Orlando City
Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Player Grades and Man of the Match
In Orlando City’s first road match of the 2023 MLS season, the Lions went to Audi Field and left with a point in a 1-1 draw. Duncan McGuire became the first 2023 MLS SuperDraft pick to score this season. However, Chris Durkin scored the first goal against Orlando this year to ruin what would have been a nice road win. Like last weekend, Orlando went with a rotated squad in preparation for its Concacaf Champions League match against Tigres this Wednesday. Here’s how each Lion individually performed in the draw.
Starters
GK, Pedro Gallese, 7.5 (MotM) — Gallese’s great run of form continued in this match, as he came up with four saves. His best save of the night came in the 26th minute as he denied Christian Benteke’s shot directly in front of goal. The Belgian forward’s shot could’ve been better, but it was still a fantastic stop from El Pulpo. Minutes later, he came up with another great save to parry away a quick shot from Theodore Ku-DiPietro. The Peruvian also did well to get his hand to a few dangerous crosses early in the match, including one from former Lion Ruan. However, his clean sheet was ruined in the second half as he couldn’t keep out a curling shot from Durkin that got past him and in. His distribution could have been a bit better, as he was accurate on just one of his nine long balls and completed 60% of his 20 passes. Still, Gallese made huge saves and snuffed out chances that could have led to more.
D, Abdi Salim, 5.5 — Like last week against FC Cincinnati, Salim played as one of three center backs for Orlando City. The 21-year-old’s night included both ups and downs and he was subbed off at halftime as the Lions switched to a four-man back line. His lowest moment was when he whiffed on a header in the box, leaving Benteke alone in front of goal with all the time in the world to set up his shot. Overall, it was still a decent outing from the defender as he put out a few fires on his side of the field. D.C. often targeted the left side of Orlando’s defense though, which is partly why Salim finished with just a tackle and a blocked shot. He completed all but one of his 12 passes and his lone cross found its mark as well. With Orlando already rotating its roster this season and its lack of depth at center back, these were valuable minutes from the draft pick.
D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — The center back anchored Orlando City’s back line and led the team with 10 clearances. Although he only won two of his six aerial battles, Schlegel did well putting a body on Benteke so that he couldn’t get much power or accuracy behind his headers. He and Kyle Smith each had an opportunity to break up the play down the flank that led to the equalizing goal but couldn’t gain control. He played every minute of the match and finished with a tackle, an interception, and a blocked shot. Although none of his three long balls found their target, he had 30 passes at a decent 86.7% success rate. It was a strong whistle-to-whistle performance from the Argentine center back while Antonio Carlos works his way back from injury.
D, Kyle Smith, 6.5 — Playing as one of Orlando’s center backs for the first half and at right back in the second, Smith did well to limit D.C United’s game plan of whipping in crosses for Benteke. While he doesn’t rival Benteke in size, Smith still did well to make life difficult for the forward in the air. He won four of his six aerial duels and contributed four tackles and two interceptions before being subbed off in the 84th minute. Three of his seven long balls were accurate and one of his two crosses was successful. However, that successful cross was a secondary assist as it found Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, who then served it to Duncan McGuire on a silver platter. Smith also completed 74.4% of his 43 passes and picked up a yellow card in the 77th minute. He could have done better to stop the buildup to Durkin’s goal.
WB/MF, Rafael Santos, 6 — The Brazilian made his Orlando City debut and saw plenty of the ball, leading the Lions with 69 touches. His passing could have been a bit better as he only completed 69.8% of his 43 attempts. Despite playing out wide, Santos didn’t have many crossing opportunities, succeeding on one of his two attempts. He was credited with a key pass for setting up Wilder Cartagena’s shot from distance, and one of his four long balls was accurate. For the most part, he was solid defensively. While Ruan’s speed gave him trouble and he was spun around a few times, Santos finished with six clearances, four tackles, an interception, and won both of his defensive aerial duels. More time in the league playing alongside his teammates may help him better defend near the endlines to limit the kind of chances D.C. was able to create, and he’ll rarely have to deal with someone with Ruan’s pace.
