This past week, we asked Orlando City SC supporters on X to select their Orlando City SC Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year for 2025 as part of our annual Orlando City UK end-of-season awards.
A public vote designed to recognise the standout Orlando City SC players in our challenging 2025 campaign, we can now proudly reveal the winners as voted by you! Continue reading
⚠️ Warning: this blog comes with a disclaimer. ⚠️ Before you read any further, be warned – there’s a high probability you might upset yourself again as we delve into Orlando City SC’s 3-1 defeat at Chicago Fire in the 2025 MLS Wild Card match. Maybe, like me, you were already resigned to defeat – a feeling so alien in the Oscar Pareja era. How quickly times have changed! But it’s time for a final word on 2025 – a strange season that promised so much but ultimately delivered so little. When you rely on the same tactics, you often get the same results, and many supporters are now ready to call time on Pareja’s six years in purple.
I didn’t watch the game live – which is unlike me for such a pivotal game – but when I caught the eight-minute MLS highlights this morning, all I saw was wave after wave of Chicago Fire attacks. With last night’s win, Fire sealed their FIRST MLS Cup Playoffs appearance since 2017 – EIGHT years ago! While Alex Freeman, Martín Ojeda, and Marco Pašalić can hold their heads high this year, their individual contributions have sadly counted for nothing.
When the Wilf family completed their takeover in 2021, the aim was trophies. We got one in 2022, of course, but since then, MLS Cup has remained elusive. Moving away from signing international superstars like Kaká and Nani, the club has leaned on a low-risk, high-ceiling transfer strategy – a hallmark of Ricardo Moreira’s approach. Yet with the recent news that Orlando are attempting to lure Richarlison to Central Florida, perhaps it’s time to rethink everything.
Bouncing back will be hard though. When you perform below expectations, your best players become targets. Alex Freeman is almost certain to move on this winter and Borussia Mönchengladbach are “interested” in Marco Pašalić who “would like to return to Europe”. You have to imagine that suitors will come circling for our MVP Martín Ojeda too – heaven forbid!
This blog is our full autopsy of 2025 – so buckle up for a bumpy ride as we put in the final word on a season that quickly swung from hope to heartbreak. Continue reading
After guiding Orlando City SC to the MLS Cup Playoffs for five consecutive seasons, the hugely popular Oscar Pareja signed a new three-year deal yesterday. Penning his last contract extension in December 2023, this new deal keeps our winningest head coach in club history at Inter&Co Stadium until at least the end of 2028.
Over his five-and-a-bit years in Central Florida, the 56-year-old Colombian has successfully turned around the Lions’ losing culture in Major League Soccer. His impact was clear last season, when City reached their first-ever Eastern Conference Final. Although we suffered a heartbreaking 0-1 loss to New York Red Bulls, we came within touching distance of our first-ever MLS Cup. That narrow defeat has only fuelled our hunger and determination to go one better this year – and bring the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy home.
So far, the man affectionately known as Papi has built a genuine brotherhood in the City locker room. That bond paid off three years ago when Orlando City SC defeated Sacramento Republic 3-0 at Inter&Co Stadium to win the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final – our first major title as an MLS club. Continue reading
“Painful”. Martín Ojeda’s one-word summary said it all as Orlando City SC suffered their first-ever MLS home opener loss, falling 2-4 to Philadelphia Union last Saturday. A disastrous start to the second-half left the Lions with a mountain to climb, overshadowing Marco Pašalić’s debut brace.
“We made mistakes that don’t belong in this game, at this level” said Oscar Pareja who knows a major improvement is needed to restore fan confidence in the season ahead. Continue reading
“It’s done” as Frodo Baggins famously said in the Lord of the Rings! After guiding Orlando City SC to the MLS Cup Playoffs for four consecutive seasons, the hugely popular Oscar Pareja has now signed a new two-year deal, keeping our winningest head coach in club history at Exploria Stadium until at least the end of 2025.
During his four-year tenure in Central Florida, the 55-year-old Colombian has successfully turned around the Lions’ losing culture in Major League Soccer, so much so that City broke their own regular season records this year to finish runners-up to FC Cincinnati in the 2023 Supporters’ Shield despite having the lowest salary spend of all – a hugely impressive feat.
So far, the man affectionately known as Papi has built a genuine brotherhood in the City locker room, one that yielded silverware last year when Orlando City SC defeated Sacramento Republic 3-0 to win the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Exploria Stadium – our first major title as an MLS club. Continue reading
