It's taken a while, but through improved quality, finances and opportunity, MLS clubs are beginning to expand the pipeline of Brazilian talent coming to the league.
Some more than others.
Orlando City SC are among those at the forefront, and it helps that they have a few built-in advantages. The club's owner, Flavio Augusto da Silva, is Brazilian. Luiz Muzzi, executive VP of soccer operations, is Brazilian, as is their director of scouting, Ricardo Moreira. The Lions also signed Brazilian legend Kaka for their inaugural season in 2015, helping raise their profile in the South American country during his three seasons with the team.
Oh, and one more thing: They have Mickey Mouse and Disney World.
"We're in a good position because we had Kaka," Muzzi told MLSsoccer.com on Friday. "People in Brazil have followed Orlando maybe a little more than other clubs. It’s also a place people know. People come here to go to Disney with their families. Orlando is almost like the Brazilian team. I don’t want to say that absolutely there are other teams people follow, but if you go around and ask people in Brazil who they support in MLS, you’ll get a high percentage saying Orlando."
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He also noted that MLS clubs like FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders, Columbus Crew SC and the San Jose Earthquakes have Brazilian followings. Muzzi joined the club ahead of the 2019 season and has acquired three players from Brazilian clubs (midfielder Junior Urso, center back Antonio Carlos and right back Ruan), as well as Brazilian forward Matheus Aias, who was signed in August from English club Watford.
“The players aren't coming here just to have fun with their families and go see Mickey once in a while, you know?" Muzzi was quick to joke.
Cracking open the Brazilian market hasn't been so easy for MLS clubs in years past. Players there aren't cheap, given the long and proven track record of successful exports across the globe. Networking between clubs and agents has improved in recent years with more Brazilians working in MLS sporting departments, while MLS's reputation and stature are both rising.
“In terms of soccer, there’s a lot more exposure to MLS lately," Muzzi said. "In the past, it was seen as a sub-par league and a lot of players wouldn’t want to come. But I think that’s changed tremendously. Today, people see MLS as a top league and players want to come to play. … It changed quite a bit. In Brazil, it was a little bit of that snob attitude towards MLS. That has considerably changed.”
The Athletic's Sam Stejskal wrote an in-depth feature about the uptick of Brazilian talent to MLS this winter as well.
Every MLS roster will still have an eclectic mix, of course, and Brazil's just one area of scouting and recruitment for Orlando. The Lions have signed three Homegrown players from their academy (David Loera, Jordan Bender and Michael Halliday), added two more domestic players from the SuperDraft (Daryl Dike and Joey DeZart,), one from Liga MX (Pedro Gallese), one from Colombia (Andres Perea) and one from Argentina (Rodrigo Schlegel) – and that's on top of their Brazilian imports.
When it comes to player recruitment, Orlando most heavily identifies with the Americas.
“For me, it’s Latin America," Muzzi said. "Between talent, price, potential, culture – everything makes that market the best fit. Europe is very interesting too, but financially it’s more difficult to get players at good value. You’ll get excellent players, but usually you have to pay more. ... We’re a very Latin city, Hispanic or Portuguese. It makes sense on and off the field, culturally and in terms of soccer itself, Latin America makes the most sense. That’s not to say we’re not looking at other places. We have an excellent starting center back and our team captain from Europe. It’s not an absolute rule that applies, but Latin America is our bread and butter.”
Brazilian right back Ruan is among the fastest players in MLS | USA Today Sports
Muzzi refers to defender Robin Jansson, who signed last season from Swedish club AIK, as well as global superstar Nani, the Portugal legend who was most recently with Sporting CP.
This roster, along with head coach Oscar Pareja and his staff being in their first year, has Orlando ascending to likely their first Audi MLS Cup Playoffs appearance. They occupy fourth place in the Eastern Conference and are beginning to separate themselves from the pack. They also approached their first trophy this past summer during a breakout run to the MLS is Back Tournament final, but fell to the Portland Timbers.
Now, they have big aspirations (with some Brazilian flavor) for the rest of the season.
“For these guys, they knew the city, they knew the club and they knew the quality of MLS," Muzzi said of signing Urso and Carlos. "They’re at different stages of their careers, but they both thought they had a lot to bring to the club. ... They see an opportunity to do something great and be part of the group who won a title for Orlando.”
