Pareja emphasizes defensive communication
KISSIMMEE — Although his plan to revive Orlando City includes a high-scoring offense, coach Óscar Pareja believes the team will find success this season by building from the back line.
When he coached FC Dallas, Pareja’s teams typically finished among the top three defensive sides in the league and he carried that focus to Orlando. As he builds his style with the Lions, the coach continues to focus on the backline, which he said will create a base of stability for the rest of the team.
“If you are organized and if you are a strong defending, you have a great option to win the game, but that doesn’t make you a defensive team,” Pareja said. “We would like to be protagonists of the game and ... our teams would like to have possession with purpose and be offensive and create chances and score goals. But sometimes being so romantic with the game, it just allows you to forget that you need to organize and defend.”
Orlando City’s defensive focus began in the offseason as the team added Peruvian goalkeeper Pedro Gallese as its biggest name signing ahead of the 2020 season. With the addition of two centerbacks — Rodrigo Schlegel and Antônio Carlos — the central core of the defense will have a different look this season.
The group will look to continue to improve after a 2019 season of improvement for the defense. After ceding a league-worst 74 goals in 2018, the Lions cut that number to 52 goals allowed last year, setting a club record for the least goals allowed in a season.
But that improvement still wasn’t enough to finish with a positive goal differential. The Lions closed the season at -8 after ceding five goals in the season finale. Although the team often shut down opponents to minimize their chances on goal, the Lions often allowed easy goals in the closing 15 minutes during a small slip in focus.
“We all knew that last year we dropped some easy points at home,” defender Alex De John. “I think that this year, we’ve definitely got to hone in on closing games out, and Óscar has been very adamant about that.”
Schlegel describes Pareja’s approach as being rooted in defensive basics. His style is