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Can Antoine Griezmann Turn Orlando City Into a “Big Club”?
Orlando City is back, and they are hoping to be bigger than ever. After a 2-month break for the World Cup, the Lions are ready to make a playoff push and have brought in a huge soccer star to try to reverse the team’s fortunes. Orlando City is trying to be what is called “a big club” in the soccer world.
Antoine Griezmann arrives as the second most decorated soccer player to don City’s purple after Kaka. The Frenchman is the all-time leading scorer for Atletico Madrid; that’s a REAL big club. He won the World Cup with France in 2018 and is one of the nation’s more decorated players. Griezmann arrives anxious to show America and MLS what he can do.
“The American culture has always been attractive to me,” Griezmann said at his introductory press conference. “I’ve done some traveling, so I think I’m in a very good moment right now in terms of aesthetics and mental health, but this was a perfect moment to come in and help the team to grow, to win more trophies.”
The goal from Orlando City is to be recognized as a major player in the soccer world, a real challenge. Orlando City SC General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira believes this will help and says the team is already seeing results by adding Griezmann.
“We saw the phone ringing a little bit more than usual because players want to join. Players want to play here, and now they know that we are also in one of the biggest stages of football for having someone like him. Everybody wants to be alongside him for sure.”
Griezmann is 35 years old, though, so what can City fans expect? So far, so good. The Frenchman scored in both of Orlando City’s warm-up friendly matches leading up to the return to regular MLS play. He scored against both USL side Tampa and against MLS side Dallas FC. The next challenge: at San Jose, then returning home to face Nashville SC, the team leading the MLS Supporters’ Shield chase for the most points. Griezmann hopes the moment will be special. “That will be amazing for me, and I hope I can score one goal and do some celebration with my teammates and the fans.”
He’s coming to a team that is near the very bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, 13th out of 15 teams, and dead last in MLS in goals allowed. How to turn that around is a question Griezmann avoided at his introductory press conference, but defense remains the major issue for Orlando City. The team is trying to bolster its attack. They shipped out fan favorite Striker Duncan Maguire to the Houston Dynamos for cash and future salary cap room. To replace him, they’ve signed another fan favorite. Darryl Dike returns from England after starting his career here in Orlando. Dike has spent much of the last two years injured but has a strong resume. If he can return to form, it should help Orlando field one of the top offenses in MLS.
Big club? We’ll see, but playing better defense and getting a full-time manager would certainly help. Orlando City does still have plenty of time to make up ground in the jumbled Eastern Conference over the next two months. They also have two extra opportunities to win the trophies Griezmann came to help with. City faces Columbus in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup in September, and in early August, the Leagues Cup begins, pitting MLS and Liga MX teams from Mexico against each other.
Editor’s Note: Quotes from Antoine Griezmann were spoken in Spanish and transcribed by the author and may not be exact because the writer’s Spanish is mediocre at best.
