Lion Links: 6/28/16

Happy Tuesday, Mane Landers! I don’t know about you, but I am still bathing in the afterglow of our glorious win on Saturday night. As a reward for all of that hard work, a few of our hard-fighting players of the Brazilian ilk are featured in today’s Lion Links for their efforts. Shall we get to it and see if we can guess who they may be?

Stadium Signage Submission Signals Strides

For those out there who get excited about construction news on the new stadium (um, all of us), the new stadium designs coming out of the club’s submission to the City of Orlando’s Appearance Review Board (ARB), show some promising progress. Who’s excited for Spring??!

Julio Baptista is “Happy, Adapting Well” to Life in Orlando

After Saturday’s stunning win over Toronto FC, in which Julio Baptista’s late 78th-minute substitution into the game can only be argued as perfect timing, Four Four Two has put out a great bio piece on the Brazilian Beast. A positive takeaway from the article: Baptista is determined to get us to the playoffs. With the kind of genius we have seen from him thus far, he makes me a believer.

Orlando City is sending fans to the MLS All-Star Game

In yet another attempt to get fans to join LionNation, the club is now dangling a pair of tickets, airfare, and accommodations to the MLS All-Star game, all for the low, low price of signing up to the online fan club. They’ll get ya eventually, might as well sign up and have a chance to win something cool.

LionNation wants to fly you out to the MLS All-Star Game! All you have to do is enter: https://t.co/weD6JWbWbr pic.twitter.com/iRDWmBhOX1

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) June 27, 2016

MLS Goal of The Week, Week 16

After seeing Orlando City players win Goal of the Week in two of the past three weeks, it’s hard to see ourselves without even a nod this week. However, we came off the weekend with a win, which we’ll take as the moral victory. Nonetheless, go vote for other league-worthy goals.

Ricky Makes Team of the Week

Remember how I was just complaining that MLS had forgotten us with Goal of the Week? Meh, that was so one paragraph ago. Kaká got a nod for MLS Team of the Week with his brilliant 100th-minute penalty kick to seal the deal for the Lions over the Reds. Not bad for a night’s work, eh?

Messi’s Last Argentina Cap?

After this past Sunday evening’s defeat of Argentina by Chile, FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi kinda announced that he was sorta, maybe, retiring from the Argentina national team. Although this seems to be the end from Messi’s own lips, teammates are doubting his claim of retirement. Perhaps, almost likely, totally unrelated, a bomb threat against the Argentinian FA headquarters was made on Monday, although with the hot water the national federation is currently facing from FIFA, maybe this is the least of their current problems.

A Bad Week For England

Pop quiz, kids. What do UK Prime Minister David Cameron and England Head Coach Roy Hodgson have in common? Both thought things were going to go better than they ended up, and both are now dusting up their résumés. Sorry, Brexit joke. Too soon? It’s been a bad week for England, with the insult adding to injury with England falling disasterously to Iceland in the Euro 2016 round of 16. Maybe next week will be better?

And Finally…

Reminder, Mane Landers: Orlando City takes on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at home this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match-up. Tickets are available here, via the club’s ticket portal. That’s it from me. Have a dazzling week as we all roll towards a three-day weekend.