The 2026 Orlando City story gets told now, just very slowly | OneFootball

It’s both right and wrong to say that Orlando City SC didn’t make the 2025 MLS playoffs. But the team certainly didn’t enter the postseason controlling its own destiny.

Even Google AI agrees with those Orlando City SC supporters bemoaning the Lions not making the 2025 MLS playoffs. Lions fans on X and others, such as the Orlando City Soccer Club group on Facebook, say no MLS Cup or Supporter Shield for another year.

The Lions surged several times during the regular season. But their performance – especially concentration and drive – fell toward the end of the season. They had surged as high as fourth place in the MLS Eastern Conference.

But they finished in seventh place. That gave them one shot at the MLS post-season by competing in a play-in Wildcard game. They faced the Chicago Fire FC.

After losing to Chicago, they weren’t yet done falling in the standings. The Fire lost 3-0 to the Philadelphia Union and joined Orlando in post-season elimination. The final standings place Orlando City ninth and Chicago eighth.

The Orlando front office doesn’t air laundry before the public, dirty or otherwise. So to find out what the organization plans for competition next season, it’s necessary to look and listen. This is the Lions’ season for personnel changes.

Jul 31, 2019; Orlando, FL, USA; US mens national soccer team former player Tyler Twellman and Orlando City SC executive vice president of soccer operations Luiz Muzzi (left) and MLS Commissioner Don Garber (middle) and Audi of America vice president of marketing Loren Angelo (far right) and MLS executive vice president, competion and player relations Todd Durbin (far right) pose with a photo of Audi Performance Centers during a press conference before the 2019 MLS All Star Game at Exploria | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The first to leave is executive Luiz Muzzi. Besides his function as Senior Advisor to Ownership, he was the mastermind and organizer of global soccer operations for Orlando City. More than anything, this signals that the front office will focus more locally and less globally.

Those running the Lions’ business will now aim their vision at local pitches, especially the one right outside their window.

Next, Joshua Keeble reported in O-Towns11 that goalkeeper Pedro Gallese will go as soon as his contract expires. That is the first player move. There will be more to come.

The Orlando City SC story for the 2026 season is being told now. The story is reaching us very slowly. The tale isn’t in words, but in front office changes and roster moves. As the first sentences receive their periods, you’ll read the story here in O-Towns11.