Braian Ojeda: Paraguay, UK, Utah, to the Sunshine State

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Orlando City recently acquired Braian Ojeda from Real Salt Lake (RSL) for a reported $1.2 million in GAM + add ons according to Tom Bogert. So who is he and how does he fit in with Orlando City's plans for the upcoming season? Let's find out.

Transfer Rumor

Early on 12/31, Luca Bendoni, a Sky Sports transfer reporter tweeted  

An hour later, Tom Bogert of the Athletic, followed up and said

 

Background

Braian Óscar Ojeda Rodríguez (Braian Ojeda for short) was born in Itauguà, Paraguay in June of 2000. He started his youth soccer career with Club Olimpia in Paraguay at a very young age and worked his way up through the academy ranks. He eventually was promoted to the senior team during the 2018 season, where he started for Olimpa and played one half. He played sparingly for the first team for about 3 years, racking up 28 appearances before being loaned to Defensa y Justicia for a season.
 

After that season, he played a few more games for Olimpa before he was sold to Nottingham Forest for about €2.3 million euros and signed a 4 year deal with the club. In his first year with Forest, he only saw 3 games and was looking for more playing time. That's when Real Salt Lake (RSL) came calling. 
 

In August of 2022, Ojeda was loaned to RSL for the 2022-2023 season with an option to buy at the end of the loan. RSL would eventually exercise that buyout later that season. Ojeda would go on to have 123 appearances for RSL, amassing 9,133 minutes, and notching 7 goals and 5 assists. He played 94 games as a central midfielder (box-to-box or "8") with a handful of games as a defensive midfielder ("6"). Last season, Ojeda played in 36 games throughout 4 competitions (MLS, MLS Playoffs, Leagues Cup, and CONCACAF Champions Cup) totaling 2,508 minutes, 5 goals, and 6 yellow cards.
 

Ojeda has also represented Paraguay on the national stage, where he started with the U17 and U20 levels. He eventually made his senior national team debut in 2021, when Paraguay faced Ecuador. In total, he has appeared 14 times for the senior national team and 16 times at the youth levels.
 

Skill Set/Measurables/Advanced Stats

With a solid foundation on his background and the transfer rumors, let's take a look at his stats and positional fits so we an understand Ojeda a bit better.

In terms of position, he's going to play one of the two central midfield spots for Orlando City. As most of you know, Orlando City plays a double pivot formation, a formation with two central midfielders. In that double pivot, you can go in two directions: you either play two defensive midfielders or you play one defensive midfielder and one box-to-box central midfielder. Based on his footage, reports, and stats, Ojeda fits much more comfortably in the box-to-box role in that formation. Think more of an Eduard Atuesta then a Wilder Cartagena.


Stats

Like always, I use FB Ref for my stats and I will continue to use visuals to help folks understand the stats I'm talking about. Throwing a ton of numbers at people won't help people understand how impactful Ojeda could be. All of Ojeda's stats will come from this last season with RSL. I think the most recent season is a good representation of what he can do. I also will use Wyscout to support some of the numbers I see on FBref (the chart right below this section is from Wyscout). 

General

To start, let's look at Wyscout to see a general overview of Ojeda's stats from last season. This will give us a good jumping off point for us to then jump into the stats.


Possession

Let's start with possession since that jumps off the page when you look at Ojeda's stats. While Ojeda only sits right above average in "total touches" (65 percentile), he dominates other areas of his possession game. He ranks in the 75th percentile for "touches in the defensive penalty area" and 62nd percentile in "touches in the defensive 3rd." You would expect for his numbers to be higher here due to his nature of playing as a defensive midfielder. He also has a great number for "touches in the middle 3rd" where he ranks in the 70th percentile, again makes sense for his position but he does fall off drastically for the "attacking 3rd" (39th percentile) and the "attacking penalty area" (28th percentile). This shouldn't surprise anyone since he played mostly as a defensive midfielder, a position not asked to get into the attacking areas often. His take-on numbers are very good for a midfielder being asked to defend. He ranks in the 77th percentile for "take-ons attempted" and 82 percentile in "successful take-ons". This puts his "successful take-on percent" in the 80th percentile and 90th percentile when you talk about being "tackled during a take-on percentage." This shows that Ojeda not only knows how to possess the ball but he also knows how to get past his opponent when he's asked to do so, more often then one would think.

