Antoine Griezmann is officially an Orlando City player and gearing up for his MLS debut on Wednesday.
Read more Asking Eric: My cousin’s premonition has sent my life from bad to worse
The 2018 World Cup winner has nearly 300 career goals across spells at Real Sociedad, FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, leaving the latter as the club’s all-time leading scorer with 211. Now he comes to Orlando looking to add to an already storied career.
At 35, Griezmann has evolved as a player. He is no longer the striker who chased balls in behind for France and Diego Simeone. Today, he is a deeper-sitting creator, averaging roughly 50 touches per 90 minutes and doing most of his damage setting up teammates rather than finishing chances himself.
His first appearance in purple came during a 6-0 friendly romp over the Tampa Bay Rowdies on July 8, when he scored in the 32nd minute and assisted Iván Angulo’s second-half goal. Slicing through a USL Championship defense in an exhibition is a far cry from the rigors of MLS play, but the friendly offered a useful look at how interim head coach Martín Perelman plans to structure the squad around his newest Designated Player.
Perelman has relied on a 3-4-2-1 for most of his tenure, using Martín Ojeda as the lone striker with two withdrawn forwards and wing-backs providing the width. Against the Rowdies, he pivoted to a back four of Adrián Marín, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey, with a midfield three of Luís Otávio, Eduard Atuesta and Wilder Cartagena. Griezmann operated as a central attacker in a front three alongside Angulo and Ojeda, frequently drifting into deeper positions to collect the ball and turn play forward.
That type of positional freedom has worked to an extent in Orlando before. When Kaká arrived as the club’s first Designated Player in 2015, then-head coach Adrian Heath built a 4-2-3-1 around the Brazilian. Kaká played the central No. 10, connecting the midfield and the attack while Cyle Larin ran the channels off his passes. The Lions’ attack was at its best during stretches when Kaká played centrally, and his output dipped when Heath pushed him wide to accommodate other pieces.
Griezmann’s role against Tampa Bay followed a similar template. He started between Angulo and Ojeda but rarely held that position, collecting from deep and turning defenders with disguised passes into the center of the pitch. In his final season at Atlético Madrid, Griezmann logged seven goals and four assists in 34 La Liga matches, and his shot-creating numbers stayed high even as his shot volume dropped. His profile now is closer to a classic attacking midfielder than a traditional striker.
The roster around Griezmann is deeper than what Kaká had. Kaká played behind Larin on a 2015 squad that finished 12-14-8 and missed the playoffs by a single point. Griezmann arrives with Ojeda, who has 11 goals from the striker spot this season. Marco Pašalić, the Croatian winger who scored 12 goals in his debut MLS campaign last year, is back in full training after a thigh injury and Croatia’s World Cup run. Angulo has four assists from the left wing-back position. If defenders commit to tracking Griezmann centrally, Ojeda, Pašalić, and Angulo all have the production to exploit the spaces that open up around him.
Read more Miss Manners: I want an office ban on taking just half a doughnut
The younger players who have started behind Ojeda in the 3-4-2-1 stand to lose minutes. Justin Ellis, the 18-year-old homegrown forward, has two goals and an assist this season. Tiago, the 20-year-old Brazilian U-22 signing, has a goal and an assist. Whether Perelman sticks with that shape or commits to the back four he used against the Rowdies, Griezmann and a healthy Pašalić are in line to take those spots.
Orlando has conceded 44 goals in 15 league matches, the worst in MLS. Jansson and Brekalo have been inconsistent in the center-back rotation, and opponents have regularly pushed numbers forward against the Lions. Ojeda’s 11 goals have not been enough of a deterrent on their own. Adding Griezmann to the same lineup creates a counterattacking threat that could make opponents more cautious about committing forward, which would mean fewer runners for the back line to deal with. Perelman’s 3-4-2-1 already provides a three-center-back base in defense.
Griezmann’s work rate out of possession is another factor. He has spent his career effectively cutting passing lanes, positioning his body between the ball carrier and the next option to screen the connection between defense and midfield. A more effective press from the front slows opposing build-up and gives the center-backs more time to organize, which is where Orlando has been most exposed this season.
Set pieces are another area where his presence changes things. Griezmann took Atlético’s corners and free kicks for years and scored 44 international goals for France, a number of them from dead-ball situations. Orlando has been average on set-piece production this season, and Griezmann gives Perelman a specialist for every corner and free kick within shooting range.
Griezmann alone does not fix a roster that sits four points below the playoff line with a league-worst defense. How much his arrival changes Orlando’s trajectory depends on whether the front office reinforces the back line before the transfer window closes and whether the midfield can stay healthy behind him.
Orlando returns to league play Wednesday at San Jose, followed by Griezmann’s home debut three days later against Nashville SC at Inter&Co Stadium. The formation Perelman fields at PayPal Park will indicate whether the back-four shape from the Rowdies friendly carries into competitive play or whether Griezmann slots into the existing 3-4-2-1.
Read more Commentary: Florida’s offshore energy can power American independence