Lion Links: 12/26/16

Good Monday Morning Mane Landers, and a Happy Boxing Day to all!

We hope that you’re enjoying your holidays, whichever you choose to observe. I had a particularly enjoyable Festivus, and a perfectly wonderful Christmas. Despite this being a slow time for MLS, it’s a busy week elsewhere in the world of soccer, and there’s actually quite a bit to get to on today’s links. Please enjoy!

Boxing Day EPL Extravaganza

The week between Christmas and New Years is a busy one for the English Premier League, and it all starts with the Boxing Day matches. But that’s not all of it. The entire week is chock full of matches, and has the entire world watching.

The Off-season so far

We all know what Orlando City has been doing this off-season, but what have the other MLS teams been up to so far? It seems that it is still up in the air as to whether USMNT player and Seattle Sounder, Clint Dempsey will ever play again. It also looks like USMNT and Portland Timbers player , Darlington Nagbe is getting some interest from Celtic across the pond. Also, there has been an influx of Costa Rican players into MLS, with more coming for the 2017 season. Finally, we can look forward to the draft with TopDrawerSoccer’s Top 100 Men’s Division I players.

Bradley’s Broken English

It seems that Swansea City manager and former USMNT coach, Bob Bradley, has a bit of an English language problem. While he speaks perfectly good American, his Queen’s English has something to be desired by the supporters and some of the players. Since taking over, Swansea City have only won two of 10 matches, and his American Soccer vernacular has come under a bit of scrutiny. Suffice to say, I doubt this would be a problem if the team was getting better results. As they say, “winning fixes everything”.

Playing Soccer Like it’s 1914

During the first Christmas of World War I, British and German troops laid down their arms and joined each other in the “No Man’s Land” that was between the lines. It started with Christmas songs being sung on both sides, and finally with the men coming together to celebrate the holiday. It was said that there were even small contests of soccer between the enemies. It was a bright spot in a very dark time. Nowadays, the nations are NATO allies with soldiers serving together in Kabul. Soldiers from several countries joined together to celebrate Christmas once again. Of course, that meant a soccer match.

Some Holiday Cheer

Idi Diallo is a name you may not have heard before, but one that you may soon, as he has a tryout with Orlando City coming up in January, along with some other teams. Idi’s journey to these opportunities is quite a story, and one that deserves to be shared. Born in the Ivory Coast, he has traveled the world and been homeless, but may now become a professional soccer player.

Finally, we have a bit of news concerning Orlando City’s captain, Kaka. We’re happy to see he’s recovering and moving on from his divorce and spending time with his new girlfriend, Carolina Dias.

That will do it for this edition of Lion Links, and we hope you’ll stop back during the day for more Orlando City coverage.