💬 Oscar Pareja: 'We felt very proud of this community' following playoff loss to Columbus Crew

Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja

Opening statement 

“Obviously, not feeling good. I thought we could have done more than tonight, but we have to accept that this is the result of the game that was competitive against a rival that made their case as well to advance to this series. It was a complicated game, especially in the first half and we felt uncomfortable and couldn’t create many sequences. We needed to be reactive to the game that we planned to be more positive in our ways. I thought the image that the boys left after a tremendous effort was great, I thought they were great. Their heart probably needed a better reward because they had a few chances where it could have impacted the game. Seems like our heart was bigger in those difficult moments, but it was not enough. Thank you to the fans and thank you to the people that came to the stadium and filled the stadium. We felt very proud of this community, the Club, and we are proud. It is difficult right now to see the great things the boys have achieved this year, but we will see it soon.” 

On what the message was to the players after the game  

“[The message was] respect for them and their pain, that is also our pain, but they see it from a different angle because they are the ones on the field. They are the ones that make things happen, build the energy and try to resolve the problems on the field. I’m not going to say that it's bigger, but it's different. We have respect for our pain, their pain and also our frustration because we cannot hide it. We’ll have better moments to see what we have achieved, but this moment is what it is. It’s fútbol and the message is respect, letting them know how proud of them we are and to keep pushing.”  

On whether Columbus Crew did anything differently in this game compared to previous meetings 

“No, not really. I thought that we felt comfortable creating sequences and passes in the middle third, and I thought we got caught not being precise in the spaces. We knew they have played this system against us, and the last two games have been pretty much the same. We tried to be ourselves, but this is a battle and they [imposed] it this game, and we had a couple of actions in the first half where we could have been ahead in the game. Sometimes the possession catches your eye but in the first half we had a few chances and even in the second half we had the ball in front of the goal. We understand the circumstances and when you don't achieve the objective you see more of those things, but we saw nothing different from the Columbus we know.”

Orlando City SC Midfielder Mauricio Pereyra 

Opening statement  

“Really glad and proud of this team and to be the captain of this team. It was an honor for me this year. Proud of the guys because of the effort they made today and during the whole season. They make me and all the Orlando City fans believe that we could fight for wins. Today is the end of this dream, but the effort and the way that this dream was made this year was great. I think people will remember this year.” 

On having to go down a player in the match 

“It is part of the game. It was just a situation that happened. [Columbus] are difficult to play against with fast players and they were the best today. It was one situation and we couldn't finish in the goal. It is really difficult to analyze the game and analyze the things that happened just a couple minutes ago.” 

On using this year to motivate for next year 

“It is too early to start to think about this [next year]. We will need a couple days to process everything and process all the things that are moving and many good things that we did this year. Right now, we cannot see it because everything is down right now with not just me but with many of the guys. Difficult to analyze and to think about the future now because we have lot of pain because we are out of the playoffs. As I said before, I am really proud to be a part of the team.”

Orlando City SC Midfielder Facundo Torres 

Opening statement  

“Really glad and proud of this team and to be the captain of this team. It was an honor for me this year. Proud of the guys because of the effort they made today and during the whole season. They make me and all the Orlando City fans believe that we could fight for wins. Today is the end of this dream, but the effort and the way that this dream was made this year was great. I think people will remember this year.” 

On having to go down a player in the match 

“It is part of the game. It was just a situation that happened. [Columbus] are difficult to play against with fast players and they were the best today. It was one situation and we couldn't finish in the goal. It is really difficult to analyze the game and analyze the things that happened just a couple minutes ago.” 

On using this year to motivate for next year 

“It is too early to start to think about this [next year]. We will need a couple days to process everything and process all the things that are moving and many good things that we did this year. Right now, we cannot see it because everything is down right now with not just me but with many of the guys. Difficult to analyze and to think about the future now because we have lot of pain because we are out of the playoffs. As I said before, I am really proud to be a part of the team.”