Orlando City maestro Martín Ojeda enters MLS MVP race | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

The cut wasn’t deep, though it was alarmingly close to Martín Ojeda’s eye, sustained in an angry scrum with Atlas players during the final minutes of a pulsating, ill-tempered Leagues Cup match marked by 16 fouls called on each team, two yellow cards and a late red to Matías Cóccaro.

Most importantly for Orlando City’s playmaker, his game-winning goal made the flesh wound a souvenir to an important result, a 3-1 victory that helped the Lions qualify for the tournament’s knockout stages later in the week.

And for OCSC’s social media team, the ‘Star Wars’ parallels provided irresistible posting material.

“We laughed a lot with my family when we saw it,” Ojeda said in Spanish of the Anakin comparison during a one-on-one conversation with MLSsoccer.com on Friday afternoon, grinning as he explained how the post drew the attention of loved ones back home in Gualeguaychú, some 4,500 miles to the south.

"My friends and relatives in Entre Ríos, down in Argentina, sent me the photo. We always comment on all those moments. It was a very, very special, very nice moment.”

Top tier

Ojeda’s had plenty of those this season as he enters the Landon Donovan MLS MVP discussion.

With 16 goals and 16 assists across all competitions, 'Tincho' has already set a new club record for single-season productivity, and with nine MLS games and at least one more Leagues Cup match still to go, looks likely to pad those numbers further. Notably, Orlando’s maestro is churning out quality as well as quantity, with a litany of bangers showcasing what might just be the heaviest shot in MLS.

Witness the jaw-dropping full volley he smashed home against Necaxa Wednesday night, setting the tone for a 5-1 rout – sweetly-struck with in a manner that players will tell you feels even better than it looks.

“It was something beautiful,” he said of the golazo. “Those are the plays I like. One always dreams of a ball like that, and catching it like that. I enjoyed it a lot, and I was also happy because it helped us win the game.”

Fantastic form

The 26-year-old Argentine is in rampaging form: He’s bagged either a goal or an assist in each of his last 13 matches, a stretch ranging back to late May. Earlier that month, he notched his first career hat trick, somewhat amazingly, Orlando’s first in a decade, since Cyle Larin did so in their inaugural MLS season.

Thus, it’s no surprise he’s eagerly anticipating this weekend’s visit from Inter Miami, a tasty cross-state rivalry clash on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire (8 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+). Even with Lionel Messi potentially sidelined by a hamstring injury, the Herons, too, booked a place in the Leagues Cup’s quarterfinals, and Ojeda relishes the chance to face off against a star-studded squad so rich in Argentine character.

“These are beautiful matches, apart from being a clásico, due to the caliber of the players the opponent has,” he said. “Since I was a kid, I've always loved playing these games, because I enjoy them much more, and the concentration always has to be at its highest; you can't relax for a moment.

“Due to the quality of the players they have and, well, given the moment we are going through, it’s going to be a great match.”

In one sense, IMCF is where and how Tincho’s breakout 2025 began: He scored one goal and assisted on the other in the Florida rivals’ 2-2 draw in a preseason friendly in Tampa, a preview of the prolific performances to come. Three months later, the Lions stunned Messi & Friends with a 3-0 beating at Chase Stadium, sinking the Herons to perhaps their lowest point of their campaign to date.

With a packed crowd expected at Inter&Co Stadium on Sunday, they're confident of claiming a season sweep in front of the home faithful.

“We work with a lot of desire and we work with a lot of concentration with the team, wanting to continue improving in every aspect, in every detail,” said Ojeda. “The truth is that we are in good shape mentally. I think that’s something fundamental for this game. And I think the atmosphere is going to be very nice on Sunday against them.

"When we play [Miami], the atmosphere is something beautiful. It reminds me a lot of the games in Argentina.”

WATCH: Martín Ojeda erupts for hat trick

Argentine dynamo

Ojeda makes no secret of his desire to someday join the likes of Messi and Rodrigo De Paul as colleagues on their country’s national team. Last summer he, his wife Oriana and their young son Benjamin made the trip downstate to attend the Albiceleste’s Copa América match vs. Peru in Miami Gardens, donning the beloved striped jersey like thousands of other supporters of the reigning world champions at Hard Rock Stadium.

Instagram photos show joy written on their faces – though Martin also felt “mixed emotions,” too, hungry to earn his place at the center of it all.

“I think it was the first time I took my son; I went with my family and my wife,” he recalled with a smile. “It was beautiful. I keep dreaming about that moment when the family is in the stands and I’m on the field. So we will fight for that, and in the meantime, we will support what they are doing – and they are doing very well.”

For Ojeda, belief intertwines with balance in his search for consistency and reliability, a lesson learned across an Orlando tenure that started slowly after arriving from Godoy Cruz. He produced a modest five goals in his first season two years ago, falling short of his own expectations – “some moments I felt good, other times I felt incomplete, like I wasn't helping the team,” he recalled – as well as those inevitably attached to most any Designated Player.

The 2024 campaign brought measured growth as he settled in, albeit in more of a complementary role in OCSC’s attack, often coming off the bench or working out wide while Facundo Torres remained the centerpiece of a front line which offers head coach Oscar Pareja more weapons than there are spots on the pitch for them.

When the Uruguayan was transferred to Palmeiras last winter for a club-record transfer fee, it opened up crucial space for Tincho – not just as the team’s creative hub, but with the bequeathing of the No. 10 jersey itself. Ojeda believes that shirt, which has long carried mythical status in South American soccer, is a key facet of his enormous gains this season.

“We talked about it with Oscar and his coaching staff. I think it was a responsibility that I had to take on,” he explained. “Facu left and left the No. 10, which is something that I always liked as a kid and I also liked wearing it a lot – always with a responsibility, the responsibility to give the best on the pitch for the team and to be calm and enjoy it. I think it is something fundamental. That is why today I have this level that I am currently at.

“My teammates, too, have helped me a lot to grow day by day, or when things did not go well. They’ve also helped me to stay mentally firm with that,” he continued. “I feel very mature. I think that my past, both here and at my clubs in Argentina, has helped me mature in that sense, to get to where I am today.”

Global ambition

All that may help explain why Ojeda celebrates his goals with a meditation pose like the one made famous by Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland. ‘Calm’ is a word he uses often. Yet there’s also urgency coexisting with that serenity.

The guaranteed portion of his contract runs through the current season, and while OCSC hold two club option years, Ojeda is aware this winter could present all parties with important decisions. Although his family is settled and happy in central Florida – Oriana and Benjamin are regular visitors to the region’s many theme parks, Martín tagging along when the Lions’ schedule allows – he retains ambitions of testing himself in one of Europe’s elite leagues.

“Since I was a kid, my goal was always to play in the big leagues in Europe, to be able to continue learning, to continue growing in footballing terms,” he said. “I feel like I made a good decision to come to the United States to prepare for that moment, and well, we will fight in the present so that the future is much, much more beautiful, and the best decision can be reached, both for me and for the club.”

He’s in win-now mode with Orlando, and there’s very good reason for that, with multiple trophies well within their reach in the coming weeks.

“My goal is to be champions with the club,” Ojeda said. “Last year we were very close [to MLS Cup], and we're working on it. We have to take it game after game, always wanting to improve. … Hopefully, God willing, by the end of the year, we can achieve titles. And from my personal place, I can help the club, my teammates, and be able to reach that stage calmly with a lot of confidence.

“I have goals for the future, but at this moment, I am enjoying myself a lot here in Orlando. And in December, January, we will see what will happen.”