One Thing is Clear, Orlando City is Better

It feels good doesn’t it?

For the Orlando City faithful in attendance at the Citrus Bowl on Sunday night, or those who watched from the comfort of their favorite couch, it was just a little easier getting out of bed this morning (or maybe not if they’re the tailgating type).

Orlando City thoroughly dominated the defending MLS Cup champions Sunday evening, and in the process made them look like a laughing stock, bottom of the table team. Yes, Portland was not impressive and didn’t appear to be up to the task on the night, but give credit to Orlando for making sure they paid the price.

Orlando City sits at the top of the Eastern Conference, with a cushion at that. Yes, it’s only 5 weeks into the young season, but all is rosy in central Florida at the moment.

Will this continue? Can this continue?

Certainly, those are the questions that permeate around the water cooler at the local office complex. With excitement comes skepticism, but one thing is clear. This year, so far, Orlando City is a better team than last.

There were plenty of story lines from Orlando City’s victory. Among them, Major League Soccer’s most popular marketing tool (and Orlando City captain), Kaká, made his return to the pitch for the first time this season. He was the best player on the field, the most impressive player on a side with many performances of note.

Brek Shea, who has received copious amounts of criticism as of late, was responsible for a magnificent goal that has garnished accolades all across the soccerverse. Yet he also showed an intense work rate that laid to rest any lingering doubts of his injury recovery and earned him a MLS Team of the Week nod.

If Brek Shea is finally making his presence felt, then surely Orlando City’s time has arrived. Right?

Let’s not jump in with both feet just yet. There is work to be done. Last season Orlando City welcomed the defending champion LA Galaxy to Orlando with a similar 4–0 thumping that left many heralding the Lions as the best team in Major League Soccer, they’d go on to finish outside the playoffs.

But something just feels different this year. It feels better. It feels like Orlando City could be for real.

This isn’t a team that has had a huge turnover from last season, but it is a team that has replaced what was suspect depth with specific players, better players, that can excel at their role.

Luke Boden and Pedro Ribeiro didn’t even make the roster for Sunday night’s win.

Antonio Nocerino and Aurélien Collin, nearly a million dollars in salary between them, were available off the bench.

This team is much deeper, and therefore much better than a year ago. There is no less than eight quality midfielders to wrangle into just five starting positions. Last year it seemed as though there were just three or four to fill those spots.

This is a team that has learned to play, and win, without Kaká. A team that has seen two of its most talented players, Brek Shea and Kevin Molino, return from injuries that derailed their season a year ago. A team that has veteran players like Adrian Winter and Servando Carrasco playing important roles in support of the players around them, not being expected to carry the load.

Quite clearly Orlando City is better.

There are, and will, be obstacles to overcome, an injury to Cyle Larin is a major one that the team must navigate in the present. Other stumbling blocks will test the team over the course of the long MLS season, yet Orlando City is better equipped to handle these obstacles than a season ago.

Will Orlando City win the MLS Cup? Highly Unlikely.

What about ending the regular season atop the Eastern Conference? Don’t bet on it.

But if it’s looking at Orlando City being a better team than last season, and yes that means they make the playoffs. If the question is, ‘Is Orlando City better?’

Yes is the answer.

Unequivocally, Yes.