MLS Talking Points: Kaka adds to Orlando's strength

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, May 1, 2017

Orlando City is off to the best start of any MLS team in the last five seasons, and it did it for much of the time without star Kaka, MLS's highest-paid player. The Brazilian returned from a hamstring injury suffered 10 minutes in the season opener on March 5 and came on the second half and scored in the Lions' 2-0 win over Colorado, their sixth in seven games.



“I cannot put in words what I’m feeling, the emotions to be back to be playing, to score and win another game at home,” said the Brazilian. “When I came on the field, all of the supporters clapping and saying my name was unbelievable. Today, I showed that I’m ready to join the team again and be part of this amazing group.”

Orlando City coach Jason Kreis was happy for Kaka, whose insurance goal in the 90th minute clinched the win, and for Carlos Rivas, who also came off the bench and opened the scoring with his first goal of the season.

“Obviously really pleased with the performance,” Kreis said. “Both [Kaka] and Carlos came in and the game changed for us in a very positive direction. Pleased for both those guys’ contributions, pleased for the work they put in, pleased that [Kaka] gets to come back after he’s worked so incredibly hard to get himself fit again and make such a major statement. Coming into this game I think we’re a team that’s doing well and improving and to add a player like [Kaka] at the moment is going from strength to strength.”

As pleased as he was with Kaka and Rivas, Kreis was also happy with the overall performance in the first win of the season by one goal after five one-goal victories.

“We’ve got a very happy locker room and a happy coaching staff," he said. "Everybody feels really good about where we sit right now. From my point of view it’s great to talk about the wins but I prefer to talk about the performance at the moment because I feel this was a game where we improved. It was a difficult game with the conditions and the heat and it took us a while to get there. But at the end of the day, we’re playing some pretty good soccer and creating some good chances and it’s exciting to be a part of at the moment.”