MF, Wilder Cartagena, 5.5 — It was a decent, albeit unspectacular, performance from the Peruvian midfielder. His 45 passes were a team-high and he completed them at an 80% rate, while connecting on two of his four long balls. On the defensive side of things, Cartagena recorded a blocked shot, three clearances, two interceptions, and three tackles. He also committed three fouls to help slow down D.C. without receiving a booking. Cartagena’s lone shot of the match was a try from a mile out that was blocked. He did have some trouble in the air though, only winning one of his six aerial duels. There was a worrying moment where a penalty was called for a handball by him in the box, but he did well to tuck his arm behind his back in the heat of the moment and the right call was made after review.
MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 5 — The captain provided danger on occasion, but wasn’t able to deliver some of the game-breaking passes we’ve seen from him over the years. Pereyra had one key pass and no shots as Orlando’s offense continued to struggle for most of the match. However, he did set up a nice chance for Facundo Torres in the first half after a series of passes between the two. In 63 minutes of action, he had just 24 passes at a 75% success rate, completed his single long ball, and was inaccurate on his one cross. Pereyra helped out defensively with four tackles. Considering he had a middling performance with a rotated squad last weekend as well, he may just need some time to find how he can best pull the strings in this formation.
MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 7 — The Icelandic midfielder had a great game, notching his first assist as a Lion. Thorhallsson did well to not only get on the end of a cross by Smith, but also redirect it right at McGuire for the easy tap-in. He also had two shots of his own, although the one he put on target did little to trouble Tyler Miller. Although he could have been more clinical at times, he did well with the ball at his feet and was successful on all four of his dribbles. Thorhallsson completed 84.9% of his 33 passes, missed on his single cross, and had a tackle.
WB/MF, Ivan Angulo, 5 — Angulo was provided plenty of room to work with on the right wing, but ultimately wasn’t able to provide much of an offensive impact beyond good positioning and collecting loose balls. That being said, his only cross of the match was accurate and a key pass as it connected with Torres’s head in front of goal. He was successful on two of his four dribbles and had three unstable touches. Of his 26 passes, 76.9% of them were completed and he had a tackle, a clearance, and an interception on defense. The statistics won’t reflect his hustle up and down the wing to make himself an outlet if needed and get back defensively. Despite his speed on the field, he’s having a slow start to 2023.
F, Facundo Torres, 6 — Torres was often swarmed by D.C. players when the ball came his way. As a result, he often had to make quick passes and then sprint into a better position rather than dribbling. He had a good opportunity late in the first half after one such case of link-up play, connecting with Pereyra to weave through traffic. However, his touch was too heavy in the end and Miller was there to gather the ball before he could get back to it. His only shot of the match was a header in the box, but it lofted over the goal. Torres had one key pass as well, setting up a shot for Thorhallsson. Only 76.2% of his 21 passes were successful and he didn’t have any crosses or defensive statistics. Although he wasn’t able to bend the game to his will, Orlando’s best offensive moments in the first half usually involved him. He was subbed off at halftime for some rest before Wednesday.
F, Duncan McGuire, 6.5 — There aren’t many better things to do in your MLS debut than score and McGuire did just that. After a cross from Smith zipped past him, McGuire did well to stay alert and get in a good position to put away a pass back towards him from Thorhallsson. There was some disconnect between him and Torres early on, but it improved as the match went on and they teamed up for a chance right before halftime. Torres headed a great pass into space for him, but his left-footed cross was deflected out for a corner. He showed plenty of hustle while on the field as well, racing back to defend and contributing three clearances. He played every minute of the match, but his goal was his only shot and he didn’t have a key pass. In the first half, the team’s offensive struggles limited his touches, as they have for everyone who has played up top so far this season, but the game opened up a bit after Orlando changed formations at halftime. McGuire won three of his 11 aerial duels and had 25 passes at a 60% success rate. His goal overshadows some of the other aspects of his performance, but it was his first start and he will only improve as time goes on.
