Oliver Orozco is a 17-year-old Nicaraguan who features at central midfield and right winger for Diriangén FC. He figures to slot into an attacking midfield role as he refines his technical ability and becomes comfortable as a focal point. So far this season he has a goal and an assist over four matches domestically. In addition, Orozco has been capped once by the U-17 national team (2023).
Physically, Orozco is below average height for the position with broad shoulders for his age and a lean frame. Because of the latter qualities, he is sizable enough to hold up against the strength of play in this region. He is still underdeveloped physically, though, leaving him outmatched in duels. Orozco is a willing competitor into both aerial and ground duels despite a size and strength disadvantage. His pace is decent and agility functional, but he is not explosive. On the contrary, he is a high motor athlete who is a constant runner to stretch the defence.
Psychologically, the Nicaraguan attacker is confident, demanding the ball into his feet to be assertive in the buildup. Orozco does need more service from his teammates to have better opportunity to showcase his on-ball traits. This will not come quickly in Central America, so he must continue to be assertive in possession. He is also quite mature for his age, taking responsibility for his errors while being a vocal communicator that can direct play for his teammates off the ball.
On the ball, Orozco is effective in short combinations while having the vision to attempt chips and cutbacks to create but his technical execution is inconsistent. Danger can be created by the cutbacks that he drives in, but more quality must come from them. His first touch is clean in space but consistently heavy when facing pressure, not entirely lacking control but must be sharpened to gain trust from teammates and to succeed at the next level. His finishing is opportunistic, with his lone goal coming as a rebound. His technique is raw and lacks placement/composure in his end product in this moment. Off the ball, his high work rate shows with his well-timed forward and diagonal runs, creating space by dragging defenders away and supporting counterattacks by underlapping or crashing the box. Overall, although he must improve his technical ability under pressure/upon first touch and end product consistency, Orozco’s creativity when confident and intelligent off-ball movement make him a promising central attacking talent.
Out of possession, he has sharp instincts in the press, winning stand tackles but being somewhat reckless going in leading to fouls. His greatest value defensively comes in the form of his energy when pressing high, whereas he is less effective when defending deeper. This high energy also comes into play during his recovery runs. If he can reduce his fouling, he has the opportunity to become more than valuable pressing energy defensively.
Orozco is a high motor, attack-minded midfielder whose strengths are in his intelligence moving off the ball, creativity, and energetic pressing. Becoming quicker in his decision making in tight spaces and/or under pressure while becoming more refined upon first touch will be key to unlocking the true creative potential of his skillset. In addition, Orozco has physical developing to do and end product/technical execution improvements to make before he is ready to move abroad. The 17-year-old Nicaraguan has many areas to refine but is already earning consistent playing time and asserting himself in those minutes. The path to development is there for him, so an immediate move is not needed, though I can envision him on bottom half teams in the top 8 leagues one day.
Target Scouting 