Orlando City

2023 Orlando City Season in Review: Rafael Santos

The Brazilian left back began his first season as a Lion inconsistently but settled into his role as the season progressed.

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8 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City was faced with replacing a solid left back in Joao Moutinho, who departed for Italy after the 2022 season. When Luca Petrasso was acquired from Toronto FC, many fans assumed the young Homegrown Player would become the Lions’ new left back. But Orlando City signed Rafael Santos to a two-year contract through 2024 back on Jan. 5 from Brazilian side Cruzeiro. The time commitment of the deal and the fact that the Lions committed an international slot to Santos should have been indicators that the club had high expectations for the left back. Indeed, the expectation that City anticipated he would fight for the starting spot was evident from the jump. Also evident was that the club understood Santos to be good in the attack, and the press release about his signing begged the question of whether he could stand up defensively against MLS competition.

“Rafael is a technically gifted left back, has great touch on the ball, and creates danger in the attacking third with his crossing and set piece abilities,” Orlando City Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in the club’s press release about the signing. “He brings experience from the first division in Brazil and is someone we expect to provide competition in that position within our team.”

Let’s take a look back at the Brazilian defender’s first year with Orlando City.

Statistical Breakdown

Santos appeared in 26 of Orlando City’s 34 regular-season matches in 2023, starting 23 and logging 1,994 minutes. He scored one goal and chipped in five assists, attempting 19 total shots but only putting three on target. He passed at a 79.2% clip on 993 attempts, with 13 key passes, 55 accurate long balls, and 17 accurate crosses. Defensively, Santos provided the team with 27 interceptions, 46 tackles, 40 clearances, and three blocks, while winning 58.4% of his duels but surprisingly (given his decent height) only 28.2% of his headed duels. Santos committed 17 fouls on the season, drew eight on his opponents, and was shown three yellow cards.

The Brazilian fullback started all three of Orlando City’s playoff matches, logging 233 minutes of action. He did not have a goal contribution, attempting two shots but not putting either on frame. His passing rate was slightly lower than the regular season (75.4%), but he contributed one key pass and two successful long balls. However, he did not record a single accurate cross in the postseason. Defensively, Santos chipped in a tackle, four interceptions, and eight clearances, winning just 42.9% of his duels but 57.1% of his headed duels. He did not commit a foul or draw one, but he still picked up one yellow card.

Santos made one appearance in the Lions’ first foray into Concacaf Champions League, playing 26 minutes off the bench in the 1-1 home draw against Tigres on March 15. He did not have a goal contribution or attempt a shot, completing all of his passes in his limited action. He lost his only duel in the match, did not commit or draw a foul, and was not booked.

In Leagues Cup, Santos started all three of the Lions’ matches, playing all 270 available minutes. He did not record a goal and attempted only one shot (off target), but chipped in an assist on two key passes. Defensively, he won nine of his 20 duels (45%). Santos conceded three fouls, drew one on his opponents, and earned one yellow card. He scored on his penalty attempt against the Houston Dynamo following the 1-1 draw in the group stage opener on July 21, helping Orlando City claim the penalty shootout, 5-4.

Santos started Orlando’s U.S. Open Cup match at Charlotte on May 9, playing the full 90 minutes. He did not have a goal contribution and put neither of his two shots on target, passing at just a 63% success rate without a key pass. He did not record a tackle, lost all four of his duels, did not concede or draw a foul, and was not booked.

Best Game

Several standout matches come to mind when looking back at Santos’ first season with Orlando. He performed well against Colorado on June 10, against Chicago on July 1, versus Toronto on July 4, and Montreal on Sept. 30. All were standout games for the left back, but I’m going with his performance at home in a 3-2 home win over the New England Revolution on Oct. 7 — a night in which the Lions clinched the second spot in the Eastern Conference.

Santos was a force that night, earning two assists in the game. With Orlando City already up 1-0 on a Duncan McGuire goal, Santos took a Wilder Cartagena pass and slipped Ivan Angulo in behind the defense. Angulo then made a good cross for Facundo Torres to lash home, making it 2-0 and giving the Brazilian defender the secondary assist on a great team goal.

Santos then helped push the lead back to two goals after an uncharacteristic Pedro Gallese mistake allowed Carles Gil to cut the lead to 2-1. The Brazilian blazed down the left flank to get onto a long pass from Mauricio Pereyra and slipped the ball to Angulo, whose shot took a deflection and went in to make it 3-1 just before halftime and only three minutes after Gil put the Revs on the board. This time, it was a primary assist for Santos.

The Lions held on from there.

It was a great night for the fullback, who passed at a 95% success rate on 40 passes, attempted a season-high four shots (although none were on target), made two key passes, did not commit (or draw) a foul, won two of his four duels (50%), and recorded a tackle, an interception, and two dribbles. Our Nic Josey gave Santos a 7 out of 10 rating in our Player Grades piece.

2023 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Santos a composite rating of 6.5 out of 10 for his first season with Orlando City. The Brazilian started slowly, as often happens with a player at a new club in a new country, but settled in nicely and was a solid performer, especially in the second half of the season. It would be nice to see the club take advantage of his crossing skills more as he matures.

2024 Outlook

Santos is under contract for 2024, so the expectation is that he will be the starter from the start of the season. He should carry with him the confidence of his good second half of the year, and with Robin Jansson continuing to play beside him, he should be able to avoid the inconsistency he showed early in the 2023 season when Petrasso was injured and he was pushed into the starting lineup. He’ll be 26 in February, so Santos is still in the prime years of his career and, as such, could develop his game even further to improve upon a good first year in the City Beautiful.

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