Lion Links: 1/11/16

Good Monday morning Mane Landers! This morning is the calm before the storm with soccer activity. I hope everyone grabbed their morning drink of choice while you all enjoy the Lion Links. Let's get started.

FIFA Announces Award Winners

Today FIFA will announce the winner of the Ballon D'Or and FIFA Women's Player of the Year among its annual awards. Orlando City captain Kaká is in Zurich for the ceremony and he was one of the many soccer superstars who gave his thoughts on who would win the Ballon D'Or and the play of fellow Brazilian national Neymar.

Ricardo Kaka was one of the stars attending the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015 who posed for our photographers today. More to come tomorrow… Make sure you follow this year’s Gala on our Digital platforms, we will livestream the show as of 18:30 CET on FIFA.com and FIFA’s YouTube channel. You can find more information on twitter.com/fifacom and facebook.com/fifaballondor @kaka #BallondOr #Kaka #smile #portrait #photo #snapshot #Brazil #Brasil

A photo posted by FIFAWORLDCUP (@fifaworldcup) on Jan 10, 2016 at 11:45am PST

Also in Zurich is new captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, Carli Lloyd. She’s the favorite to win FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year. This is a short break for Lloyd, as the WNT is still in camp in California. She was given early access to the FIFA museum’s exhibit on the Ballon D’or.

Soaking up every second of the Ballon D’Or. Enjoyed visiting the FIFA museum! @fifaworldcup #ballondor

A photo posted by Carli Lloyd (@carlilloyd) on Jan 10, 2016 at 2:42pm PST

Orlando City’s Combine Weekend

Attending the MLS Combine for the Lions was Head Coach Adrian Heath. He also took the time to clarify his view on the off-season activity with the club and its front office turnover. Heath also discussed the team's approach on the MLS SuperDraft and the development of the young players on the team. I'm sure he spent long hours evaluating talent to help the 2016 squad. Meanwhile, the team president and interim head of soccer operations had an eye on a different kind of football.

MLS Combine Athlete Survey Results

This past weekend MLS held its player combine and those participants were given a survey with a few questions on their favorite MLS player and stadium. Additionally, the players were asked about the soccer legend they favor. The top pick was Ronaldinho, but other stars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane received votes. Even David Beckham was mentioned on the list.

Kobe's Basketball Skills Developed on the Pitch

Los Angeles basketball legend, Kobe Bryant is enjoying his final NBA season, but he took time after the Lakers lost to Oklahoma City to credit the his vision and skill on the court to his time playing soccer while growing up in Italy. A life-long soccer fan, Kobe supports FC Barcelona as his favorite team and Lionel Messi as his favorite player. I'm just a little surprised that he wasn't announced as one of the owners of LAFC.

Well, that's all for today Mane Landers. Keep it here as news will be roaring out all week.