Orlando City Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman
Opening statement
“First of all, I want to thank Mark Wilf, the owner of this club. The support he gave me this week was unbelievable, as well as the support from the Board. Ricardo Moreira has not only supported me now, but has always supported me. Of course, I want to mention Óscar [Pareja]. The way he took care of us this week made me feel proud of the culture we have here. He knows how much everyone at the Club loves him. To our players, the way they fight, the way they compete, the way they represent the jersey as it deserves to be represented, I am really happy for this group. They are something that needs to be honored. And lastly, the energy the fans brought was so nice, and I hope it continues to grow. I have been here for five years, I belong to this community, and I love seeing people happy.”
On the personal significance of tonight’s result
“To be honest with you, I only think about the players. I am happy for them; they deserve it. I am so grateful for Mark [Wilf], Ricardo [Moreira], Óscar [Pareja], the players and the fans. I am not thinking about myself. If I am being honest, that is how I feel about this victory.”
On the team’s game plan
“In 48 hours, you do not really have much time to give the players a lot of information. But the truth is, it was more than 48 hours. We have been working hard. We tried to be pragmatic and versatile. We tried to put a lot of energy into a difficult context and bring some happiness to our people. We embraced the situation and fought. But again, this game belonged to the players. They put in an amazing effort. This win is only because of them. They are the protagonists; they did it.”
Orlando City SC Forward Duncan McGuire
On tonight’s result
“Definitely a difficult week. All of us are sad to see Oscar [Pareja] go. Luckily, Martín [Perelman] is someone we’re very comfortable with and have a relationship with, so that definitely helped make this a smoother transition. We just said in the locker room that tonight’s win was for Óscar. I love the fight we saw from the boys tonight. From the first minute to the end, I think we gave it our all, and hopefully it’s the first of many.”
On his goal
“Marco [Pašalić] did a great job cutting in and drawing some defenders, and Iván [Angulo] was very smart to follow the shot. As a forward, you can’t ask for a better opportunity when it bounces off the post like that. So yeah, it was pretty simple, but it was a great team goal.”
On the team’s next steps this season
“I think we just build on the win. The boys showed a lot of energy and heart tonight, and now it’s about trying to replicate that every week from here on out. That’s the main thing we’re going to focus on, and that’s what we’re going to need if we want to be successful this season.”
Orlando City SC Forward Iván Angulo
On his speed and energy in games
“I’ve always been a player who has that capacity. I think it comes from the care I take with my recovery and nutrition, and my focus on rest and sleep. That really helps me maintain that level and help the team in that way.”
On the two goals tonight
“For the first one, I saw where Marco [Pašalić] was. He had the ball, and we know his ability to strike it with a lot of power, so I tried to stay aware and be in a good spot in case there was a rebound, and there was. I shot it, and unfortunately it hit the post, but Duncan [McGuire] was there to pick up the rebound and score. For the second one, with where I was in the box, I always try to find a teammate who’s in a better position. I was able to find [Martín] Ojeda with the position he had, and he was able to score. I was very happy to help the team in that way.”
On the team’s response to the coaching transition
“We’ve known Martín [Perelman] since he’s worked with Óscar [Pareja] for a few years. He knows us, and we know him, and it’s always difficult when situations like this happen. But Martín has been here already. We respond to him, and he responds to us, so I think this is going to be the start of a great journey together.”