For the second set of possession stats, let's talk "carrying", "miscontrols", "dispossessions", and "ball recoveries". When we look at carries, Ojeda ranks just above average in the 65th percentile. For "progressive carries" (carrying the ball at least 10 yards toward your opponents goal line or carrying the ball into the box), he's a tick above the average in the 56th percentile. In "total carrying distance and progressive carrying distance, he's again slightly above average for both, ranking in the 59th percentile for "total carrying distance" and 67th percentile in "progressive carrying distance." He does rank a bit higher than average for "carries into the final third" which scores out in the 62nd percentile but drops off drastically when he "carries into the penalty area" coming in at a lowly level of the 32nd percentile. None of these numbers are shocking for his position and does provide some positives seeing as he's solidly above average for players at his position. "Miscontrols" and "dispossessions" are another story. Ojeda is well below average for "miscontrols" ranking in the 37th percentile and a bit below average in "dispossessions" sitting at the 42nd percentile. The "miscontrols" is a weird one and something you normally don't see for a midfielder in his position so the club/fans may need to keep an eye on that. The "dispossessions" are not as worrying, as they can change from season to season just based on the games played. Finally, "ball recoveries" or "recoveries" for short, Ojeda ranks well in sitting in the 75th percentile. That is a quality number and something you would hope your midfielder can do for you.

Passing

The next group I feel like is of note for Ojeda, are his passing stats. He's got some solid numbers in this section so I think fans will be excited for what they will see. Let's start with pass completion. For "total passes completed" Ojeda ranks a touch above average in the 64th percentile. For "total pass completion percentage" he ranks in the 72nd percentile, solidly above the positional average. For "short completion percentage", "medium pass completion percentage", and "long pass completion percentage", Ojeda has a bit of a mixed bag. "Short pass completion percentage" is Ojeda's lowest rated passing measurement, outside of assists (where he ranks a low 14th percentile), ranking in the 51st percentile. Both "medium passes" and "long passes" are very solid though. For "medium pass completion percentage" he ranks in the 81st percentile and for "long pass completion percentage" he ranks in the 84th percentile. Those are great numbers for midfielder and really displays that he can distribute the ball at pretty long distances. His "switches" also help support that, where he ranks in the 80th percentile. All 3 of those display a true quality while passing. "Key passes" and "progressive passes" are just above the average where "key passes" ranks in the 54th percentile and "progressive passes" ranks in the 62nd percentile. You would like to see these numbers be a bit better, around the 65th percentile or higher, to see a true impact but they could be lower since RSL asked him to play further back on the field.

