Lion Links: 6/27/17

It’s Tuesday again, Mane Landers. Hopefully, everyone has gotten over the weekend. It’s never as good as it seems after wins, and it isn’t as bad as it seems now. Orlando City B was able to get a win. The Pride lost, but they seem to be hitting their form. We have to try to look at the positives; life isn’t all bad. With that said, let’s get to the links.

Rumor: Quintero Deal Could Happen Within a Week

We’ve previously discussed the rumor that midfielder Juan Quintero could be headed to Orlando City. This story by O Jogo says the deal “should be completed this week” (Note: if you’re not bilingual you may need Chrome to translate the linked story). The story claims that Quintero not only came to Florida but also met with officials at MLS headquarters in New York.

Quintero was highly touted as a youngster, but he hasn’t quite been able to live up to expectations. He was never able to get consistent playing time at Porto, so he was sent out on loan. He was sent back to Porto, and then went out on another loan.

Porto is a Champions League club, so there is no shame in not being able to get on the field there. But the talk is that he will be a replacement for Kaká eventually is a stretch. It’s curious that no one else seems to want to keep him, so don’t expect him to be a savior at OCSC if the move does happen.

Cyle Larin Stock Down with Canadian Men’s National Team

Cyle Larin’s recent suspension clearly has his stock down with the Canadian Men’s National Team. It’s no surprise, he put himself in that predicament. But they build you up to tear you down. As long as he gets right and comes back scoring goals, then the narrative will change. Everyone loves a redemption story.

Orlando Pride Lament Playing in Extreme Heat

Orlando Pride players commented that heat was an issue that the NWSL must better address in the future following the team’s 3:50 kickoff Saturday against the Houston Dash.

“We could’ve played tonight at like 7 or 8 p.m.,” Krieger said. “… Unfortunately, we had to play at 3:50. I still don’t understand that. I think they need to re-adjust it, in my opinion.”

This was after the start time was moved back an hour to 3:50 p.m. This puts the NWSL in an interesting dilemma because they want to keep the games early for national television purposes to further grow the game. There is more competition for viewers in the evening, and viewers correlate to money. The league did change some start times for non-national TV games and built in extra time for hydration breaks but according to the players, more needs to be done.

Orlando Pride’s Catley Nominated for Save of the Week

Defender Steph Catley was nominated for the NWSL Save of the Week award. Typically an award for a goal keeper, Catley chased down a ball going in to an open net to earn her nomination. After the match Saturday, Catley said she was determined not to give up a goal because the player who got in behind for the shot was her responsibility. Visit @NWSL on Twitter to vote.

Vote Timbo for USL Goal of the Week

Timbo’s goal against Rochester has been nominated for USL Goal of the Week. The greatness of the goal was how Pierre Da Silva dribbled through defenders and set Timbo up, but there’s no I in team. Voting ends Thursday at 9 a.m. ET. Vote for Timbo, because there is some stiff competition.

2017 MLS All-Star Jersey Revealed

The jersey design is a throwback to an old U.S. Men’s National Team jersey.

MLS Expansion: Will Enough Viable Bids Emerge?

When MLS announced that it was going to add four expansion franchises, the thought was that the league would be able to pick and choose who got in. But as time passes, cities are dropping out of the running for a franchise.

It shouldn’t be surprising. MLS is late to the party. Tax payers have been financing bad basketball and football stadium deals for years. They know they are bad deals. In this climate, the owner is going to have to put up the money to get something done. The days of people being desperate for a sports team are gone. There are more pressing issues. It just is what it is.

World Cup Corruption Claims

There were some specific details leaked of the FIFA World Cup corruption claims. Allegedly, there is documentation that a $2 million dollar payment was made to the 10-year-old daughter of a FIFA official.

The details will seem outlandish to us, but we all knew. We have accepted that this is how business is done. Something needed to be done with Qatar winning because there was talk of having to change the date because it’s so hot, not to mention human rights concerns. But everyone knew something was going on, we can’t be outraged now that we know specifics.

That does it for another edition of links. Be safe, and support our Pride.