Substitutes
D, Robin Jansson (45’), 6.5 — The center back may have only played for the second half, but he was constantly involved, with 30 touches. His 63.6% success rate on 22 passes could have been better, but he had a team-high five successful long balls from 11 attempts. The Beefy Swede blocked a shot and made six clearances to help ensure Orlando left D.C. with a result. He also had a shot from a free kick designed to deliver a low cross for him to run onto, but the ball skipped along the field and he couldn’t keep from sending it into the stands.
MF, Martín Ojeda (45’), 6 — Ojeda led the Lions with three shots, but none were particularly threatening. He put two of them on target, but all three were taken from outside the box and didn’t force tough saves from Miller. His two key passes were also a team high, although not much came from the ensuing shots. While he only had 19 passes at a 73.7% success rate, and neither of his long balls found their mark, it was nice to see Ojeda take some chances and create some others. He also contributed on defense with a pair of clearances and clogged up some of D.C.’s passing lanes.
MF, Cesar Araujo (63’), 5.5 — Coming on for Pereyra in the second half, Araujo brought some stability to the midfield as Orlando aimed to keep its lead. He had 17 passes at an 82.4% success rate, was accurate on his only long ball, and had a key pass by teeing up a shot for Ojeda. Araujo also had three clearances, a tackle, and an interception to help Orlando’s back line. On D.C.’s goal, he overcommitted when Durkin seemed poised to shoot with his right foot, only to be out of position when the D.C. attacker cut back to his left foot. Although Orlando couldn’t hold onto its lead, Araujo helped Orlando handle a chaotic second half.
MF, Gaston Gonzalez (67’), 4.5 — The winger only had 13 touches and completed just three of his four passes in a performance that could have been better coming off the bench with fresh legs. Gonzalez committed three fouls and was not able to make an impact on offense, with neither of his crosses finding their target. However, he did win a foul in a dangerous position for Orlando by fighting for a loose ball with Ruan and had a clearance.
D, Michael Halliday (83’), N/A — The right back came on for Smith late in the match and had seven passes at an 85.7% success rate. He contributed a clearance on defense and shored up the right side of the field for Orlando. While he didn’t have a cross, he did well when needed for Orlando not to end the match empty-handed.
That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando’s second draw of the season. Let me know your thoughts in the comments and be sure to vote for your Man of the Match below.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Pedro Gallese | 31 |
| Duncan McGuire | 0 |
| Dagur Dan Thorhallsson | 7 |
| Rodrigo Schlegel | 0 |
| Robin Jansson | 0 |
| Other (Tell us in the comments below) | 0 |
Lion Links
Lion Links: 2/4/25
MLS transfer roundup, Americans in midweek action, court sides with USSF and MLS, and more.
Happy Tuesday, everyone. I hope you’ve had a better start to the week than me, as I’ve been fighting an illness and have been in the trenches big time. Before we get into the news of the day, let’s all wish Orlando Pride forward Simone Charley a happy birthday. We have lots of things to discuss this morning, so let’s jump right into today’s links.
MLS Transfer Roundup
As is usual for this time of year, there are a number of MLS transfer items that we need to catch up on. We start with a huge move, as the Columbus Crew have sold striker Cucho Hernandez to Real Betis for a fee that Tom Bogert says was for $16 million plus add-ons.
Sporting Kansas City had a busy Monday, as the club completed a pair of deals to start the week, signing midfielder Manu Garcia from Aris Thessaloniki, who will occupy a Designated Player slot. SKC also signed winger Shapi Suleymanov from Aris Thessaloniki, with the Russian under contract through 2026 with additional option years for 2027 and 2028. Finally, the Houston Dynamo sent $2.1 million in cash to the Philadelphia Union in exchange for midfielder Jack McGlynn.
