Orlando City in the Multiverse of Madness

Imagine a world where your favorite Orlando City player is not in their typical position. A slightly skewed universe that sees the Lions with the same group of players, but with them in new and different positions. What would that world look like? What would that team look like? Let us peer through the veil of the multiverse and see the possibilities.

Facundo Torres

I had thought that Torres might be a defensive midfielder, and perhaps he is in some world, but I’m envisioning him as a left back. He’s left-footed, has a nose for where to be and he is quick. As a plus, in Óscar Pareja’s system, he could move up the wing and into the attack with better crosses than we saw from Ruan on the right. The only issue I see is that he likes to wander from sideline to sideline and might find himself out of position.

Rodrigo Schlegel

I know what you’re thinking. Schlegel as a keeper is a definite possibility in the multiverse, especially since we saw a little of that right here in our universe. However, I’m picturing Schlegel as a midfield destroyer in the No. 6 position. I think he already has the tenacity, mentality, and demeanor to do the position justice. He has a hard head and isn’t afraid to mix it up with other players. He can do it, Papi!

Robin Jansson

The Beefy Swede is an example of other realities bleeding over into our own, by which I mean that the Orlando City center back is definitely a striker out in the multiverse. He has good size for a forward, and even as a defender has found the goal multiple times for the Lions. His deceptive runs from the back line all the way into the opponent’s half are a thing of beauty, but just imagine if he didn’t have as far to run. He also knows how a center back thinks, and that is an advantage. In case you forgot what he can do on offense, check this out.

The finesse and the finish 🪄@RJANSSON24 | #DaleMiAmor pic.twitter.com/JxSF1uKL0T

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) June 16, 2022

Ercan Kara

If Jansson gets to fulfill his deep-seated need to be a striker I see no reason why Kara can’t move to the back line. At 6-foot-4, he’s three inches taller than the Beefy Swede, which would make him the tallest center back — Antônio Carlos is 6-foot-3 — and that is a definite plus when defending set pieces. He plays well with his back to goal, and as such would simply need to kick the ball away from the net rather than towards it. 

Kyle Smith

Smith is like Agent Smith from The Matrix. He is everyone and everywhere. He is already a backup for three positions in this reality. It’s not hard to imagine that he does the same in the midfield or the attack in other realities. Perhaps he exists in all universes at once, as the eternal backup. A multiversal El Soldado. Or perhaps he is the Gozer the Gozerian of Orlando City. He takes the form of whatever position Oscar Pareja thinks. Let’s just hope he doesn’t think of a 300-foot-tall Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. 

Mauricio Pereyra

Finally, there’s Orlando City’s captain, Mauricio Pereyra. There is an exception to every rule, and I think that Pereyra might be a universal, if not multiversal, constant. You can move him around the midfield, but you don’t really want him on the back line, as the striker, or especially the keeper. This is not a slight against Pereyra, it’s just that he is the center of the Orlando City universe and should stay there.

What do you think about these possibilities? Do you have some suggestions or amendments you’d suggest? Let me know in the comments below.