Defense

Since Ojeda played as a "6" or "defensive midfielder" a lot, let's see how his defensive stats stacked up against people in his similar position. We’ll start with the most well known defensive stats: tackles. For “total tackles” Ojeda ranks in the 36th percentile, low for a defensive midfielder. “Tackles won” doesn’t get much better where he only ranks in the 32nd percentile. For “tackles in the defensive 3rd” he rates a bit higher then average in the 58th percentile but ranks well below league average for “tackles in middle 3rd” in the 28th percentile. “Tackles in the attacking 3rd” is slightly below average ranking in the 41st percentile. These are not the best numbers, outside of tackles in the defensive 3rd. I’ll touch on why a bit later but it isn’t the most concerning collection of stats. Now for defending dribbles, the numbers don't get much better. “Dribblers tackled” and “dribbles challenged”, he ranks well below average for the position coming out at the 20th percentile and 34th percentile respectively. “Dribblers tackled” isn’t much better where he comes in at a low 18th percentile. These are not great considering his position but again, I think there’s a bigger story to be told here.
The second set of defense stats are better then the first part so their is a bit of solace in that. We’ll begin our conversation on “blocks” where Ojeda ranks in the 21st percentile. When we dive deeper into blocks, we see that for “shots blocked” he’s slightly below average in the 45th percentile but much lower for “passes blocked” ranking in the 22nd percentile. Blocks aren’t nearly as concerning of a stat, it all depends on how a team plays defense and also depends on where Ojeda was asked to play when RSL defended. “Interceptions”, “tackles + interceptions”, and “clearances” are all much better for Ojeda and are a great sign for Orlando City. For “interceptions”, Ojeda ranks in the 74th percentile and for “clearances” ranks in the 68th percentile. Those are both great numbers and means he’s getting in the right spaces to take the ball but also knows how to get the ball out of his defenses end. Since his “total tackles” were lower, his “tackle + interceptions” rank is just slightly above average in the 53rd percentile. His “errors” number isn’t great, sitting in the 11th percentile but you hope with a different position/set up, he’d improve that. Finally, his “aerials won” number is very good for a central midfielder where he comes in at the 73rd percentile for his position. Orlando City could really use a midfielder who can win balls for them in the middle of the park.

Shooting

We'll touch on shooting for a bit since he does have an interesting stat or two in this category. For "goals" he ranks slightly above average ranking in the 57th percentile. "Shot total" is another stat that sticks out with Ojeda ranking in the 77th percentile. The Paraguayan loves to rip it and fans should be happy about that. 

Discipline

Finally, we'll talk about discipline to wrap up our stats about Braian Ojeda. For "yellow cards", Ojeda ranks just below average in the 44th percentile. "Red cards" is the exact opposite where he's slightly above average at the 56th percentile. Unfortunately, for "fouls committed" he ranks in the 39th percentile, well below the league positional average. But for "fouls drawn" he excels, ranking in the 83rd percentile. The level of fouls drawn is a great sign for fans as the Lions needed to replace some of those fouls drawn that Cesar Araujo would draw. 


Comparisons to Current Orlando Midfielders

So let's compare Braian Ojeda to two current midfielders on the roster in Eduard Atuesta and Wilder Cartagena. For this exercise, we will use Eduard Atuesta's 2025 season and Wilder Cartagena's 2024 season (since Cartagena was out for all of 2025). I think this will give a nice comparison since one midfielder is a pretty defensive midfielder while the other is more attacking or box-to-box. This should give us an idea of where Braian matches up. Ojeda is red, Atuesta is yellow, and Cartagena is purple in the charts below.

Defending

With many thinking that Braian Ojeda is a “6”, let’s see how his defense stacks up against the other two. For all the stats in this category, Wilder wipes the floor with both Atuesta and Ojeda. He dominates in all the tackle stats and also with challenging dribblers. Ojeda has some slightly better performances than Atuesta but they are pretty negligible in the grand scheme. The defensive stats for Ojeda and Atuesta are underwhelming to say the least. 
Turning to the next set of stats, Ojeda aligns a better with Cartagena and Atuesta. For “total blocks”, “shots blocked”, and “passes blocked” Cartagena has a strong lead over the other two midfielders. For “interceptions” Ojeda is fair ahead of Cartagena and Atuesta. All 3 are well above average and pretty close when it comes to “clearances”. “Aerials won” is another stat where all 3 are pretty close to each other and well above the league average, a promising sign for a team looking to be more defensive.

