Orlando City coach urges Larin to stay with Lions
To say Orlando City forward Cyle Larin has enjoyed a stellar rookie season in 2015 may be an understatement.
Larin may just be having the greatest rookie season in MLS history.
The 20-year-old Canadian international notched 17 goals in 26 appearances, after all. With that scoring rate, Larin has also begun to attract European attention from teams in England and Germany, as well as Belgian outfit Gent.
Orlando head coach Adrian Heath is urging his forward to exercise caution and stay with the Lions in 2016 as Larin deals with success so early in his career.
"At the end of the season, we have to sit down with Cyle and the coaches to discuss where he can improve," Heath told reporters. "He has all the tools, but he is not yet at the stage where he can go to Europe.
"There are certain things he still needs to develop, and this is the best place for him in terms of his development. But I will say that he has a fantastic opportunity if he stays injury-free."
Larin scored in his first start against the Portland Timbers back in April, but he would never have had the chance if not for a series of absences in Orlando's ranks: Martin Paterson and Pedro Ribeiro suffered hamstring injuries, Carlos Rivas got hurt early in the season, and Bryan Rochez returned to his native Honduras to find fitness.
"That's football for you," Heath said. "One of the things I always tell the players is that you never know when your time is coming around. You have to be ready to grab your opportunity, and Cyle certainly made the most of his."
Larin not only kept his starting role, but thrived, feeding off the smart play of the team's iconic captain, Kaka. As the months rolled on in MLS, Larin became a regular for the Canadian national team, then broke the record for most goals scored by a rookie in MLS history.
"I was just delighted for him. I really wanted him to get that record," Heath said in early October. "We definitely thought the season was starting to wear on him a little bit, but he has now had chance to recharge his batteries, and we hope to see even more goals before the end of the season."
Orlando will certainly need plenty of goals in the final game of the season; the Lions need to overcome an eight-goal differential between themselves and the New England Revolution in order to make the playoffs. Orlando needs to win its match and will also hope the Revs lose by a healthy margin to New York City FC.