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2024 Orlando City Season in Review: Cesar Araujo

The Uruguayan midfielder turned in another solid performance in his third season in Orlando.

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1 month ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City signed Uruguayan midfielder Cesar Araujo on Jan. 7, 2022, from Montevideo Wanderers, making him the club’s first-ever MLS U22 Initiative signing. Araujo inked a three-year contract through 2024 with an additional club option year in 2025. The midfielder has since been moved out of a U22 slot.

The 2024 season was Araujo’s third in Orlando, and he continued to do the kinds of things that we’ve seen since he arrived and immediately seized a spot in the starting XI. Let’s look back at Araujo’s performance during the 2024 MLS season.

Statistical Breakdown

Araujo appeared in 30 of Orlando City’s 34 games during the regular season, starting 28 and playing 2,424 minutes. All of those numbers either set new or equaled career lows, but with more competitions — and more yellow cards — Oscar Pareja wisely got his midfield stopper off the field when he could, even beyond the two matches he missed due to suspensions for accumulation. The Montevideo, Uruguay native also missed a pair of games with an ankle injury. Araujo scored one goal, equaling a career high, and added one assist. He set a new career high in shots (25), but put only two of them on target. He passed at an 89.8% rate with 12 key passes, one successful cross, and 47 completed long balls. Defensively, Araujo chipped in 64 tackles, 29 interceptions, 20 clearances, and eight blocks. He committed 47 fouls, drew 70 on the opposition, and picked up 11 yellow cards but no red cards.

In the playoffs, Araujo started all five of Orlando City’s matches, playing 448 of the 450 available minutes. He did not score a goal, but he provided one assist, attempting six shots without putting any of them on frame. He raised his passing rate to 91.6% — his highest accuracy in three playoff runs — including one key pass, one successful cross, and 20 completed long balls. Defensively, Araujo contributed three tackles, seven clearances, and a block in the postseason. He committed four fouls, drew 10 on the opposition, and saw one yellow card.

Araujo played in three of Orlando City’s four Concacaf Champions Cup matches, starting two and logging 215 minutes. The ankle injury kept him out of the away match at Tigres. He did not make a goal contribution in the competition, attempting five shots and putting one on target. He completed 67 of his 82 passes (81.7%), including one key pass, no cross attempts, and six completed long balls on seven attempts (85.7%). Defensively, the midfielder contributed seven tackles, one interception, and three clearances. He committed seven fouls, drew four, and was shown one yellow card in the competition.

In Leagues Cup, Araujo started all three of Orlando’s games and went the full 270 available minutes. He did not score a goal or assist on one, attempting four shots without putting one on target. He completed an outstanding 141 of his 153 passes (92.2%), including three key passes, one successful cross on his only attempt, and 11 completed long balls on 12 attempts (91.7%). On the defensive end, Araujo contributed two tackles, two interceptions, two clearances, and one block. He committed two fouls, drew 10 on the opposition, and was shown one yellow card.

Best Game

The Uruguayan had a number of standout games this season. It’s tempting to take the 3-0 win at Nashville on July 17, in which Araujo scored his only goal of the regular season, opening the scoring 19 minutes in.

However, I’m going to select the game right before that one. On July 13, the Lions visited the New England Revolution riding a modest two-game winning streak. It was the first time all season Orlando City had posted back-to-back wins. To keep that momentum going, the Lions would have to do something they’d never done before — win a game at Gillette Stadium. Araujo’s performance that evening helped Orlando City do just that, as the Lions captured a 3-1 victory.

Araujo contributed on both sides of the ball that night, but Orlando City still found itself trailing 1-0 at halftime in its house of horrors on a Giacomo Vrioni goal as Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Rodrigo Schlegel lost communication defensively in the 23rd minute. Facundo Torres scored in the 51st minute to pull the Lions level, and then Araujo helped Orlando take the lead eight minutes later on a set piece. Martin Ojeda sent a corner kick from right of goal to the back post, where three Lions were waiting. Araujo got up and headed the ball down in front of goal, where Ramiro Enrique flicked it in to make it 2-1.

It was a smart play by Araujo, who was not likely to score from that position. By heading it in front, he gave his teammates a chance to make a play on the ball, and Enrique took advantage of the opportunity, giving the Lions a second-half lead. A late second goal by Torres put the match away, giving Orlando City it’s first-ever road win in New England.

