Midfielder Antonio Nocerino was back on the pitch this weekend, starting in the midfield for Orlando City after serving a one match suspension. With Nocerino’s transition into becoming a consistent starter, his role both on and off the field has been impacted.
“I believe that the biggest difference is the confidence I have,” Nocerino said after training on Tuesday. “I’m finally able to play consistently and gain this confidence.”
While Nocerino acknowledged that the team is doing a lot better in their overall fitness levels and tactical play under Head Coach Jason Kreis, Nocerino believes that there is still room to grow, for both himself and the entire team. “There’s a lot of room for me to grow personally as well as the team as a whole,” Nocerino said. “Yes, the overall fitness has increased but we can and we must still improve in many aspects.”
Nocerino appears to have settled into Kreis’ philosophy pretty well. He admits that while training has been intense, it has benefited the team tremendously. “There is a different intensity in the training ground and at matches at the moment.”
With the team being in the midst of a playoff run, that intensity only grows. But Nocerino insists that the team cannot focus on the playoffs, and must continue their game-to-game mentality. “We can’t think about the playoffs… without focusing on every single little step,” Nocerino said. “We have to focus on that game in particular and focus on that game-by-game mentality.”
Orlando City’s next match is against Toronto FC on Wednesday night. Nocerino says that the team is focused on that, and once the match is over, they will shift their focus to New York City FC.
The match against Toronto FC kicks off at 7:30pm at Camping World Stadium on Wednesday, August 24th.
