Lion Links: 4/9/16

Good morning, Lion Nation. Well, Orlando City is no longer unbeaten, but the team is still off to a good start to the 2016 season and, with a bit more time wasting or a more favorable bounce off the crossbar, could be coming home with a point today. It was pretty un-chill of the Union to put up both an MLS Goal of the Week and Save of the Week favorite in the game's final three minutes. That's sports for you.

Let's get to your Saturday morning Lion Links.

Orlando City Suffer First Defeat of the Season

A depleted roster and some highlight plays from the Philadelphia Union saw the Lions fall from the ranks of the unbeaten.

• Austin Siegel’s match recap can be found here
• You can find player grades and our Man of the Match courtesy of Michael Citro
• Union blog Brotherly Game has the other side of the story

Tune in later this morning for our five takeaways from the match by Luis Hernandez.

Brazil is Turning Purple

Flavio Augusto da Silva’s plan to raise Orlando City’s profile in Brazil seems to be working. Arthur Fernandes of Rio de Janeiro recently renounced his support for Fluminense and pledged it to the Lions. Fernandes is a representation of the growing movement in Brazil thanks to Kaká and Orlando City’s friendlies against some of the major Brazilian clubs.

Sepp Blatter Knows How to Fix FIFA

This section of Lion Links is brought to you by the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Sepp Blatter, former President of FIFA currently serving a six-year ban, will be serving on a panel discussing how FIFA can be reformed. In what can only be described as a masterstroke by the University of Basel in Switzerland, they are bringing in the most qualified man in the world for the job. The idea was definitely not inspired by the hit Discovery Channel show It Takes a Thief. The best part is that they will be live streaming the event on April 15 on YouTube, so anyone who would like to listen to Blatter's thoughts on the matter may do so.

Brek Shea Impressing Klinsmann

His goal might not have impressed the American public enough for Goal of the Week, but Shea’s strike against Portland was good enough for Jurgen Klinsmann. The USMNT boss picked out Shea and Timothy Chandler as players who could make their way back into the team in time for Copa America Centenario this summer. Here’s that goal one more time in all of its glory:

Bendik Wins Save of the Week

While Shea may have been robbed by the new voting format, his teammate Joe Bendik was graced with this week’s Save of the Week for his stonewalling of Fanendo Adi’s penalty. Bendik’s play for Orlando has been superb so far and plays like this one justify his acquisition.

That’s all for this edition of Lion Links. Let’s hope the Lions can get healthier before the New England Revolution come to town and the check from FIFA for that Blatter segment comes in soon.