Lion Links: 1/13/15

Good Morning!

Were you distracted by the football yesterday? No one can blame you if you were. It seemed no matter where you looked, coverage of football was everywhere. It just was the other kind of football.

With the College Football Championship game last night, staying in touch with the soccer news may have been a little more difficult. But, never fear, your friends here at The Mane Land have you covered with a few links to the soccer news you may have missed.

And since I’m filling in on the article today and my focus is the youth system, we are going to start with the some of the Orlando City SC youth players, playing in International tournaments.

Honduras Victorious over Cuba

Orlando City's Bryan Rochez's Honduras side is off to a better start in the CONCACAF U-20 Championships than fellow OCSC standout Tyler Turner's U.S. squad. Honduras has yet to lose a match and sits second in Group B with four points behind only Mexico. After scoring the opening goal in the sixth minute of the previous match against El Salvador, Bryan Rochez did not feature in the 3-0 blowout of Cuba.

USMNT U-16 Squad named for Aegean Cup

If you had to reread the tournament name, you are not alone. I, too, did a double take to make sure I had read the name correctly and that this was a tournament named for the Sea and not a character out of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. Geography verified, I was pleased to see that Orlando City would be represented in this tournament as well with midfielder and Florida native Raul Aguilera, Jr. being named to the squad. Aguilera and the U.S. squad will kick off Group A play on Jan. 19 against Romania in Manisa, Turkey.

Head Injury Hospitalizes U.S. International

Seen mostly as a problem for athletes in American football, the risk of head injury is still ever-present in the world of soccer as well. Unfortunately, Minnesota native and frequent USMNT call-up, Cody Cropper suffered a terrible blow against Fulham. Cropper was in goal for his Southampton squad in a U-21 match-up. SB Nation's own Stars and Stripes FC has the story.

The Ballon d'Or

THE Ohio State Buckeyes were not the only group to win a trophy in football last night. FIFA handed out its 2014 awards as well. Unlike the Buckeyes’ run to a National Title, however, just about everyone expected Cristiano Ronaldo to take home the trophy for Player of the Year. SB Nation has the complete rundown of the rest of the awards, including the FIFA Pro World XI.

Well, that will do it from me for now. Thanks for hanging out, and remember The Mane Land will have more Lion Links coming your way tomorrow.

Cheers!