Araujo’s evening went far beyond the assist. In his 89 minutes, the Uruguayan attempted a season-high three shots, although none of them found the target. He had one of his best passing performances of the season, completing 94.6% of his attempts, including his one key pass that turned into an assist and three successful long balls. Araujo completed six dribbles in the match, which was one shy of his season high. Aside from his contributions in the attack, Araujo chipped in three tackles and an interception, helping the Lions hold the Revolution at bay and retain the lead once they’d gotten it. The performance helped stretch Orlando City’s winning streak to three games, building momentum that propelled the team into the top four by season’s end.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Araujo a composite grade of 7 out of 10 for the 2024 MLS season. This is a step down from the 7.5 we gave him last year, although I don’t think he necessarily played worse than he did in 2023. Perhaps it’s a function of the team’s slow start and worse finish in the standings. It’s also a full point below the 8 out of 10 he received from TML in 2022. The midfielder played well and I don’t know that there’s been a lot of variation from him from his arrival, but opinions wax and wane, and perhaps the staff overall simply expects more in his third year. It would be nice if he’d chip in an additional goal here or there, but he at least attempted more shots this season. He could also cut down some of the unnecessary cards, earning a career-high 11 this year. If I’ve got a knock on him in 2024 as opposed to previous seasons, it’s that he conceded three penalties, although the one on Aidan Morris vs. Columbus was one of the softest shirt pulls given in my 10 years of watching OCSC at the MLS level. Pedro Gallese stopped Josef Martinez on one of those penalties.

Araujo was still a solid central midfielder, and his partnership with Wilder Cartagena has been essential to any success the Lions have had the last three seasons. The duo of Araujo and Cartagena limited opponents to the fourth-fewest shots against per match and the sixth-fewest goals per game in MLS in 2024, tying for fifth in MLS in clean sheets. Additionally, the team allowed just one goal in the run of play in the postseason and it had nothing to do with the midfield.

2025 Outlook

Araujo’s option year for 2025 was automatically triggered by performance metrics, so although he’s still under contract for another year, it is open ended on whether he’ll be in Orlando beyond next season. At just 23, Araujo is entering his prime years, but he is costly, as his budget charge of $675,000 in base salary and $714,000 in guaranteed compensation is about $200,000 above that of his more experienced central midfield partner. That said, he was the eighth-highest paid player on the squad, which places him in the middle of the starting XI (three players making more were coming off the bench in the second half of the 2024 season) and one of those starters making more was former Lion Facundo Torres.

Unless the club opts to break up the midfield partnership and go in another direction, or City simply receives a transfer offer too good to pass up, Araujo should still be winning fouls in the Orlando City starting midfield in 2025. A good starting central midfield pairing with effective chemistry is as important as a dependable back line. If the central midfield can pick up where it left off at the end of the season — and it might need to do so quickly if the club can’t replace Torres’ offense — the club should try to lock Araujo in with a new contract. The team is well positioned financially, after all. I am hopeful we will see fit to give Araujo’s final score a bump after another solid campaign in the Orlando midfield in 2025.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

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Opinion

Orlando City’s Lack of Off-Season Signings Starting to Become a Concern

The Lions’ roster hasn’t gotten any bigger in the last few weeks, so it’s understandable if fans are getting a bit antsy.

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10 hours ago

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January 30, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Three weeks ago I wrote that there was no reason to panic about Orlando City’s lack of off-season signings. It was early in January, and the club typically does a lot of its business throughout the first month of the year. Since then, the club signed Nicolas Rodriguez, but the Lions also traded Mason Stajduhar, and forward Jack Lynn retired. That is more subtraction than addition for a team looking to make it to the next level. Is it now time to panic?

The departure of Stajduhar hits Orlando City supporters in the feels given how long he was with the club, but one may assume the coaches have seen enough from Javier Otero to be confident in his ability to back up Pedro Gallese. The club still needs to bring in another keeper [Editor’s note: this story was written prior to the club signing Carlos Mercado this morning], but Stajduhar’s departure isn’t as big of a problem as it might first seem.