Americans in Midweek Action
There are a number of American players who will be taking part in games during the working week, so make sure you have everything marked down on your calendar. Paxten Aaronson and Utrecht will travel to face Heracles in the quarterfinals of the KNVB Cup later today. Wednesday continues the theme of cup action, as Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan host Roma in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia. Thursday brings yet more cup action as Cade Cowell and Chivas will travel to the Dominican Republic to face Cibao in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Things then wrap up on Friday with Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus traveling to play Como in Serie A.
MLS & USSF Win Lawsuit
A federal jury has sided with MLS and the U.S. Soccer Federation in the antitrust lawsuit brought against them by the North American Soccer League. The NASL brought the suit against the two parties back in 2017 when the USSF denied the NASL’s application to be recognized as a Division 2 league. The USSF’s division structure provides a set of requirements that a league must meet in order to be classified as part of a certain division, and the NASL alleged that the USSF constantly modified those requirements in order to avoid awarding the NASL a Division 1 and, later, a Division 2 classification. Despite the ruling, the NASL is likely to lodge an appeal, which means that we probably haven’t heard the last of this.
European Deadline Day Roundup
The winter transfer window is now closed in the vast majority of Europe’s leagues, so let’s catch up on the moves that happened on the final day of business. Manchester City made a big splash by signing Nicolas Gonzalez from FC Porto for a fee believed to be around $62 million. Tottenham Hotspur signed Mathys Tel on loan from Bayern Munich, with the deal including an option to make the loan permanent at the end of the season. Aston Villa signed Marco Asensio on loan from Paris Saint Germain until the end of the season. Ben Chilwell has joined Crystal Palace on loan for the rest of the season. Finally, USMNT defender Caleb Wiley has joined Watford on loan until the end of the season.
Free Kicks
- Manchester United is concerned that Lisandro Martinez may have torn his ACL in the team’s loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
- Wrexham has revealed plans to build a new 5,500 capacity stand.
- Here’s an inside look at what it’s like to move on the last day of the transfer window.
That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 2/3/25
Orlando City reportedly nears deal for Marco Pasalic, Eduard Atuesta transfer reportedly stalls, Orlando Pride sign Prisca Chilufya, and more.
Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. It’s hard to believe it’s February already, but we’re only a few weeks away from Orlando City’s home opener on Feb. 22. To stay busy over the past week, I’ve been covering high school swimming, basketball, and hockey. Let’s all wish a happy belated birthday to Orlando Pride midfielder Viviana Villacorta, who turned 26 years old on Sunday. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.
Orlando City Reportedly Finalizing Deal for Marco Pašalić
According to Tom Bogert, Orlando City is reportedly finalizing a deal to sign Croatian winger Marco Pašalić from HNK Rijeka. A week ago, Orlando reportedly looked set to move on from signing the 24-year-old to focus on other targets as Pašalić was undecided on his future. However, Pašalić will reportedly join the Lions for a $5 million transfer fee, along with add-ons, and will be a Designated Player. He made 26 appearances for HNK Rijeka, scoring six goals and adding three assists.
Eduard Atuesta Transfer Talks Reportedly Stall
Orlando City is reportedly close to finalizing the signing of midfielder Eduard Atuesta from Palmeiras as well, according to Bogert. However, another report from Globo.com states that Orlando City sent a proposal to sign Atuesta, but Palmeiras was not pleased with the terms and has reportedly halted negotiations. You’ll need a translation tool for the full details, but the reported holdup is that the Lions prefer a loan move for Atuesta with Palmeiras paying part of his salary. Atuesta recorded four goals and added two assists in 41 appearances across all competitions while on loan with LAFC last season.
Orlando Pride Sign Zambian Forward Prisca Chilufya
The Orlando Pride signed Zambian forward Prisca Chilufya Friday on a three-year contract through the 2027 NWSL season. Chilufya joins the Pride from FC Juarez in Mexico, where she scored 14 goals in 48 appearances. Chilufya is the third Zambian player the Pride have signed within the last year, joining Barbra Banda and Grace Chanda. By adding another attacker in Chilufya, the Pride added depth to the roster after Adriana’s move to the Saudi Women’s Premier League.
