Oscar Pareja’s Orlando City has been breaking records left and right in 2020.
Their nine-game unbeaten run ranks as both a club-best and the most of any team in Major League Soccer this season. They have reached 29 points in just 15 games, comfortably beating out 2017’s previous mark of 19 matchdays. They lead the Eastern Conference with 28 goals scored and have yet to lose at Exploria Stadium this calendar year.
That they have done all of this while being ravaged by injuries is nothing short of remarkable. João Moutinho, Uri Rosell, Dom Dwyer, Tesho Akindele, Ruan, and Antonio Carlos are among those who have missed time with various ailments this season, and yet the Lions keep rolling toward the MLS Cup Playoffs and a potential Supporters’ Shield.
“It’s normal for sometimes that bug of injuries...comes during some phase,” said Head Coach Oscar Pareja at his weekly press conference on Monday. “It’s [a] part of our game and the competition that we would like to not have, but it’s normal in a very difficult competition and very demanding rhythm, but we’re good. We won’t talk about that as an excuse at all. The players have been working hard and the guys who are coming into the lineup, they’re doing a great job. That’s the way we face it.”
It would be impossible to call out all of those who have stepped in and kept Orlando City thriving throughout this year’s pandemic-induced condensed schedule. Pareja mentioned fullback Kyle Smith, who has appeared at both left and right back over the past month and led Orlando with an assist, seven tackles, and ten recoveries in Saturday’s 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls.
“In terms of the participation for some of the guys that have not been regular, like Kyle Smith, it’s not a surprise for me,” Pareja said. “Kyle is an excellent professional and has done a great job on being very diverse in the position that we used him and very receptive for us.”
Younger players have come in and excelled, too. Daryl Dike was the August MLS Player of the Month and has 4 G/3 A in eight starts. Benji Michel has five goals in all competitions and has thrived as a sub and as a rotational starter.
And 19 year-old midfielder Andrés Perea has played far beyond what his age would suggest. Perea has appeared in every game for Orlando City this year and has featured as a box-to-box No. 8, a press-and-destroy No. 10, a right-sided midfield player in a late-game 5-4-1, or, as he did for the first time on Saturday, as a No. 6 in Pareja’s central midfield double pivot.
“The capacity that Andrés has to range and to be active and be a participant of the game all the time, it just gives you the option to use him in different positions,” Pareja explained. “I’ve seen Andrés have a lot of growth in that defensive part and the way we organize those double blocks and he’s learning more and more how to do it.
“I think he can become an expert on the interior or even as an offensive player, and that for a player like Andrés is tremendous because that will open his opportunities to be seen in the national team. I’m glad that he’s absorbing and I think he is embracing that versatility and he’s very glad to play in any of those three positions that we have.”
To add to the injury woes, Orlando City lose their starting goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and important midfield cog Sebas Méndez to international duty for the next two weeks, an issue compounded this year by the increase in games and COVID-19 protocols. Brian Rowe, who started 32 games for Orlando City in 2019, will step in between the pipes.
“Brian has won the league, Brian has been a starter for many years and Brian is a solid player in Major League Soccer who has won big things,” said Pareja, in a glowing endorsement of his No. 2 keeper. “Brian has been very patient in understanding that we wanted to give consistency to Pedro [Gallese] for Pedro to adapt to the league. Although Brian hasn’t played, he has trained like the best every single day and I respect that tremendously from him. I don’t have any doubt that he will be there for us and it’s a luxury for me to have Brian on the bench and now to have him in the lineup is great.”
Whether it’s in goal, on the back line, in midfield, or up front, Orlando City’s entire squad has delivered when called upon in 2020. So far, it’s led to historic success.
