2022 Orlando City Player Reviews: Pedro Gallese

For the next week, I'll be recapping each Orlando City player's season for all player who played at least 100 MLS minutes per FBRef in 2022, starting from the least used player to the most used.

Up next is Orlando's star shot-stopper Pedro Gallese.

Gallese is one of the highest-rated goalkeepers in Major League Soccer, and he's had plenty of highlight reel moments for Orlando City. El Pulpo even one MLS Save of the Year for a ridiculous diving effort against Atlanta United.

Gallese started 32 of 34 league games for Orlando City and kept nine clean sheets in those starts while conceding 47 goals. At a base level, the Peruvian star is a high-level goalkeeper who keeps Orlando in many games.

Beneath the surface, Gallese's been an average or even below average shot-stopper in MLS. In 2022, El Pulpo's analytics were fairly poor.

Post-shot expected goal difference is a metric that effectively says how many goals did a keeper allow compared to how many they should've allowed based on the shots he faced. Gallese finished the year with a post-shot xG difference of -2.2.

That ranks near the dead average in MLS, maybe even a little below average. Despite Gallese's highlight moments and high pedigree, the actual numbers tell the story of a fairly average goaltender. To be fair, few keepers in this league can make some of the saves Gallese can, but his holistic performance leaves room for improvement.

Gallese's future in Orlando has been under speculation almost all season, but there's been little in the way of rumors on the Peruvians future in recent months. His contract status seems to be unknown at this point, but he's among the 10 highest paid keepers in MLS.

El Pulpo, regardless of any statistical underperformance, is a beloved figure in Orlando's squad and one of the best leaders in the squad. He brings international pedigree and significant experience to the group.