ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City SC attacking midfielder Chris Mueller might have landed in the perfect situation for his rookie season.
Before being drafted with the sixth-overall pick in the 2018 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, Mueller was an offensive star for the Wisconsin Badgers. In his final season at Wisconsin, he led the Big Ten Conference in almost every offensive category, including leading the nation in assists (20).
That garnered the 21-year-old Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team honors.
Now, Mueller will team up with another new Lion and another player who led his respective league in assists last season: midfielder Sacha Kljestan. The former New York Red Bull has been in the top-five for assists since returning to MLS three seasons ago, including leading the league in 2016 (20) and 2017 (17).
“Right, I mean, coming to Orlando’s kinda been a blessing. I get to learn from some of these amazing guys,” Mueller said after training on Jan. 23. “You know, Sacha led the MLS in assists last year, so, coming from leading college in assists, it’s obviously a huge step, and I’m just excited to learn from guys like this and hopefully get to play with some of ’em.”
Kljestan has proven he can make an immediate impact at both the team and individual levels.
He elevated a New York offense that was fifth in goals in 2014 to first and second in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Last season, New York was ninth in goal-scoring, as Kljestan led the league with 17 assists. In 2016, he also helped Bradley Wright-Phillips to an MLS Golden Boot.
With so many first-year Lions on a revamped City squad, Kljestan will be asked to assume a mentorship role, too. But City won’t need to ask Kljestan to step into a leadership role; it’s something he instinctually does.
“[The coaches] haven’t spoken to me about that, but it’s just something that I do naturally. I don’t think [head coach Jason Kreis] needs to tell me that I need to help out the young guys,” Kljestan said after training on Jan. 24. “It’s just a thing I like to do.
“I want everybody around me to be competing at the highest level… So, anything I can do to help, I’m gonna do it.”
Like Kljestan, Mueller is of a similar mindset for this season. His expectations are nothing short of what fans and the organization have wanted since the team’s first MLS season in 2015.
Fortunately for him and the club, Kljestan brings vital, postseason experience. He’s made the playoffs in all three seasons he’s been with New York, tallying a goal and 2 assists while starting all nine appearances.
In four postseasons with Chivas USA, he started seven of his eight playoff games recording a goal and 2 assists from 2006 to 2009.
“I wanna compete. I wanna play,” Mueller said. “You know, I think that’s why all of us are here to kinda make a statement, and, you know, we wanna win. Expectations for the club are really high right now.
“We wanna make a deep run in the playoffs and hopefully bring home an MLS Cup back to the city. So I think anything less of that is setting ourselves short.”
Mueller, Kljestan and the rest of City will conclude their 10-day, team-bonding trip in Jacksonville on Saturday with the team’s first preseason friendly against Jacksonville University.
For more on the Lions, as they prepare for their first preseason friendly, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
