When Head Coach Oscar Pareja arrived in Orlando in December 2019, it’s safe to say that nobody could have predicted all that would happen in his first year at the helm.
In a season unlike any other, Pareja and his staff led the Lions to their most successful campaign in Major League Soccer, earning the Club’s first postseason berth in its six-year history.
Following a run to the final of the MLS is Back Tournament, the Lions would go on to finish the condensed regular season with an 11-4-8 record, posting a Club-best 1.78 points per game and setting records on both sides of the ball with 1.74 goals per game while conceding just 1.09.
“A tremendous season. I think the boys have done a tremendous job during the season just putting the Club and the team and we are in this stage where we were close to advance, being recognized during the year, having the opportunity to compete all year and be protagonists as we asked them all the time,” Pareja said. “We’re proud of them. I’m backing them up all the time because I know how hard they worked for this objective and now we need to grow. Certainly this will help us for sure.”
With the Club and its fanbase steadfast on simply qualifying for the playoffs to start the year, Pareja and his staff honed in a mentality amongst their group that didn’t focus solely on qualification, but making a run at the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield.
While the side ultimately fell short of those two objectives, they instilled hope in an entire community while also helping to provide an escape from our current reality.
“I think that when we were sitting here in the same place at the beginning of the year, everybody was talking about qualifying for the playoffs being our main objective. The boys when we started the preseason, they understood the responsibility that we had on not just qualifying, but being protagonists of this league and I think they did that job,” Pareja said.
With the majority of the roster set to return in 2021, the Lions look to have the foundation set for another successful campaign in the coming season. If Pareja’s first year at the helm was any indication, then City fans have a lot to be excited about as soccer returns to The City Beautiful next spring.
“I’m very proud of this group, I’m very proud of the players in the good and the bad, but today people have seen us and people recognize this group. The people know that they are competitors, good competitors and we’re proud of that. We’re proud about the Orlando fans as well because we have a big objective just to bring trophies here and we will continue on looking for those things."