Latest MLS Transfer Roundup
We had some big transfer moves across Major League Soccer to catch you up on from the weekend. The Houston Dynamo have reportedly acquired midfielder Jack McGlynn in a cash-for-trade deal from the Philadelphia Union for $2 million. The Union will also retain a sell-on percentage. In another cash-for-trade move, Sporting Kansas City has reportedly acquired forward Dejan Joveljic from the LA Galaxy for a fee of $4 million. Joveljic will be a Designated Player on a three-year deal through the 2027 season, with a club option for 2028. Minnesota United signed midfielder Hoyeon Jung from Gwangju FC, while Inter Miami FC added defender Maximiliano Falcon from Chilean side Colo Colo. The New York Red Bulls are reportedly close to finalizing a deal for center back Tim Parker to return to his former club after he played for the New England Revolution and St. Louis City last season.
Crystal Dunn Signs With Paris Saint-Germain
After announcing her departure from NJ/NY Gotham FC last week, United States Women’s National Team defender Crystal Dunn has signed a deal to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. It will be Dunn’s second stint abroad in Europe, as she previously played with Chelsea in 2017-2018. She was part of the squad that won the Women’s Super League title in 2018. Dunn spent the 2024 season with Gotham FC, scoring one goal and adding two assists in 23 matches across all competitions. She had previously played for the Portland Thorns, North Carolina Courage, and the Washington Spirit in the NWSL as well. Paris Saint-Germain is third in the Division 1 Feminine, eight points behind league leader Olympique Lyon.
Free Kicks
- Orlando City wrapped up its preseason training camp in Mexico. The Lions’ next preseason match will be a closed-door scrimmage on Wednesday against Atlanta United.
- Barcelona has requested an extension to the lease at the Olympic Stadium through the end of May to cover its final two home matches for the La Liga season against Real Madrid and Villarreal.
- United States Men’s National Team forward Ricardo Pepi has agreed to extend his contract with PSV Eindhoven through 2030.
- Arsenal crushed Manchester City 5-1 on Sunday and is now six points behind Liverpool.
- Heerenveen manager Robin van Persie was upset after match officials mistakenly allowed Fortuna Sittard to field 12 players late in the second half while leading 2-1. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.
- Former Real Madrid and Sevilla defender Sergio Ramos is reportedly set to join Liga MX side Monterrey.
- Marcus Rashford has agreed to join Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season. The deal includes an option for Aston Villa to make the transfer permanent.
- Adidas announced the official match ball to be used this summer for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.
Orlando City
Orlando City’s Minutes Played in 2024 and What That May Tell Us About 2025
A look back at Orlando City’s minutes played in 2024 may offer hints on what we can expect in 2025.
A few weeks ago I wrote about how the Orlando Pride were bringing back the players who scored all of their goals and played nearly all of their minutes from their amazing 2024 season. Subsequent to that article, the Pride transferred Adriana to a club in Saudi Arabia, blowing up the statistics I had cited, but still leaving the premise intact.
I was thinking about that premise when I saw an article on the MLS website about the biggest roster questions facing Eastern Conference teams, and saw a chart in that article that showed Orlando City is bringing back the fifth-highest percentage of minutes played of any club in MLS.
