After several days of celebrating their presence in the “MLS Is Back” tournament finals and the importance of the event held in their own backyard, Orlando City SC players and coaches are now focused on the Portland Timbers , a club that looks a lot like them.
The match will be presented on Tuesday at TVA Sports 2 from 8:30 p.m.
The two teams have indeed offered an efficient and consistent defensive game since the start of the tournament, the Lions having never conceded more than one goal in a game. The Timbers, for their part, could have boasted of the same feat had it not been for a 2-2 draw against Los Angeles FC in the group stage.
However, head coach Oscar Pareja, who is leading the Florida team for a first season, has done his homework. Even if he respects his next opponents, he believes he knows what will be the key.
“The players [des Timbers] have experience, he analyzed in a video conference on Monday. Some players have been playing together for a few years. Their trainer [Giovanni Savarese] is well known too. We understand their model and we understand their way of doing things. Now the most important thing is to be better. ”
Pareja is also very satisfied with the attention his defenders have been getting since the start of the tournament. He hopes his brigade will continue this momentum to give the team a real chance to win.
“Sometimes defenders don’t get the credit after wins. Usually we focus on spectacular games. But the defenders did a great job. They have been consistent. They know we can sometimes make mistakes, but we always correct them. ”
“If the team continues to defend themselves this way, I think we have a better chance of winning.”
Thus, the pilot does not plan to make big changes to his training or his tactics for the ultimate duel.
“It’s important for us to approach the game in the same way [que les autres]. We should not add more emotions around the team because of the importance of the game. The guys have to do what they did in the last six games. ”
Get noticed
Pareja is a regular at important games. He notably guided FC Dallas to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League in 2017, and with a victory on Tuesday, he will be the first instructor to qualify Orlando for the same Champions League.
“It would be good! Representing a club on the international stage is very important and very meaningful for the team. We are very excited to have this opportunity […] to have a ticket for such a great competition. “
According to him, the journey of his team to the final in a tournament organized in Orlando and this possibility of playing in the Champions League allows to increase the credibility of a formation which is only 10 years old and which does not never qualified for the playoffs in five years in MLS.
“It would put Orlando in a more remarkable situation. Winning is the most important thing, I know that. But how they get there is what’s going to stay. We will fight for that. ”
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