando didn’t go any better for the play-making midfielder, as Kljestan saw a sharp drop in games, starts, and minutes played in 2019 and was asked to play deeper in the midfield this season compared to last. Let’s take a look at how his season went.

Statistical Breakdown

Kljestan played his fewest minutes since returning to Major League Soccer in 2015, making only 23 league appearances (13 starts) for 1,352 minutes this past season. All of those numbers were his lowest in an MLS full season. Only in 2010, when he transferred from Chivas USA to Anderlecht in mid-season, did the mustachioed one see the field less in MLS. Still, he made a bit of an impact, scoring one goal and adding three assists while taking 19 shots (six on target). His assist total was tied for fifth best on the team. The midfielder passed at a 79.9% rate and averaged a key pass per appearance — tied for third on the club in that category among those who played at least eight games with Orlando.

Defensively, he averaged one tackle 0.4 interceptions, and 0.5 clearances per match. He committed 19 fouls, drawing 11, received three yellow cards and one red card, and was offside once.

He also appeared in all four of Orlando’s U.S. Open Cup matches, starting all four and playing 342 minutes. He scored two goals in USOC play, attempting five shots with two on target. He committed two fouls and drew four on the opposition.

Best Game

Although Kljestan played well early in the season, receiving high marks on March 23 at New York — scoring the game-winning goal against his former team — April 20 against Vancouver, and June 29 at Columbus, his best match came in U.S. Open Cup play, when he scored twice on two shots against Memphis 901 FC in a 3-1 road victory. After setting up a Santiago Patino flick that went just wide, Kljestan opened the scoring from the spot in the 38th minute with a confident and well-struck penalty.

He then got his brace in the run of play, just five minutes after Memphis had equalized to restore Orlando’s away lead. Kljestan sent Cristian Higuita down the right on the counter-attack, then finished the Colombian’s return pass to make it 2-1 at the time.

Kljestan also played a role on Robin Jansson’s insurance goal, heading Chris Mueller’s corner kick cross back in front, where Patino got a touch to it and Jansson fed on the scraps to give the Lions some breathing room.

With a part in all three goals, a free kick drawn, and two goals from two shots, that June 12 match was Kljestan’s best of the season, though, as mentioned earlier, he did have some nice early games in league play as well.

2019 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff, gave Kljestan a 5.5 composite grade for the 2019 season. This is the same exact score The Mane Land gave Kljestan a season ago. His role was more prominent last season but his play did not live up to the lofty expectations. This season, he was asked to do less and play deeper at times. He was used much more sparingly, particularly in the later stages of the season, when he didn’t start any of the team’s last 11 games from late July on. In fact, he appeared in only five of the team’s last 11 games and didn’t play more than 36 minutes in any of them. As his role diminished toward the end of the year he seemed to get a lower match rating, averaging better than a 6 in the first half of the year and under 5.5 in the second half.

2020 Outlook

I think it’s highly unlikely that Kljestan will return to Orlando in 2020. The 35 minutes he played in the season-ending loss to Chicago will probably be the last ones he plays in purple. Kljestan is 34 years old and made $1.1 million in 2019. A goal and three assists isn’t a great return on investment for that kind of money.

Kljestan’s not quite as nimble as he once was and that sometimes results in horribly mistimed challenges like the one that got him sent off July 3 in a 3-1 home loss to Philadelphia. I think Kljestan can still be a useful MLS player in the right system, potentially even in whatever the eventual new Orlando coach brings to the club, but my guess would be that Kljestan is ready to move on and the Lions would definitely need him to take a sizable pay cut to remain in the City Beautiful.

No doubt there are many Orlando fans who will be happy to see Kljestan go but I don’t think he was necessarily set up for success here and I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see him notch double digit assists again at his next stop. After all, he showed off his tremendous vision in what could be his last Orlando match, notching an assist and setting up two other great scoring opportunities in just over half an hour.

If this was his last involvement with the Lions, at least it was a beauty.


Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/18/25

Orlando City set to play the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Lions reach Generation Adidas Cup semifinals, Angel City hires Alexander Straus, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday! I hope today finds you well as we gear up for another Saturday filled with soccer to enjoy. I don’t have many plans this Easter weekend beyond working, catching soccer when I can, and playing Baldur’s Gate 3 for the first time if I find some spare hours. Let’s dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City Learns U.S. Open Cup Opponents

Orlando City’s 2025 U.S. Open Cup campaign will begin on the road against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 7 at 7:30 p.m. in what will be the latest edition of the I-4 Derby. It will be Orlando’s first game of this year’s tournament, while the Rowdies joined in the previous round and got past FC Naples in penalties. The Rowdies have lost four of their five games so far this season in the USL Championship and fired Robbie Neilson as head coach earlier this month. The Lions also notably would have hosting priority if they reach the round of 16, where they will play either Nashville SC or the Chattanooga Red Wolves.

Here’s the full schedule for the round of 32, which includes some interesting matchups across the country. The Tacoma Defiance are the only MLS NEXT Pro side left and will face the Portland Timbers, while the New York Red Bulls will have a long road trip to take on the Colorado Springs Switchbacks.

Lions Advance to Generation Adidas Cup Semifinals

Orlando City’s U-18 team beat Real Salt Lake 1-0 in the Generation Adidas Cup to secure a spot in the semifinals. The Young Lions have won four of their five games of the tournament and will take on Santos Laguna in the semifinal on Saturday. The winner of that match will face whichever team becomes victorious in the other semifinal between Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids.

The U-16 team’s run in the Premier bracket is also going strong after a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich, and Orlando will take on the New England Revolution in the semifinals on Saturday.

Angel City FC Hires Alexander Straus

Bayern Munich’s Alexander Straus was named Angel City FC’s next head coach and will officially join the club on June 1. The Norwegian coach has won back-to-back Bundesliga titles and has Bayern positioned well to make it three straight this season. He’ll join an Angel City team that’s unbeaten in its first four games of the season under interim head coach Sam Laity, who will stay on as an assistant coach once Straus joins.

Europa League Quarterfinals End In Dramatic Fashion

Old Trafford hosted one of the wildest games in Europa League history, with Manchester United and Lyon battling for a spot in the quarterfinals. United scored twice in the first half, then conceded twice in the second, sending the game to extra time. Lyon took the lead despite being a man down and then the teams traded penalty kicks as the madness continued. Casemiro orchestrated Manchester’s victory in the end, assisting on two late goals within a minute of each other to beat Lyon 5-4 and advance. This United fan pretty much sums up just how much of a rollercoaster this match was.

There was also drama in Italy, as Lazio came back in the second leg to force extra time against Bodo/Glimt. The match went to penalties and Bodo/Glimt goalkeeper Nikitka Haikin denied former New York City FC player Taty Castellanos from the spot to book his team’s place in the semifinals. Although Tottenham was without Son Heung-Min, it got the job done in a 1-0 road win against Eintracht Frankfurt, while Athletic Club beat Rangers 2-0 in Spain to advance as well. In the semifinals, Tottenham will face Bodo/Glimt and Manchester United will take on Athletic Club.

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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Orlando City

Orlando City at CF Montreal: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against Montreal?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City heads to the Great White North to take on CF Montreal. The Canadian squad sits in last place in not just the Eastern Conference but also the entire MLS, with only two points from a pair of draws. To say it’s not been a good start to the season is an understatement. Of course, it’s exactly that type of situation that makes it feel like a trap. What does Orlando City need to do to take all three points against CF Montreal?

Designated Goal Scorers

What do you do if you haven’t scored a goal in the last two matches? You play a team that has given up 13 goals in eight matches with a -9 goal differential. Montreal doesn’t have the worst defense in the league — I’m looking at you, D.C. United — but it’s not far off. That presents an opportunity for Orlando City to get back on track when it comes to scoring goals.

Through the first six matches of the season, Orlando City was leading the league in scoring with 15 goals. Over the last two matches, the spigot has dried up. The Lions must seize on this opportunity to create and finish their chances. Much like earlier in the season, I want to see Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, and Marco Pasalic lead the way. If anyone can get the first goal, then I’m hopeful the dam will break and the scoring drought will be over.

