Cyle Larin Nearly Misses Chance to Bust from Slump

The thought was weighing heavily on Adrian Heath’s mind. Should he pick the hot boot in Bryan Róchez to start the match at New York Red Bulls, or should he stick with his guy, Cyle Larin -who was in a noticeable slump- to start as he had been.

“We were thinking about putting Bryan Róchez in,” Head Coach Adrian Heath said.

Róchez, who had scored in Orlando City’s previous two matches, including a game winner in Chicago, was finally bursting onto the scene. Larin, who had been the rookie sensation of the year, hadn’t scored in eight matches (seven of which he featured) and nearly two months of time.

The decision on who would start the game came all the way down to the day of the Red Bulls match.

“We spoke to [Larin] on the day of the game, obviously there were some concerns that he was tired,” Heath explained. “As I said to him, we were thinking about putting Bryan Róchez in, so I sat down and said I need to hear it from you, that you’re fit, you’re well, you’re not tired.”

Larin would not push the opportunity away.

“He said he feels good,” Heath said, and that would be all it took.

“I noticed in the week I thought he looked a little fresher,” Heath mentioned, then added additional points from his conversation with Larin.

“If you’re not tired,” Heath told him, “we need a better performance; If you’re not tired, your levels have dropped down.”

Adrian Heath went on to explain to Larin that he needed the confirmation from him to maintain his spot in the starting XI for the playoff push.

“If you want to be in for the final run-in and take us to the end and take us to the playoffs, we need you to up your game. If you’re not tired we need you to get back to what you were six, seven weeks ago,” a stern Heath said. “And he responded.”

Larin responded in a big way too. He went on to terrorize the Red Bulls (with the assistance of Carlos Rivas) on the way to his second hat trick of the season (a MLS rookie record) and his sole spot atop the rookie goal scoring record in MLS history.

“I was pleased for him to break the record as highest goal scoring rookie. I wanted him to break the record because he’s worked so hard,” Heath said.

Heath couldn’t have been happier for the young rookie, who is unable to even enjoy a post-match adult beverage with his teammates, as he’s still a mere 20 years old.

20 years old, but still blossoming into someone who could one day be a UEFA Champion’s League starlet.

“He has all the physical tools, but the one area he has to improve is he has to have a bit more anger,” Heath explained. “He has to be a bit more difficult, not violent, but he has to make center backs more aware of his presence.”

Heath went on to further explain Larin’s potential.

“But the rest of the game, he’s got lovely soft feet, so he’s very good in possession of the ball. He’s an incredible athlete, quicker than people think. He’s strong as an ox, and getting stronger all the time. I just think that mentally we can make him stronger and more aggressive, and if he does, he can go on and play in Europe and play for some of the big clubs there, because that’s where he can get with his talent.”

A could-be world beater one day, it was on that day in New York that Larin’s confidence in himself allowed his maturation to further develop, and his wherewithal to be the feared goal-scorer took the next step to stardom.