The Lions had 16 players who played at least 1,500 minutes in 2024 (including all competitions), and 15 of those 16 players are returning. There was a steep dropoff to the 17th player on that list, Felipe, who played only 505 minutes across all competitions, and then every other player played fewer than 500 minutes. Looking at this data purely as numbers makes it seem like there is a lot of continuity, and that a team that was successful in 2024 should be primed for success again in 2025. Here are all the players who played last year, their minutes played, and whether they are with the club in 2025:
| Player | 2024 Minutes | On 2025 Roster |
|---|---|---|
| Robin Jansson | 3607 | Yes |
| Pedro Gallese | 3600 | Yes |
| Iván Angulo | 3592 | Yes |
| Facundo Torres | 3580 | I Wish |
| César Araújo | 3357 | Yes |
| Dagur Dan Thórhallsson | 3335 | Yes |
| Wilder Cartagena | 3209 | Yes, but… |
| Rodrigo Schlegel | 2972 | Yes |
| Martín Ojeda | 2719 | Yes |
| Rafael Santos | 2704 | Yes |
| Nicolás Lodeiro | 2095 | Yes |
| Luis Muriel | 1929 | Yes |
| Duncan McGuire | 1875 | Yes, but… |
| Ramiro Enrique | 1796 | Yes |
| Kyle Smith | 1631 | Yes |
| David Brekalo | 1588 | Yes |
| Felipe | 505 | No |
| Mason Stajduhar | 479 | No |
| Jack Lynn | 287 | No |
| Michael Halliday | 194 | Yes |
| Jeorgio Kocevski | 155 | No |
| Shak Mohammed | 49 | Yes |
| Luca Petrasso | 45 | No |
| Abdi Salim | 26 | No |
| Yutaro Tsukada | 25 | Yes |
| Alex Freeman | 15 | Yes |
Aggregating all the minutes together we get a team that is bringing back 88.8% of its minutes, although not the player (Felipe) who wore number 8 on his jersey. However, there are two “Yes, but” players listed, and that is because both Wilder Cartagena and Duncan McGuire have injuries that seem like will keep them off the field for at least the opening months of the season. While the club’s timeline would put McGuire back in training around May or so, Cartagena’s injury has not been officially announced by Orlando City, so there is no timeline on the Peruvian’s return.
Cartagena and McGuire are going to be out for a while, so that 88.8% is likely inflated, and probably closer to something like 85%, if each player is only able to play around two-thirds of the season and we pro-rate their returning status to 67% returning instead of 100% returning. Hopefully they can play more than 67% of the season, but there is also the chance that each could play less than that as well, depending on how they heal, and reports on Cartagena’s status are less favorable even than that. As a result, it feels like 85% is still a high percentage, but please allow me to put little cold water on that idea.
During the 2024 season, the Lions scored 76 goals, putting 73 in the net themselves and benefitting from three own goals by their opposition. Facundo Torres was on the field for 66 of those 76 goals, scoring 20 himself, adding nine assists, and being actively involved in the buildup for many of the other 37. One player does not make an offense in soccer, and if another player had been out on the right wing, Orlando City still would have scored some of those goals, but after three years with the club and establishing himself clearly as “The Man” for the Lions, it will be a major change to play without Torres on the field.
Being that Torres played 3,580 minutes last season, there were few offensive lineups without him, and in fact, only five offensive groupings played more than 40 minutes together on the field without Torres, and those groups scored just three total goals:
| Attacking Group | Minutes Played | Goals Scored |
|---|---|---|
| McGuire Angulo – Muriel – Ojeda Lodeiro – Smith | 74 | 0 |
| Lynn Angulo – Muriel – Ojeda Lodeiro – Smith | 73 | 2 |
| Enrique Angulo – Lodeiro – Ojeda Araújo – Cartagena | 45 | 0 |
| Muriel Mohammed – Ojeda – Enrique Cartagena – Felipe | 45 | 0 |
| McGuire Angulo – Ojeda – Enrique Araújo – Felipe | 40 | 1 |
Of those five lineups, only the first and third could be used in 2025, since Lynn retired and Felipe left the club. Cartagena’s injury puts a crimp into the third, though if he does return healthy at some point in the season, I do not mind that grouping playing together. The lineup that played the most from this table is the first (McGuire, Ivan Angulo, Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, Nico Lodeiro, and Kyle Smith), but with Cesar Araújo as the first-choice defensive midfielder, I hope Orlando City does not have a lot of minutes when he is not on the field. It does bring me some joy to see a lineup with Smith in the midfield, though. He really is a “Smith Army Knife” out there with his ability to line up in so many different places.