Keep it Clean

There is some good news of late when it comes to the Orlando City defense. The club has two clean sheets over the last two matches, and that is without Cesar Araujo. There is also some bad news, given Rodrigo Schlegel will be serving his red card suspension this match. That means David Brekalo will move back to center back with Robin Jansson, and Oscar Pareja will have to employ either Rafael Santos or Kyle Smith at left back. Santos has been less than good so far this season.

Montreal has scored a paltry four goals so far in 2025, but two of them have come from striker Prince Owusu. The defense will also need to deal with Caden Clark facilitating in the midfield. I get that this isn’t a prolific attack. Montreal has not looked very good this season and is looking for both its first win and its first points of any sort at home. That means the hosts may be desperate for a result, and desperate is often dangerous. How well the defense does — in particular, how well Santos does if he plays — may determine if Montreal is able to break out of its slump. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Give the Midfield Time

Before the last match, I was a little worried about the midfield. Having both Araujo and Eduard Atuesta out at the same time seemed to be a concern. Now, after seeing how well Joran Gerbet and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson worked together against the New York Red Bulls, I’m way less worried. If Araujo and Atuesta need a little more time to get fully healthy, then let them. The Franco/Icelandic combo seems to be a potent one.

Of course, if the normal starters are ready, then by all means bring them back, but maybe not until the 60th minute. Perhaps Pareja could even mix and match. One never knows how yellow card suspensions or minor injuries will affect player availability. This is a good match for Gerbet and Thorhallsson to work their magic.


That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 4/17/25

Oscar Pareja signs new contract with Orlando City, Orlando Pride prepare for the Washington Spirit, Orlando’s youth teams win, and more.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I can’t believe we’re already into the back half of April and Easter is right around the corner. There’s plenty of soccer to enjoy between now and then and we also have the draw for the U.S. Open Cup’s round of 32 this morning at 9:15. MLS teams are finally joining the fray, so we’ll see where the chips fall for Orlando City. Let’s get to the links!

Oscar Pareja Signs New Contract

Orlando City and Head Coach Oscar Pareja have agreed to a new three-year contract that will keep him in the City Beautiful through 2028. Pareja was hired as Orlando’s fourth head coach in its MLS era back in December of 2019 and he’s led the Lions to the playoffs in all five seasons he’s been at the helm.  Under Pareja, the Lions won the U.S. Open Cup in 2022, set club records in points and wins in 2023, and reached the Eastern Conference final for the first time last year. This year was the final one on the contract he signed in December of 2023, so it’s nice to know Pareja will be sticking around in the future.

Orlando Pride Prepare for the Washington Spirit

The Orlando Pride will look to make it five wins in a row when they host the Washington Spirit on Saturday in another rematch of last year’s final. While this is the first match between Orlando and Washington this season, the two clashed in the NWSL Challenge Cup on March 7 and the Spirit lifted the trophy after a penalty shootout. Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on how the team has grown since that game and has benefitted from depth and consistency carried over from last year.

Orlando City Youth Teams Win in Bradenton

Orlando City’s U-18 team won in the Generation Adidas Cup’s round of 16, beating St. Louis City 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. The Young Lions remain unbeaten in that age group and will take on a Real Salt Lake team that also won its group and just beat Toronto FC in a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw.

Orlando’s U-16 squad didn’t qualify for the Championship bracket, but still advanced in the Premier bracket. After a 1-1 draw with Toronto, Orlando prevailed in the ensuing penalty shootout and will play Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

UEFA Champions League Semifinals Are Set

The quarterfinals for this year’s UEFA Champions League are over and only four teams remain in the tournament. Arsenal secured its spot in the semifinals after an impressive 2-1 road win against Real Madrid that included two assists from Mikel Merino. The Spanish club couldn’t muster its usual magic in the tournament and forward Kylian Mbappe exited in the second half due to injury. In Italy, Inter Milan held on for a 2-2 draw against Bayern to advance on aggregate, with defender Benjamin Pavard scoring a crucial goal for Inter against his old team. The semifinals will take place at the end of the month and will feature Arsenal taking on Paris Saint-Germain and Inter going up against Barcelona.

Free Kicks

  • Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of former FC Cincinnati player Aaron Boupendza, who died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in China.
  • The Chicago Fire are reportedly strongly interested in signing star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne on a free transfer. If any Western Conference teams could join the hunt for him, that would be great.

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

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