Orlando City
2023 Orlando City Season in Review: Felipe
The veteran central midfielder added some grit and guile to Orlando City’s lineup in 2023.
Orlando City signed Felipe Martins, known primarily in the soccer world as just Felipe, to a one-year contract with an option year for 2024. Felipe spent the previous season at Austin FC, but his option was declined. Prior to that, he played with CF Montreal, the New York Red Bulls, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and D.C. United. The defensive midfielder is a well-known practitioner of the dark arts of soccer and brought that joyfully malicious attitude to Orlando City. It turns out that’s a lot more fun when he’s on your team than when he’s one of the opponents.
Let’s take a look at the veteran’s first season with Orlando City.
Statistical Breakdown
Felipe appeared in 16 regular-season matches, starting six, and playing a total of 560 minutes. He scored no goals on nine shots with three on target. Felipe did provide an assist, one successful cross, and three key passes. He completed 305 of his 355 total passes (85.9%), and was accurate on 15 long balls. Defensively, he made eight interceptions, won 48.2% of his duels, logged six tackles, and won 21.4% of his headed duels. Felipe also committed six fouls, suffered 11 fouls, and earned three yellow cards.
The 33-year-old made one appearance in the MLS playoffs as a substitute and only logged two minutes. Felipe did not score a goal, take a shot, or provide an assist He only attempted one pass which was not successful. Defensively, he won 100% of his duels, committed no fouls, suffered no fouls, and was not booked.
Felipe made one appearance in Leagues Cup play in the 3-1 loss to Inter Miami. He did not start and came on for 10 minutes. He passed at a 93.8% rate, lost one duel, and suffered one foul. Felipe did not make an appearance in the U.S. Open Cup.
However, the Brazilian did make one appearance off the bench in the Concacaf Champions League, playing six minutes in Orlando City’s 0-0 draw at Tigres. He completed 100% of his passes, recorded one tackle, drew two fouls, and won three duels.
Felipe made one appearance for Orlando City B in MLS NEXT Pro. He played all 90 minutes in the 5-4 loss to New England Revolution II. In that match, he did not score a goal but had one shot that was on target, and provided one assist. He passed at an 86.4% rate with eight (!) key passes. Defensively, he made one tackle, won three of four duels (75%), committed one foul, suffered one foul, and was not booked.
Best Game
Felipe’s best match was the 3-1 loss to the New England Revolution on June 17. It was his most active match, as the defensive midfielder played 89 minutes — the most minutes of any of his MLS regular-season appearances — and got into the attacking end. Felipe took four shots, putting two on target, though he did not score a goal or provide an assist. He passed at a 76.9% rate and suffered three fouls in the match without committing any himself. He also was not booked.
2023 Final Grade
The Mane Land staff gave Felipe a composite rating of 5 out of 10 for the 2023 season. He was brought in as a backup for Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena, but once Junior Urso returned, he saw his opportunities for minutes drop off. Felipe is getting older, but he knows the game and can cause havoc in the midfield, and it’s good to have a veteran player on the squad who can slow the game down and break the other team’s rhythm and momentum.
2024 Outlook
Orlando City exercised the option on Felipe for the 2024 season. The biggest reason is that his salary was significantly less than Urso’s, whom the club did not retain. Felipe will continue in the same role for the Lions next season — a late-match substitute that can provide spot starts, eat up minutes when one of the starters is on a yellow card, and get in the heads of the opposition as the Lions look to close out matches.