Orlando City
2023 Orlando City Season in Review: Antonio Carlos
The starting center back missed a good chunk of the season due to injury but was his normal self when available.
Orlando City signed Brazilian center back Antonio Carlos on a one-year loan from Palmeiras in Brazil’s Serie A on Dec. 30, 2019. Carlos became an instant starter on Orlando’s back line and the Lions made his acquisition permanent on Dec. 1, 2020, inking him to a three-year contract through 2023 with an option year for 2024. The Brazilian has been a standout defender during his time in Orlando, which is seemingly about to come to a close this off-season (more on that below), although he has missed some time due to injuries.
Let’s take a look back at his 2023 season.
Statistical Breakdown
The Rio de Janeiro native appeared in 18 regular-season matches in 2023 (16 starts), logging 1,410 minutes — his lowest totals of games, starts, and minutes in his four seasons with the Lions. He scored one goal and added a career-high two assists, attempting 12 shots and putting a career-high six on target. His passing rate was a solid 86.7%, just a few tenths of a percentage point behind his last two seasons. Despite having two assists, Carlos was somehow not credited with any key passes on the season. Defensively, AC chipped in nine tackles, 16 interceptions, 71 clearances, and 13 blocks. He committed 19 fouls on the season, drew 11 fouls from his opposition, and was booked six times but was never sent off.
Carlos appeared in all three of Orlando City’s postseason matches but did not start any of them, logging just 59 total minutes. He did not score or assist on a postseason goal, attempting two shots but neither was on target. His passing rate was just 72.7% in those matches, and he had no key passes, but his goal in two of those games was simply to get rid of the ball to make Nashville reset and try to break Orlando City down to find an equalizer. Defensively, Carlos tallied two interceptions and two clearances. He did not commit a foul, suffered three, and was not booked in the playoffs.
As Carlos was injured coming out of preseason, he did not feature in Orlando City’s two Concacaf Champions League matches against Tigres back in March. He also did not appear in the Lions’ U.S. Open Cup game at Charlotte on May 9.
Carlos started all three of Orlando’s Leagues Cup matches, logging all 270 available minutes. He did not score a goal but assisted on Mauricio Pereyra’s 46th-minute strike against Santos Laguna on July 29. He also scored on his penalty attempt in the shootout after the draw against the Houston Dynamo on July 21, helping the Lions claim the upper hand in the group. He attempted one shot in the competition, but it was off target. He recorded three key passes and chipped in three tackles. He committed one foul and suffered four, but the one “foul” he was called for was a costly one, as it was one of the softer penalties that we’ve seen given since the Lions made the jump to MLS in 2015, handing Inter Miami a spot kick to go up 2-1 early in the second half on July 21. To add insult to injury, he was booked for a “hard foul” on the play.
Best Game
It’s an easy decision, because it was the game in which he scored his only goal of the season, but I’m going with Orlando City’s 2-1 road win over Atlanta United on July 15 because of his two-way play in that match. Caleb Wiley opened the scoring for the hosts in the 22nd minute, but Carlos pulled his team level just three minutes later, matching his jersey number with a goal in the 25th minute. Pereyra sent in a great ball on a free kick and Carlos absolutely smashed it home with his head to tie the score at 1-1.
Carlos wasn’t done helping his team win that match. He contributed an interception, six clearances, and two blocked shots on the defensive end, passed at a 91% clip during his 90 minutes, scored on his only shot, and picked up a yellow card. He and his teammates helped the Lions hold down the fort and Duncan McGuire scored the game winner to lift the Lions to a victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. For his efforts, The Mane Land staff named him our Man of the Match.
2023 Final Grade
The Mane Land staff awarded Carlos a solid composite rating of 7 out of 10 for his overall 2023 performance. This is slightly below his 2020 grade of 7.5, a full point below his best season grade of 8 in 2021, and on par with his 7 out of 10 last year. Carlos was solid, but his injuries early and later in the season perhaps kept him from peaking or finding a consistently high level that we’ve seen at times during his MLS career, when he’s been on the cusp of being a Best XI-type defender. There’s no doubt that when healthy and in rhythm, he’s the club’s best center back, but those two things have been issues over his last two years in Orlando.
2024 Outlook
Although the club holds an option year for 2024 on Carlos’ contract, and indeed has exercised that option, Orlando City has already announced in its year-end roster status update that it is in negotiations for a potential transfer of the center back. Reports surfaced in the second half of the season about Brazilian side Fluminense making a play for his services and perhaps Carlos would like to return home at this stage of his career (he’ll turn 31 in March), especially after sustaining some injuries in recent years. Carlos plays hard, and that can take a toll on the body, especially beyond age 30 in a physical position like the one he plays. I expect a transfer to be completed soon, but it’s fair to say he’s one of the best, if not the very best, central defenders to wear purple in the club’s MLS era. He will be missed when he goes, whether that’s this winter or later, if a deal can’t be finalized.