Lions anticipate stronger start to this season
Last season was a mixed bag for Orlando City.
A second-place finish in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference is nothing to scoff at, but a slow start and disappointing finish squandered the potential the Lions had coming into the season.
A playoff exit at the hands of MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew was not the ending Orlando had in mind, and the Lions are approaching 2024 with the mindset to win it all. They bring back most of the same squad that ended the season among the best in MLS.
It took Orlando until May to find its stride, something that should not be an issue when the season kicks off Saturday versus Montreal.
Even in preseason, the squad has looked in sync.
“We could have gone further in some of the different competitions that we played in,” said forward Facundo Torres. “Playing two playoff games and winning those and then bowing out of the playoffs here at home left us with a really bad taste in our mouths.”
Orlando lost two key players from last season in former captain Mauricio Pereyra and defender Antonio Carlos but brought in key replacements. Defender David Brekalo from Norwegian side Viking FK should slot in nicely next to club stalwart Robin Jansson in defense. There also are some young defenders in the side ready to take the next step alongside Jansson.
“Wehavesomeyoungtalentsthere in the backline, which some of them have been with us a couple of years, especially Mikey [Halliday] and Thomas [Williams],” Jansson said. “They are developing and getting the time to develop into future starting players here in Orlando.”
But the biggest upgrade comes higher up the field, with Urugyuan midfielder Nico Lodeiro filling the role Pereyra held for the last few seasons. Lodeiro is a two-time MLS Cup champion and has also won trophies in the Netherlands with Ajax and with Botafogo and Boca Juniors. His championship pedigree is unmatched in the Orlando locker room and brings an additional level of experience that the club has lacked.
“It’s an honor to play with players of Nico’s caliber with his characteristics and his style of play,” said Orlando midfielder Martín Ojeda. “It’s a player that we look up to seeing him as a player on other teams. … We suffered when we played against him while he was playing with Seattle so to be able to call him a teammate now is great.”