Orlando City reflecting on season positively
ORLANDO, Fla. — Just a handful of days after Orlando City's loss in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference playoffs semifinals, players and team officials have had time to reflect on the season full of positives.
On Wednesday, as players came onto the training grounds for their exit interviews, they had an overall hopeful outlook on the future.
Players like defender Robin Jansson also had conversations about their futures with the club. Jansson has a club option on his contract this offseason and said word about his future in Orlando “will be official in the next couple of days.”
On Saturday night, Orlando City was eliminated following a 2-0 result in extra time of the MLS Eastern Conference semifinals against the Columbus Crew. Orlando finished its best season in club history with 18 wins, placing second in MLS in points. Despite the earlier-than-hoped-for exit from the playoffs, the overall outlook on the future is hopeful.
“I wasn’t really able to sleep that night (Saturday’s loss to the Columbus Crew) because of the things that kept going through my head about maybe what I could have done differently,” midfielder Martin Ojeda said. “Today, with a cooler head, you move on because you realize that’s football. Football can bring some great things, but it can also bring some not-so-great things.”
The Lions were not expecting that outcome, Jansson said.
“This was not gonna be the end,” he said. “We had a goal to bring a Cup to Orlando, and we had that mentality and we didn’t want it to end. Now it’s time to accept it and move on.”
Despite the loss, Orlando City players are still able to compartmentalize it and recognize what they accomplished this season. Players like goalie Pedro Gallese, who’s been with the club since 2020, said they feel the team has progressed each year to the point where it’s becoming as competitive as it proved this season.
“When you look back at a season like that, even when you think of the bad things, you always have to think of the positive things, the good things that we did,” Gallese said. “We qualified for CONCACAF Champions Cup yet again. We were fighting in Leagues Cup, and overall, we were able to raise the level of this club — not just in the league, but internationally as well.”
It will be a short offseason. With CONCACAF set just after the New Year, players will return to their homes for roughly one month before beginning training again. Orlando City players generally said they’re hungry to come back and continue competing.
“We have to keep moving forward, as well, because that’s what you have to do — keep moving forward, even when things don’t go your way,” Ojeda said. “We know we’re strong, and we’re gonna come back stronger next year so we can take this club even further.”
The offseason starts in December for front-office executives. The draw for first-round CONCACAF Champions Cup matchups is set for Dec. 13. Orlando City will face an international opponent in a home-and-away first round.
Then on Dec. 18, Orlando City will participate in the MLS College SuperDraft, where the team has found a lot of young talent. This past season, Orlando selected rookie forward Duncan McGuire, who finished his first professional year with 13 goals.
It’s not clear who will make all those decisions.
Coach Oscar Pareja, General Manager Luiz Muzzi and Technical Director Ricardo Moreira have reached the end of their contracts with Orlando City this offseason, and negotiations in the coming weeks could bring light to the future direction of the organization.