Possession

Let’s turn our attention to possession next since we know Oscar Pareja likes to run a midfield that has players who can possess and handle the ball. This is where fans will be excited to see how Ojeda plays because he really shows off his skills. Starting with "touches", all 3 are around the same spot, well above average. The "touches in the defensive 3rd" and "defensive penalty area" is lead by Wilder Cartagena but Atuesta and Ojeda aren’t too far behind. When it comes to touches higher up the field (middle 3rd and attacking 3rd) the three are much closer to each other in stats but only marginally above league average. Take-ons are an interesting stat for both Ojeda and Atuesta. Ojeda marginally leads Atuesta in “take-ons attempted” (with both well above the league average) and in “successful take-ons” it’s the same story. Both players, in Atuesta and Ojeda, are well above average with “successful take ons” so you’re seeing a similar play style here. Where Ojeda pulls away are the “Successful take-on percentage” and “tackled during take-on percentage”. He dominates those statistics and leaves Cartagena in the dust but they aren’t stats that you expect Wilder to excel in based on where he’s asked to being played.
The next set of possession stats tell the same story like the ones before tell. For “carries” Atuesta lead the group by a healthy margin but Ojeda and Cartagena were right behind. The same story for the remainder of the carry stats with all of them being slightly above average compared to the other midfielders in the league. With “recoveries” Atuesta and Ojeda are at the same highly effective level and surpass the numbers that Cartagena has. We do want to give Cartagena his flowers for his great numbers with miscontrols and dispossessions.

Passing

Passing is another important area for us to hit on since this team notoriously likes midfielders who can distribute the ball. When you look at passing, Ojeda looks closer to Cartagena’s numbers then Atuesta’s numbers. All 3 are above average for “passes completed” and “pass completion percentage”. When we look at “short passes completed percentage”, Atuesta is far above his peers in that spot. For “medium passes completed percentage” Cartagena and Ojeda are at the same, high level and then the “long passes completion percentage” Ojeda leads the group with Cartagena right behind him. All 3 midfielders rank highly in “switches”, well above average and should make fans feel great that we can move the ball side to side. Now, when we look at “assists”, “key passes”, and “progressive passes” Atuesta is shoulders above his peers, especially in the assists and key passes area. This makes sense considering the position Atuesta was asked to play (when he wasn’t defending) but this is also something to think about when you talk about Ojeda. With RSL, he was asked to play further back on the field but if he was asked to play higher up, his stats may be closer to what Atuesta put up for passing. 

Shooting

So what about shooting? Ojeda is a fair amount above his peers and that’s while being further back on the pitch this past year. For “goals” Ojeda was above league average where Atuesta and Cartagena were well below league average. “Shot total” Ojeda leads the group again with Atuesta slightly behind him and Cartagena around league average. With “shots on target percentage”, “goals per shot”, and “goals per shot on target” Ojeda is around league average but Cartagena and Atuesta are below league average for those categories. For the remaining stats, the 3 are pretty close and all around league average so you don;t expect them to be banging goals in left and right but they are serviceable with it. 

Video Breakdown: Braian Ojeda vs. Querétaro (Leagues Cup)

I put together a breakdown of one of Braian Ojeda’s best games in the Leagues Cup. Many may point to the game against San Luis but I think the Querétaro game shows more of his game and what he can do. He not only scored a banger of a goal but he also played like a mad man in the midfield. 
 


Conclusion: Where does he fit in the midfield?

As Ricardo Moreira said in his press release, “Braian is a high-energy, all-around midfielder who immediately strengthens our midfield,” said Ricardo Moreira, Orlando City SC General Manager & Sporting Director. “He brings valuable international experience, can play different roles in the midfield in our model, and has already proven his quality and consistency in our league. We look forward to welcoming Braian to Orlando and getting him integrated with our squad.” and I believe that. But I do think there are a few spots he can play best in and to me, that's as a box-to-box midfielder.

I'm not saying he can't do a job as a defensive midfielder or "6", what I am saying is that this team wants to find ways to play to their strengths and putting him higher up the field would play to those strengths. The thing I will say is this: Orlando City did well to not only bolster their depth, but provide a player who can play two to three different spots and play them well. This team is known for having utility players that can play a variety of different positions but I think Ojeda may be the best one to play a slew of different spots. I can't wait to see him join preseason camp. 

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