We don’t know how long Duncan McGuire will be unavailable once the season starts. Even if he’s back sooner than expected, Orlando City will still be lacking at the striker position. Ramiro Enrique has proven he can be a starter, but with Jack Lynn’s departure, there isn’t anyone behind him. While Luis Muriel is technically a striker, he tends to play further back in a facilitator role rather than as an actual No. 9. We haven’t seen any transfer moves for a new striker.

The Lions got a big influx of cash, thanks to the Facundo Torres deal. Replacing the goal production of Orlando City’s all-time leading goal scorer is a priority. So far, the club has brought in Rodriguez as an MLS U22 Initiative player. Despite the similarities between the two, Rodriguez is not a replacement for Torres. It is unrealistic to expect the young man to score double-digit goals his first year in MLS.

I’m not even worried about the attacking midfield. As I mentioned above, Muriel is best as a facilitator, Martin Ojeda is now wearing the No. 10 jersey, and Ivan Angulo can play on either side. It’s Torres’ goal contributions I’m worried about missing. Orlando City needs to replace that production sooner rather than later or another slow start seems certain.

I’m not going to address the Wilder Cartagena injury until we know more, but that is also potentially very bad news. That brings us to today. The team is already deep into its preseason trip to Mexico. This is the trip that in the past has been the time when the team truly bonds. Any players brought in at this point will obviously miss that valuable time.

Additionally, unless a signing is someone who has already played in MLS — which is incredibly rare for this front office — it is going to take them time to adapt to the league as well as the club and their new teammates. That brings us back to the real potential for another slow start to the season.

When you have roster turnover, the idea is to bring in players that are better than the players that departed. We know that the ownership is serious about winning. The 2022 Open Cup victory and the Orlando Pride’s two 2024 trophies are a testament to that. Now, it’s time to see that commitment with some substantial signings for City. In some ways, I feel the club has left it a little late, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.

I’m not saying it’s time to panic — though I won’t tell you not to do so — but I’m definitely getting a bit concerned. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/30/25

Orlando City reveals kickoff events, women’s transfer market grows, Tanner Tessmann named U.S. Young Male Player of the Year, and more.

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15 hours ago

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January 30, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

We’re all another day closer to the return of Orlando soccer and I can’t wait. I’ve been whittling the days away with reading, writing, and taking far too many photos of my cat. This month has flown by for me, and I’m not complaining too much about it. Let’s dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world.

Orlando City Announces Kickoff Events

In preparation for Orlando City’s 2025 season, the club announced various events before the season opener at home against the Philadelphia Union on Feb. 22. The launch for the team’s new primary kit will take place on Feb. 12 at the Canvas Event Venue, with fans in attendance able to get the jersey and meet players. Other events throughout February include a chalk talk, musical bingo night, and plenty of ways to get merch ahead of the season. However, the Purple Pride 5K is not listed, which is a bit disappointing considering it would have been the 10th annual edition of the event.

Analyzing the Women’s Soccer Transfer Market

American defender Naomi Girma’s move from San Diego Wave FC to Chelsea was the first to break the $1 million threshold for transfer fees in women’s soccer and The Athletic ($) dove into which players could warrant similar spending from clubs in the future. Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda was one such player noted. Banda did fantastic in her first season in the league last year, starred in the past two Olympics, and is still only 24 years old. Only time will tell if Europe can entice her before her contract in Orlando is up, but clubs would likely pay seven figures for her services. Americans Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman could also surpass that $1 million mark, along with NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga and Paris FC’s Clara Mateo.

Tanner Tessmann Named U.S. Young Male Player of the Year

U.S. Soccer announced that midfielder Tanner Tessmann was voted 2024 U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year after a solid year for both club and country. The 23-year-old captained the U.S. at the Olympics last summer and started for the senior team in both Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal games against Jamaica. A regular starter for Venezia last year, Tessmann scored in the promotion playoffs to help the team earn a spot in Serie A. He was then transferred to Olympique Lyon in August and has taken part in the Europa League. Tessmann received 70% of the vote, winning the award over Gianluca Busio and Niko Tsakiris.