I poured some cold water on the returning lineups and their effectiveness, but my expectation is that when the 2025 season ends and we are looking back, it will be an offensive lineup that did not play together in 2024 that ends up having played the most minutes in 2025. The most used offensive lineup for Orlando City in 2024 was the pairing of Araújo and Cartagena in the defensive midfield, and attacking midfield of Angulo, Ojeda, and Torres from left to right with Enrique at striker. I was not tracking the lineups in 2023 but I don’t think that lineup played together at all that season, yet by the second half of 2024 they started together in nearly every game, playing 928 minutes as a group and ending up +8 in goal differential.
There are battles taking place all over the field in preseason, and I expect that only Araújo, Ojeda, and Enrique can be confident that they have starting positions locked in for the offensive group. Angulo may as well, but I think we need to see more preseason lineups first. Multiple players will be eyeing the second defensive midfield role next to Araújo and an attacking midfield role replacing Torres, and it is possible that one or maybe even both of those roles will be filled by someone not on the roster right now, especially if Cartagena’s injury is a long-term one. The rumor mill is back on again about a wing player coming in from Croatia in a Designated Player role, but as always in MLS, nothing is official until it is announced by the club.
Orlando City also has a pipeline of young players the staff believes in and who may have shown enough improvement that they merit more first-team minutes. Colin Guske, a defensive midfielder, was selected to the MLS NEXT All-Star Game in 2024, so perhaps some of Cartagena’s minutes go to him. Tsukada played 25 minutes with the first-team in 2024 and made Honorable Mention for the 2024 MLS NEXT Best XI, and perhaps he has taken a step forward since last season. During the recent preseason FC Series match against Atletico Mineiro, the Lions started 16-year old Gustavo Caraballo out on the wing, and perhaps he is preternaturally skilled and is actually threatening to earn a place on the full roster, or perhaps they just wanted to see how he would do playing with full professionals in a game environment. First-round pick Joran Gerbet has also shown promise in the limited minutes we saw of him in the midfield.
Young players who have yet to play are easy to overhype and assume they are the next big thing, but at the same time, the club has shown belief in these players by signing them to contracts and investing in their development (except Gerbet, but rookies often sign during preseason camp once they’ve proven themselves worthy of a roster spot). We will know pretty quickly who the club really values once the games start, and it would be great if the talent pipeline is producing new starters or key reserves. Óscar Pareja’s history tells us he’s willing to give chances to young players, but as with Michael Halliday and others, the leash can be short if the performance isn’t sustained.
With the coming schedule congestion during the summer months, Pareja may have no choice but to rely on youth at times, as Orlando City will be playing in the Leagues Cup and U.S. Open Cup as well as the MLS regular season, and soccer in the summer months is a draining sport. At one point in July and August the Lions will play eight games in 29 days, or about a game every three to four days, and no matter how fit some of the starting players are, they will need a break in there to come off the bench at least once or twice.
At this point, we know that the team is bringing back a lot of players who played a good amount of minutes last season, but with two significant-looking injuries and one major departure, there are still a lot of questions around how those minutes will be replaced. A new Designated Player signing and the already completed MLS U22 Initiative signing of Nico Rodriguez may answer some of those questions, but I think there are still more questions than answers as of today at striker, winger, and defensive midfield.
Looking back at 2024’s minutes is somewhat instructive as to how 2025’s minutes will play out, especially with so many veteran players returning, but I think when the dust settles on the 2025 season there will be several players high on the list of minutes played who were not at the top in 2024. Between replacing the club’s all-time leading scorer, covering for injuries, and players improving or declining from last season, 2025 will likely look a lot different than 2024, even with so many players returning. Different does not mean bad, it just means different, and I am excited to see the lineups used in the next few preseason games and then to see the big reveal on opening night.
To paraphrase Rick Pitino and his famous quote about the Boston Celtics, “Facundo Torres will not be walking through that door. Mauricio Pereyra will not be walking through that door. Cyle Larin will not be walking through that door.” An Orlando City starting lineup will be walking through that door though, and I cannot wait to cheer them on.
Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links: 2/4/25
Seb Hines Has Decisions To Make For Orlando Pride’s Back Line
Lion Links: 2/3/25
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