Orlando City
2025 Orlando City Season in Review: David Brekalo
The Slovenian international switched from center back to left back for the majority of the season and performed well in his new position.
Orlando City acquired David Brekalo from Norwegian club Viking FC on Feb. 8, 2024, signing him to a contract through 2027 with an option year in 2028. The Slovenian was acquired as a center back, and primarily played there in 2024, but in 2025 he shifted over to left back, playing there for 77% of his minutes, according to my positional tracking.
Brekalo primarily partnered with Robin Jansson and Rodrigo Schlegel as anchors on the defensive line, allowing Alex Freeman to venture farther up the field than the average right back, giving Orlando City a different look than most teams. Despite being a natural center back, he acquitted himself well on the left side, and along with Iván Angulo, the primary left winger, they limited teams to taking only 12% of their shots against Orlando City’s left side during MLS play, as opposed to 18% against the right side of the defense.
Let’s take a look back at Brekalo’s second season with the Lions.
Statistical Breakdown
Brekalo participated in all four of the competitions Orlando City played in during 2025, starting nearly every match. He began the season playing center back but soon shifted to left back, and with the exception of when Jansson or Schlegel was unavailable or subbed out, he stayed at left back when he was on the field.
In MLS regular-season play, Brekalo appeared in 29 matches, starting 27 and playing a total of 2,402 minutes. Offensively, he scored one goal and added three assists, taking 23 shots and placing five on target. He completed 88% of his passes, with nine key passes and was one of the team’s most accurate players on long pass attempts, completing 68%. On the defensive side, he compiled 47 tackles, 28 interceptions, 121 clearances, and 13 blocks. He committed 36 fouls, suffered 31 fouls, and received five yellow cards.
Brekalo started and played the full 90 minutes during the wild card playoff game, completing the second-most passes on the team and passing at a 92% completion rate. He did not take any shots or contribute much offensively, and on defense he had one interception, four clearances, and four blocks, and he also earned a yellow card.
The Slovenian international played in both of the U.S Open Cup games, coming off the bench against Tampa Bay and starting against Nashville. He played a total of 112 minutes, taking no shots but completing 90% of his pass attempts. On defense, he totaled two tackles, two interceptions, and one clearance.
During Leagues Cup play Brekalo started each of the first five games, but unfortunately for him and the Lions he received two yellow cards in the semifinal, which contributed heavily to the blown lead against Inter Miami and the subsequent loss against the LA Galaxy. Prior to being sent off with a pair of yellow cards against Miami, he played 420 minutes, taking one shot and completing 86% of his passes. Defensively, he contributed six tackles, nine interceptions, 14 clearances, and three blocks, and he also received a yellow card against Pumas.
Best Game
Brekalo only scored one goal all season, a nice finish against Toronto in a game that otherwise is depressing to think about, so let’s not. Even though he did not score, I think his best game was against Charlotte on May 14, a game in which Brekalo had one primary assist via a pass to Ramiro Enrique and a secondary assist on Luis Muriel’s goal. He was dominant defensively with three tackles, two interceptions, and four clearances, and he showed his versatility by shifting over to center back to close out the game after Schlegel was subbed out. For his efforts he received the Man of the Match in our player grades and his highest game score of the season on fotmob.com, and I think that game was his best performance of the 2025 season.
2025 Final Grade
The Mane Land awarded Brekalo a composite rating of 6.5 out of 10 for the 2025 season, which is an improvement on the 6 out of 10 that we gave him for the 2024 season. When the season started, many expected that he would start in the middle next to Robin Jansson, but it turned out that while he would frequently play next to Jansson, it was primarily on the Beefy Swede’s left as the left back instead of to his right as his center back partner. Brekalo did not bring much to the offense, but he was solid on defense and provided balance for Freeman, who often was so far up the field that his average field position on whoscored.com was closer to the opposition’s goal than right winger Marco Pašalić.
2026 Outlook
For two seasons in a row it seemed like Brekalo would slot in as the starting center back partner next to Jansson, and in both of those seasons Óscar Pareja decided that he preferred the partnership of Jansson and Schlegel in the middle. At the time of this writing the club has not announced if it is picking up the 2026 option year for Jansson, and Schlegel is out of contract, but my hunch is that at least one of them returns for 2026, and it would not surprise me if both do.
Brekalo will turn 27 in December and is in the prime of his career. With a contract that runs through 2027, he will be back with the Lions unless he requests a transfer or a team offers Orlando City a good deal for him. The Lions acquired natural left back Adrián Marín during the summer transfer window, and deploying him on the left would allow Brekalo to return to center back, which would improve the central defense.
The Slovenian proved during the 2025 season that he is a capable left back, so the Lions would maintain that as an option, but I expect that the plan will be Marín on the left and Brekalo returning to the center alongside Jansson, Schlegel or a new signing. Pedro Gallese’s departure means it might be a much different-looking defensive group in 2026, but no matter how they line up, Brekalo will probably be a starter, and that will be good for Orlando City.