ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City SC’s 2018 roster looks drastically different from its 2017 version, and that has a lot to do with head coach Jason Kreis’ and his staff’s offseason efforts.
Kreis and his coaches assumed scouting roles in the final months of 2017, as the Lions added eight new players by way of a first-round draft pick, three trades and four new signings.
For Kreis, he said it was a tiring effort, as he returned to his head-coaching duties at the Lions’ first preseason training.
“Anxious [for the first training]? Yes, absolutely. It’s a very long offseason for coaches in this league, especially when you don’t reach your objective to make the playoffs,” Kreis said after training on Jan. 22. “And so we spent an inordinate amount of work as scouts, and we’re tired of that. We prefer to be coaches.”
Now, the Lions hope to enjoy the fruits of their labor, as a new roster takes shape. In addition to their new players, Orlando has also done some subtraction. Fourteen of the Lions’ players from last season–15 if Larin leaves–including team captain Ricardo Kaká, are no longer with the club.
Of those 15, three never saw in-season Major League Soccer action. The other 12 combined for 217 appearances, 158 starts, 29 goals, 15 assists and 14,203 minutes in a 10-15-9, 10th-place season.
Kreis is acknowledging the chemistry-building challenge by making it a priority in his team’s annual, 10-day preseason trip to Jacksonville.
“No. 1 goal is to get the guys to know each other,” Kreis said. “We have a lot of new players, and we would like them to all have a better understanding of who each other are. That’s the No. 1 goal…
“Over the next week and a half, to get them away from any other outside influences so we can spend time together and get to put in place what it will mean, from a culture perspective, being an Orlando City Soccer Club member.”
For center-back Jonathan Spector, he aspires to create a culture in Orlando akin to what the National Football League’s New England Patriots have. The Patriots have won 15 division titles, eight conference championships and five Super Bowls under one head coach in 17 years.
Orlando City, on the other hand, have had the opposite fortune in their youthful, three-year existence. Since joining MLS in 2015, the Lions have never made the playoffs and have amassed an overall record of 31-40-31, never recording a winning record, under two head coaches.
“A winning culture. I mean, that’s what we’re looking for,” Spector said after training Monday. “In terms of how you build that, there’s a lot that goes into it… We want to be a club that wins things, and that’s the culture that we need to build.
“Take New England Patriots as a perfect example. We might be very far away from building that, but I think that’s the culture that everyone kind of aspires to have.”
The Lions will depart for Jacksonville promptly after their third training of the preseason on Wednesday. Orlando concludes the 10-day getaway with its first preseason friendly against Jacksonville University on Feb. 3.
For more on the Lions, as they venture to Jacksonville, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
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