Orlando City set plenty of club records last season with head coach Oscar Pareja and star player Facundo Torres leading the way, and the Eastern Conference club will be eager to do more of the same in 2024.
The Lions soared to new heights in 2023, setting new records for points (63), wins (18) and goals scored (55) while achieving a second place finish in the East, their highest-ever finish since joining as an expansion side in 2015.
The Lions haven’t been major players in the winter transfer window, and that’s because they haven’t really needed to. The Orlando front office has kept together the core of the squad that bowed out of MLS Cup playoffs in the conference semifinals to eventual winners Columbus Crew, while also signing Pareja to a new contract.
Here’s everything you need to know about Orlando City ahead of the 2024 MLS season.
Transfers In
|
Player |
Former Club |
Fee |
|---|---|---|
|
Nicolas Lodeiro |
Seattle Sounders |
Free transfer |
|
Ivan Angulo |
Palmeiras |
Loan made permanent – $1.5m |
|
Junior Urso |
Coritiba |
Free transfer |
Transfers out
|
Player |
Club Joined |
Fee |
|---|---|---|
|
Duncan McGuire |
Blackburn Rovers |
Loan |
|
Gaston Gonzalez |
Nacional |
Loan |
|
Luca Petrasso |
Triestina |
Loan |
|
Antonio Carlos |
Fluminense |
$480k |
|
Mauricio Pereyra |
Nacional |
Free transfer |
Orlando boss Pareja rarely strayed from his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, which brought great stability on both ends of the pitch as Orlando remained in the top fix for goals scored and the top four for goals conceded.
Pareja’s side didn’t look to dominate possession like other teams, as they averaged a respectable 50.3% possession (11th-highest in MLS) during the regular season, looking to soak up pressure and hit teams on the counter. The Lions were able to perfect this to a tee with the pace the likes of Torres, Martin Ojeda and Ivan Angulo have available.
Pareja’s system calls for the wide player getting in on the goalscoring action, with each playing their part in 2023 as the three players previously listed combined for 26 goals. Anther key cog in the attack was Mauricio Pereyra, who departed the team to sign for boyhood club Nacional in Uruguay. Orlando moved to bring in Seattle Sounders legend Nicolas Lodeiro, who notched 10 assists last term, to replace Pereyra as the team’s new creative outlet.
With Lodeiro running the show in the final third, Cesar Araujo is set to defend the backline alongside Wilder Cartagena, who was signed permanently from…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at 90min EN…