Well, well, well. There’s finally a new face in the Orlando City SC dugout with the Lions announcing the appointment of Oscar Pareja as City’s fourth full-time head coach yesterday.
No stranger to Major League Soccer yet somebody a little unfamiliar to us, Orlando City UK listed five things you didn’t know about our new Colombian boss.
There’s one word that comes to mind regarding Oscar Pareja and that word is “specialist”.
Successfully steering FC Dallas to the MLS Cup Playoffs in four of his five seasons in charge at Toyota Stadium, Oscar Pareja also led Colorado Rapids to the post-season in 2013.
The holy grail as far as Orlando City SC supporters are concerned, post-season qualification is something that would give our entire franchise a boost.
Becoming Western Conference champions with FC Dallas in 2015 before leading Toros to the Supporters’ Shield and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title in 2016, Pareja will bring a winning mentality to Exploria Stadium.
Clearly Orlando City SC‘s number one choice given the delay in announcing James O’Connor‘s successor as Pareja completed the 2019 Liga MX campaign with Club Tijuana, there are some previous ties.
Oscar Pareja worked alongside Luiz Muzzi at FC Dallas for five years before the 51-year-old joined Club Tijuana in November 2018.
Pareja also coached current Orlando City SC striker Tesho Akindele in his time at FC Dallas, opting to play the Canadian international in the left wing position in Frisco.
Boasting six years of full-time coaching experience in Major League Soccer, here are five more things you didn’t know about the new Orlando City SC head coach, Oscar Pareja.
He’s nicknamed El Generalito (The Little General)
As far as war and battle metaphors go, Orlando City SC have been crying out for a headstrong leader to finally march the Lions to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
It’s quite appropriate then that Oscar Pareja is nicknamed El Generalito which is Spanish for The Little General.
Also referred to as Papi which is Spanish for Daddy, Oscar Pareja will hope these terms of endearment last long into his Orlando City SC tenure with City supporters learning to love him like FC Dallas fans did.
He plays an attractive brand of attack-minded soccer
The winningest coach in FC Dallas history, Oscar Pareja was involved in Toros‘ setup for approaching half his life.
Working with the Texan side for a combined 20 years as a player, assistant coach and head coach, Pareja has always been associated with a dedicated and committed style of soccer.
Enjoying an attractive brand of attack-minded soccer, this is never at the expense of defensive discipline with Pareja jesting yesterday that “a lot of energy” and “a lot of positivity” is the key to start winning 1-0.
And that’s what every fanbase wants, right?
Also revered for his influential role in youth development at FC Dallas, Oscar Pareja handed MLS debuts to the club’s current crop of promising young talents, including Reggie Cannon, Jesús Ferreira, Jesse González, and Paxton Pomykal.
This should hand hope to Orlando City SC‘s younger stars such as Benji Michel, Kamal Miller and perhaps even Josué Colmán who still has everything to prove in Central Florida.
He was one of the leading candidates for the USMNT job pre-Gregg Berhalter
Did you know Oscar Pareja was one of only two coaches to receive a formal interview for the current United States Men’s National Team position?
Eventually losing out to Gregg Berhalter, say what you will about the current state of The Stars and Stripes’ setup but Orlando City SC deserve credit for hiring a manager of potential USMNT calibre not so long ago.
His American dream almost ended before it began
Proudly Colombian yet somebody calling the United States a second home since first arriving in 1998, Oscar Pareja‘s American dream almost ended before it began.
Leaving his homeland to join Major League Soccer which was only two-years-old at that point, a 30-year-old Pareja suffered homesickness early on.
In a previous interview with FC Dallas, Oscar Pareja said: “When I came in ’98, after a few months I had the desire to go back home.
But an August 1998 trade to FC Dallas, then named Dallas Burn, steered his American dream back on track and changed his life forever.
Citing friendly locals and a culture he was more acclimatised to as key reasons for staying in Texas so long, Pareja’s love affair for Dallas and the United States had begun.
Making 176 appearances for Dallas Burn (FC Dallas) before winning the 2015 Western Conference title, 2016 MLS Supporters’ Shield and 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as a head coach, Orlando City SC‘s 2020 trip to Toyota Stadium will be highly emotional for Pareja.
He won 11 caps for Colombia and played in the 1991 Copa America
All of Orlando City SC‘s former head coaches have played professional soccer before and Oscar Pareja is no exception.
Wearing the colours of Independiente Medellín, Deportivo Cali, New England Revolution, and FC Dallas domestically over an 18-year period, Oscar Pareja also had the honour of representing his country too.
Earning 11 caps for his beloved Colombia, midfielder Pareja scored three goals and was also a part of Luis Augusto García’s 22-man squad for the 1991 Copa America.
Los Cafeteros actually earned fourth place at the tournament that was hosted in Chile, eventually being knocked out by winners Argentina.