Champions League First Stage Wraps Up

The UEFA Champions League’s league phase is finally over, with eight clubs already through to the round of 16 and 16 set to take part in a knockout round. Manchester City escaped elimination after a 3-1 win over Club Brugge that resulted in both teams advancing to the knockout stage. A hat trick from Ousmane Dembele lifted Paris Saint-Germain to a 4-1 win against Stuttgart and secure 15th in the standings. Aston Villa, Lille, and Bayer Leverkusen all won to clinch a spot in the round of 16, all three benefiting from Atalanta coming up short in a 2-2 draw with Barcelona. AC Milan lost 2-1 to Dinamo Zagreb in a match that included Christian Pulisic scoring and Yunus Musah being sent off. Liverpool’s perfect run came to an end following a 3-2 loss to PSV Eindhoven, but it still topped the standings.

While I found the new league phase to be a bit underwhelming, the knockout stage should provide some intriguing matchups. The draw will take place on Friday, but we already know that Manchester City will play either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich and Juventus will face either AC Milan or PSV Eindhoven.

Free Kicks

  • MLS Season Pass will broadcast a featured game with enhanced production on Sunday nights. It’s a solid strategy and hopefully it can catch on and become something fans across the country look forward to each week.
  • The Chicago Fire are set for a nice payday if Jhon Duran completes his move from Aston Villa to Al-Nassr.
  • Giovanni Reyna earned some style points for this assist in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/29/25

Orlando City’s cup competitions, Orlando Pride’s new home kit leak, NWSL’s top 2025 matches, and more.

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2 days ago

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January 29, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Orlando City’s preseason continues in Mexico, where the Lions played a closed door match against Canadian Premier League club Forge FC in Cancun on Tuesday. The club didn’t release any details on the match (more on that below), but the feature image is from the scrimmage. For now, let’s get to today’s links!

Orlando City Cup Competitions

Orlando City will compete in two of the four North American cup competitions in 2025. After a year away, the Lions return to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup along with 15 other MLS clubs and 10 MLS Next Pro participants. Orlando City will also take part in the Leagues Cup with 17 other MLS clubs and 18 Liga MX clubs. The Lions did not qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup, nor will they compete in the Canadian Championship for obvious geographical reasons.

Lions Remain Scoreless in Preseason

While Orlando City didn’t release any details from Tuesday’s scrimmage, the folks at TrueNorthFoot reported that the Lions and Forge FC played to a 0-0 draw in Cancun Tuesday. The photos released by the club mostly featured younger players, and it’s not surprising that the offense isn’t sharp at this stage, but at least the defense is doing well through two matches. The next scrimmage will take place Feb. 5 against Atlanta United.

Pride Home Kit Leak?

From now on, all Orlando Pride kits will have a star above the crest (or more, pending future results). Like many of you, I’ve eagerly awaited what the next home kit will look like. We now have a glimpse, if a leak from Footy Headlines is accurate.

ohwww.footyheadlines.com/2025/01/mass…

— andré (@838carlisle.bsky.social) 2025-01-28T15:14:13.357Z

I really hope that picture doesn’t convey how purple the kit is supposed to be. I’m also not a big fan of the crest in the center thing, but they don’t let me make those decisions. If the new kit doesn’t float your boat, you can pick up some previous Pride kits from the club’s official shop at a nice discount.

The Orlando Pride are Must-Watch TV

As the defending NWSL Shield and NWSL Cup winners, it’s not a surprise that the Orlando Pride earned three spots on All for XI’s Top 10 Must-Watch NWSL Games in 2025 list, including the top spot. The matches against NJ/NY Gotham FC, the Kansas City Current, and of course, a rematch against the Washington Spirit will certainly draw big viewership numbers.

NWSL Expansion Update

An official announcement adding Denver to the cities with an NWSL club is expected in the near future. Prior to that commissioner Jessica Berman hinted that there are plans to further expand the league. If Denver joins as planned, the team’s ownership will pay a record $110 million franchise fee. You can expect those fees to continue to grow as the league does the same.

Free Kicks

  • Remember Amro Tarek? He made 20 appearances for Orlando City back in 2018. If you don’t remember him, that’s all right since Austin FC supporters will almost certainly remember him for this fun fact.
  • Some pretty big names have left the NWSL for other shores. While the story includes the Pride’s Mariana Larroquette, she’s not quite the biggest name on the list, and she’s also only on loan until July 1.
  • The U.S. Open Cup has tweaked the competition rules so that teams must use primary venues when possible. If they cannot, the team will be on the hook for any differences in the cost to broadcast the match.

That will do it for today. Have a great rest of the week. Vamos Orlando!

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