Wednesday brought the news that Oscar Pareja is no longer the coach of Orlando City. Martin Perelman has the job on an interim basis, and while it’s always possible that he ends up with the fulltime job a la Roberto di Matteo after leading Chelsea to the 2011-2012 UEFA Champions League trophy, it’s more likely that the club brings in an outside hire sooner or later. As far as who that person should be, I’ve provided several names that I think should be considered in the search for the club’s fifth full-time head coach as an MLS team.

Filipe Luis

If you’re going to make a change, why not aim high with your next hire? The Brazilian was in charge of Flamengo from September 2024 to March 2 (more on that in a bit), and during his time in the big job, he guided the Brazilian side to the 2025 Copa Libertadores title, the Brazilian Serie A title, the Brazilian SuperCup trophy, the Campeonato Carioca (the Rio de Janeiro state championship), and the Copa do Brazil (the Brazilian U.S. Open Cup). They won four trophies in 2025 alone with him leading the team. A poor run of form to start the 2026 season left him suddenly and rather spectacularly without a job, as he was fired the day after the team finished off an 11-0 aggregate win in the semifinals of this year’s Campeonato Carioca. Regardless of recent circumstances, he’s rightfully regarded as a bright young coaching candidate, and his Flamengo team attracted global attention with a convincing 3-1 win over Chelsea at last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup before being knocked out 4-2 by Bayern Munich despite putting up a good fight.

His teams were built on pressing aggressively to win possession and quickly attacking once they did so. It would bring a more offensive style and would be exciting to watch in theory, but there would be questions about his ability to adapt to some of the league’s roster-building requirements and how the adjustment would be in moving from the most successful Brazilian team this century to a team in a smaller market with the restraints that come with it. On the other hand, I don’t have to tell you how deep Orlando City’s Brazilian connection is, so on the face of things, he’d certainly be a cultural fit. There’s also the fact that he played a number of seasons alongside Antoine Griezmann at Atletico Madrid. If the powers that be remain set on signing the Frenchman, why not bring in the man he won the 2017-2018 Europa League with?

Wilfried Nancy

Nancy spent two seasons in charge of CF Montreal, and another three leading the Columbus Crew. He guided the Crew as they lifted MLS Cup in 2023 and won Leagues Cup in 2024 and built a reputation for fielding attacking and free-flowing teams that saw players swapping positions and popping up in unexpected places in the attacking third. He parlayed that success into taking the Celtic job in December of 2025, but wasn’t able to replicate his MLS success as he lasted just 33 days before being fired.

While the firing alone isn’t cause for concern, as it was always going to be difficult to try to implement his dynamic and rather complicated style in the middle of the season, the circumstances in which he’d be taking the Orlando job are concerning. It would basically be the same as the Celtic job: taking over a struggling team in the middle of the season without the benefit of an off-season to fully coach your players on the way you want things to look. On the other hand, his familiarity with the league is certainly a plus, and when his preferred method of play works, it’s an absolute joy to watch. If you want someone with a proven track record of success in MLS, along with the trophies to boot, he’s your guy.

Eric Ramsay

Continuing the theme of coaches who recently became available, we have Ramsay, who is on the market after being fired by West Brom in late February. Before that though, he led Minnesota United to back-to-back Western Conference semifinal appearances in 2024 and 2025 and the semifinals of the 2025 U.S. Open Cup. Minnesota scored the sixth-most goals in the West in 2025 while conceding the second-fewest, and the team finished eight points back of the Supporters’ Shield-winning Philadelphia Union. Like Nancy, he wasn’t able to translate that success in Europe, as he only managed West Brom for nine games before getting his marching orders.

Also like Nancy, while that truncated spell in charge doesn’t concern me in and of itself, he’d be walking into a similar situation with OCSC, and that’s worrying. Would he have better luck implementing his ideas on the fly with Orlando? It’s difficult to say. That said, he does have a built-in familiarity with the league, which might help. Another point in his favor is his ability to have success with Minnesota, which like Orlando is a team from a less-heralded market. Only four teams had smaller payrolls than Minnesota in 2025, and the hope would be that he could provide similar results to an OCSC team that splashed some cash in the off-season but is still operating with less resources than the league’s heaviest hitters.

