Orlando City Signs Ivan Angulo through 2025 on Permanent Transfer

Orlando City SC completed another bit of important club business today with the announcemen that the Lions have added Colombian winger Ivan Angulo on a permanent transfer from Brazil Serie A club Palmeiras. Angulo’s new contract runs through 2025 with a club option for 2026.

“Iván has been so impactful for us these last few years, not only with his creativity in the attacking phase of play but also with his defensive pressure from the wing,” Orlando City Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He’s ingrained himself into the group since the moment he arrived and has been invaluable for us and we’re excited to have him here as part of our foundation for next season.”

The 24-year-old native of Tumaco, Colombia was originally acquired on loan from Palmeiras on July 25, 2022, signing a 12-month deal with an option to extend it for six months. After a successful half season for the Lions, in which Angulo became an integral part of the club’s press and counterattack and helped Orlando City win the 2022 U.S. Open Cup, the club exercised the option to keep him in Orlando through the end of the 2023 season. Now his services have been secured just as he’s entering the prime of his career.

During Angulo’s first six months with Orlando City in 2022 he made nine appearances during the Major League Soccer regular season, with five of those coming as a starter, and logged 551 minutes. He took 14 shots, putting five on target but did not score a goal. He passed with 86.3% accuracy on 153 attempts, finishing with three assists. On the defensive side of things, he made seven tackles and recorded five interceptions and one clearance. Angulo was fouled four times, committed four fouls of his own, and received one yellow card in 2022.

He made an appearance in Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup championship match as a starter, logging 83 minutes on the field, taking one shot, passing with 71.4% accuracy, and recording two interceptions. Angulo also got a start with Orlando City B in MLS NEXT Pro against Rochester New York FC, playing 82 minutes. In that game, he scored a goal, had four shots, and passed with 65.2% accuracy.

Angulo played in every game in all competitions in 2023. This includes an appearance in all 34 regular-season games (29 starts) in which he recorded 2,499 minutes. The Colombian put 15 of his 45 shots on target (33.3%) and scored five goals. He completed 642 of his 776 pass attempts (82.7%), which included 19 key passes and eight assists. Defensively, Angulo had 29 tackles, 12 clearances, 17 interceptions, and three blocks. He drew 30 fouls, committed 20 fouls, and was booked five times.

He started all three playoff games, playing 238 minutes. He put four of his 10 shots on target (40%), scoring one goal. While he didn’t record any assists, Angulo completed 89 of his 97 pass attempts (91.8%), including five key passes. The attacking player contributed three tackles and one interception defensively, drew one foul, and committed two fouls but wasn’t booked.

Angulo started both Concacaf Champions League games against Tigres UANL, recording 137 minutes. He only took two shots, putting one on target (50%), and didn’t score any goals. He completed 12 of his 19 pass attempts (63.2%) without any key passes or assists. He drew seven fouls, committed two, and wasn’t issued any cards.

In the first year of the redesigned Leagues Cup, Angulo started all three games for 250 minutes of action. Three of his five shots were on target (60%), but he didn’t score. He completed 68 of his 81 passes (84%) without any key passes or assists. He drew three fouls and committed five fouls with one booking.

A regular starter in the other competitions, Angulo came off the bench in the team’s lone U.S. Open Cup game against Charlotte FC, playing the final 29 minutes. He took three shots without putting any on target and completed 16 of his 17 pass attempts (94.1%) without any assists. He also didn’t commit or draw any fouls.

Angulo was a major part of Orlando City’s success in 2023, scoring his first goal for the Lions when he struck for the game-winning goal against the Philadelphia Union on March 25. That win snapped Philadelphia’s 24-game home unbeaten streak (19-0-5).

What It Means for Orlando City

Angulo is a player who brings speed and defensive pressure to the Orlando City lineup. It would have been difficult to replace his combination of quickness, top-end speed, and tenacity, and ultimately Muzzi found a way to secure his services, avoiding the need to find such a replacement.

The Mane Land staff gave Angulo a composite rating of 6.5 out of 10 his first half season in Orlando and he earned the same score for 2023, although it’s safe to say that he played better this past season. Some of his decision making in the final third and his quality with his shot or final pass have been lacking, but he definitely increased his production in his first full season with Orlando City. Even one more small step forward in his development would be sufficient to place him among the best wing players the Lions have had since jumping to MLS.

It’s obvious that Oscar Pareja loves what Angulo brings to his squad, as the Colombian was able to stay in the starting lineup, keeping Designated Player Martin Ojeda on the substitutes’ bench. This is a positive move for the Lions to maintain continuity in the attack entering 2024. It will be interesting to see if Angulo’s productivity in 2023 can be duplicated or even improved upon now that he’s here on a permanent transfer. He was a player who has struggled to find goals in the past, so if he can contribute between six and 10 annually, it’ll give a huge boost to Orlando City’s offense. Meanwhile, he’ll continue to be able to continue forcing turnovers in the attacking half and tracking back with his speed to help break up opposing teams’ counterattacks.

The club has now secured the permanent transfers of both Angulo and Wilder Cartagena. The priorities now for this off-season will be landing a central attacking midfielder to replace Mauricio Pereyra — something reportedly close to happening with the potential arrival of Nico Lodeiro — a center back to replace Antonio Carlos, and an additional striker.