Orlando City SC may have not had the most glorious of seasons in MLS play last season, but they captured their first trophy in the US Open Cup. They defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Philadelphia Union, then both Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC in penalties. They bombarded the Red Bulls en route to a final matchup with Sacramento Republic FC, a 3-0 win courtesy of Facundo Torres. This cup win qualified them for the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League. In MLS, they finished exactly at .500 with a record of 14-14-6, which just barely slid them into the playoffs. In the first round, CF Montreal ended their season in a 2-0 fashion. New DP striker Ercan Kara led the team in MLS goals with 11, while Facundo Torres scored nine, as well as four more in the US Open Cup. Orlando City will be disappointed with their MLS result, but winning a trophy mostly makes up for it.
During the off-season, Orlando City was among the most active, and effective. The addition of a third DP, Martin Ojeda, is undoubtedly the biggest signing of their many. The 24-year-old Argentine captained Godoy Cruz last season, scoring 12 goals and assisting 13 during the campaign. They also added another promising young Argentine in Ramiro Enrique. Enrique, 21, comes from Banfield and will provide some high quality depth for Orlando. Icelandic midfielder Dagur Dan Thorhallsson is a 21-year-old that will provide depth in the center of midfield. Also, fullback Rafael Santos will join from Brazil's Cruzeiro. Along with these transfers from abroad, Orlando acquired fullback Luca Petrasso right at the conclusion of the 2022 season, and Felipe Martins jumped onboard from Austin FC not long after. Orlando City did lose a few players, most notably Junior Urso and Ruan, who were both starters. Urso returned to his home country of Brazil to play with Coritiba, and Ruan was traded to DC United in exchange for the second overall draft pick, Duke Blue Devils forward Shakur Mohammed. Andres Perea joined the Philadelphia Union, while Joao Moutinho, their starting left-back, now plays for Serie A's Spezia. Jake Mulraney moved across the pond to Ireland's St. Patrick's Athletic. Benji Michel transferred away from OCSC after 118 appearances, and has already since scored a goal for Arouca in Portugal. In the expansion draft, St.Louis City SC selected Nicholas Gioacchini with the first pick in the MLS Expansion Draft. Tesho Akindele retired and now works in real estate.
Orlando City SC is among the most talented and exciting rosters in MLS. The young stars all across the board, in conjunction with an experienced back-line, could make for a dangerous team. These off-season acquisitions have a chance to patch up some of Orlando's inconsistencies that they suffered during the 2022 MLS season. Starting from the back, Pedro Gallese will of course be at goalkeeper. Kyle Smith and Michael Halliday will compete for the right-back spot, and Rafael Santos should play on the left. Robin Jansson and Antonio Carlos are locked in CB starters, while Rodrigo Schlegel will be the depth option. The midfield is comprised of Cesar Araujo, either Wilder Cartagena or new signing Thorhallsson, and DP Mauricio Pereyra. Facundo Torres and Martin Ojeda will cover the wings, with Ercan Kara up top. Ivan Angulo, Gaston Gonzalez, Ramiro Enrique, and Shak Mohammed are all options on the bench, which means Orlando probably has the best attacking depth in the league. Their entire team feels complete and holes are truly hard to find, meaning that there is no reason why Orlando City should not be competing for it all at the end of the season.
Projected XI:
GK: Gallese
DEF: Santos, Jansson, Carlos, Smith
MID: Araujo, Cartagena, Pereyra
FWD: Torres, Ojeda, Kara
Off-Season Grade: A
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