Jim Curtin

It’s been a minute since we last saw Jim Curtin in the dugout as a coach. He concluded a 10-year stint with the Philadelphia Union after the 2024 season, in which Philly failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. While he went out on a low note, the Union were generally successful with him at the helm, winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2020 and finishing as MLS Cup runners-up in 2022 and U.S. Open Cup runners-up in 2014, 2015, and 2018. Of course, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but there’s still something to be said for the way Curtin almost always managed to field competitive teams despite the Union’s steadfast commitment to operating with a budget that could perhaps best be described as shoestring. With that in mind, it could be very interesting to see what he could do when it comes to an Orlando team that would be operating on an increased budget from what he was accustomed to.

Of course, there are caveats here. Curtin was talking to the New England Revolution about their coaching vacancy in September of last year but walked away from the process citing family reasons, so is he even looking to get back into the game right now? There also aren’t strong recent results to lean on in the way there are with the three aforementioned names. That said, he knows the league and has demonstrated an ability to not just win, but win with limited resources.

When all is said and done, I’d probably rank the options in that order, although I’d be willing to swap Filipe Luis and Wilfried Nancy. On one hand, bringing in the Brazilian would show an exciting degree of ambition and belief, but it would be fair to have concerns about the potential whiplash from being at a club where you’re the biggest fish in the sea, to one where you’re more in the middle of the food chain. Nancy has won trophies and overseen scintillating soccer while doing it, but there’s a potential that he’d be set up for failure due to attempting to install a complicated playing philosophy on the fly. Ramsay also has a strong recent resume in the league and did so with a small payroll, but the same questions with Nancy apply to him. Curtin is more of an unknown due to the time that he’s spent away from the game, but he kept a miserly Union organization consistently competitive, and there’s something to be said for that.

There are likely plenty of candidates being considered by the club, and with it being so early in the process, it’s truly impossible to guess which way they’ll eventually decide to take things. There are certainly promising pieces on this roster, and if everyone stays healthy and gels, then who knows what this year will bring? Based on how things look at this exact moment though, whoever gets brought in is going to have a challenge ahead of them, and they’ll need to be up for the fight. Whether a hire is made sooner or if the front office takes its time, the only way out is through. Vamos Orlando.

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I’ve spent most of my free time this week getting some needed spring cleaning done before the weekend gets here. Kicking up dust while also dealing with all the pollen when I go outside probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but it’s nice to be productive. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando Pride Prepare for Season Opener

The Orlando Pride are set to return to action on Sunday against the Seattle Reign in what should be an exciting season opener. It will be a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal between the two, which the Pride won 2-0 thanks to a strong defensive performance and goals from Haley McCutcheon and Luana. Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on how the team’s preparations for the season have gone, as well as the expectations to fight for titles after failing to win silverware last year.

NWSL Power Rankings Ahead of 2026 Season

The Orlando Pride placed fifth in All For XI‘s NWSL power rankings before the start of the season. It’s a pretty fair ranking for the Pride in my opinion, as they were inconsistent last year but still managed to reach the semifinals in the playoffs. Whether or not they can stake a claim as a title contender may hinge on how well Jacquie Ovalle does now that she’s had time to settle in this preseason.

The Kansas City Current top the rankings, with defending champion Gotham FC in second and the Washington Spirit third. As for the new teams on the block, the Boston Legacy are down in 15th while the Denver Summit are in 10th. It should be an interesting season and I can’t wait for it to start tonight when the Spirit and Portland Thorns square off at 8 p.m.

NWSL Transfer News Roundup

The NWSL season is here, but teams are still bringing in some firepower to their rosters before things get underway. Gotham added Norwegian forward Guro Reiten on loan from Chelsea and she will join the club as a free agent once the loan expires, with that deal lasting through 2029. Reiten has been a force in England, recording 59 goals and 44 assists across 207 appearances and helping Chelsea win six Women’s Super League titles.

The Chicago Stars also strengthened their attack, sending $300,000 in transfer funds and $200,000 in allocation money to the Reign in exchange for forward Jordyn Huitema. The 24-year-old joins on a contract through 2028 and gives the rebuilding Stars an aerial threat to help fill the void left by Ally Schlegel leaving for the North Carolina Courage.

European Title Races to Watch Out For

While it may not be crunch time just yet for clubs in contention, it’s a great time to check in on how title races are shaping up across Europe. While it may take some intriguing results in Germany, Italy, and Spain for things to get interesting, the United Kingdom is rife with drama to look forward to. Celtic and Rangers are usually the contenders in the Scottish Premiership, but it’s Hearts that has a five-point lead with plenty to go. In the English Premier League, the title race between Arsenal and Manchester City may end up being dwarfed by a relegation fight involving Tottenham, Nottingham Forest, and West Ham. Wrexham is right in the thick of a tight battle for promotion as well. Don’t sleep on the title race in France either, as Lens is hanging around just one point behind Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 table.

Free Kicks

• The Portland Timbers signed 23-year-old midfielder Jose Caicedo from Pumas, inking him to a deal through the 2029-2030 season.
• The Columbus Crew traded Nigerian forward Aliyu Ibrahim to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for $250,000 in General Allocation Money, with another $500,000 headed their way if certain conditions are met.
• Mexican goalkeeper Luis Angel Malagon will miss out on the World Cup due to the injury he sustained in Club America’s win over the Philadelphia Union in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
• Chelsea winger Pedro Neto was issued a one-game ban for shoving a ball boy in his team’s 5-2 loss to PSG in the UEFA Champions League.
• Aston Villa and Porto won the first legs of their matchups in the Europa League’s round of 16. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest fell 1-0 to Midtjylland and Roma and Bologna fought to a 1-1 draw.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

The idea of this article is to make a point about points, because if Orlando City is not going to earn any, then at least we can write about it. The Lions are off to the worst start in club history after three games, with zero points earned after losses to the New York Red Bulls, Inter Miami, and New York City FC. The good news is that those three teams occupy places one, three and four in the Eastern Conference standings, so perhaps Orlando City was just dealt a difficult schedule to start the season, but those of us with eyes know the Lions simply have not played well for the majority of the three games.

The MLS regular-season schedule contains 34 games, so some quick math tells us that 91% of the season still remains to be played. The playoff structure for MLS is also incredibly forgiving, as 18 of the league’s 30 teams qualify for the postseason, and 16 of those 18 are guaranteed at least one home game. Plenty of teams over the years have gotten hot late to secure a playoff spot, or like Orlando City during the 2023 season, to go from a low playoff seed to a top one by winning nine of its final 12 games.

There is still plenty of season left, but while teams can and do get hot late, it is rare that they do after struggling mightily during their first three games. I took a look at the last three seasons, the only ones in which nine teams qualified for the playoffs in each conference, and the table below shows how many points each of the 54 playoff teams had earned after the first three games.

Only two of the 54 playoff teams went winless during their first three games (Charlotte in 2023 and NYCFC in 2024), and in each subsequent year the overall average points earned by playoff teams during their first three games increased. Orlando City is one of four teams in MLS that have yet to earn one point, though New England has only played two games due to one being postponed because winter storms delayed the delivery of the club’s new grass field.

The Lions will be fighting an uphill battle to become the third team to qualify for the playoffs after starting with three straight losses, but if they win this week’s game against CF Montréal, that would put them on the same trajectory as the aforementioned 2023 Charlotte and 2024 NYCFC teams, as both won the fourth games of their season on the way to turning their seasons around and eventually qualifying for the playoffs.

What that means, however, is that since the league moved to this new playoff format no team has started the season with four straight losses and made the playoffs. It is always cool to be the first to do something, but I think it would be much cooler if the Lions would go out and deliver a resounding — some might say impactful (think about it) — thrashing to the Canadian club.

If they were to defeat Montréal by at least two goals, they would jump over them in the standings, guaranteeing themselves to no longer be dead last in the entire league, which is where they currently sit. It will be weird to root against Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, and to a lesser extent Luca Petrasso, but I will be passionately rooting against players with “sso” in their last names on Saturday, unless Robin Jansson comes out of the tunnel like Willis Reed (timely reference) to help the Orlando City defense actually be fence-like and prevent some goals.

The early results from playoff teams from last three seasons will not have any bearing on whether Orlando City can turn its season around and make the playoffs for a league-leading seventh consecutive season, but it is instructive on how difficult it is to dig yourself out of a hole. Two teams were able to turn it around and make the playoffs, but eight teams (two in 2023, three in 2024, and three in 2025) started with three straight losses and finished the season out of the playoffs.

We will not know the fate of Orlando City’s playoff hopes until much later in the season, but we will know its fate against Montréal in just a few days. Hopefully at game’s end the Lions will have a one in the win column. Or, at least in the draw column, but preferably in the win column.

It is always the darkest before dawn, and with six straight losses dating back to last season, it is pretty much pitch black around Orlando City right now. I’d say that makes this weekend the perfect time for the Lions to execute a three-point turn.

Vamos Orlando!