Lion Links
Lion Links 10/30/17
Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! It’s Devil’s Night tonight, so have fun but make sure you’re being safe. Hopefully, you have your Halloween costume picked out, and plenty of goodies ready for the trick-or-treaters.
Jason Kreis is an MLS Cult Hero
Jason Kreis might be the skipper for Orlando City, but he was also a player for the Dallas Burn and Real Salt Lake before he started his coaching career. He scored the first goal in club history for both of those teams, making him the first to do so in MLS history. He also took RSL to the promised land, winning the championship in 2009. He has made enough of a mark in MLS to be the first “hero” mentioned in a roundtable discussion sponsored by Target.
Cult heroes who have left their mark on MLS. // @Target https://t.co/BZ78BhocAa
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 29, 2017
Yoshi Starts Training for World Cup Playoff
Orlando City midfielder Yoshimar Yotun has arrived in Lima, Peru to get ready for the Peru National Team’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Intercontinental Playoff against New Zealand. Yoshi was an integral piece of a Peru team that shocked many during CONMEBOL qualifying and he weighed in on the impending match-up with the island nation. The playoff will start on Nov. 11 in Wellington and the second leg will be played in Lima on Nov. 15.
“Big Things Coming”
At 11 a.m. ET today, David Beckham will be making an announcement on Facebook. Could this be the long-awaited Miami MLS team Mr. Beckham has been working on for years? Perhaps it’s all finally going to come together. Fortunately, we won’t have very long until we find out. Stay tuned!
American Outlaws Survey
Feeling frustrated with U.S. Soccer? Want to do something more than shake your fist at a passing cloud? The American Outlaws are giving you the opportunity to make your voice heard, with a free online survey. Some of the issues include equal pay for players, national team coaching, and player development.
What Happens to Barca?
There is quite a bit of uncertainty in the northeast region of Spain known as Catalonia, as many are petitioning for independence. If that were to happen, it would also have repercussions for 118-year-old soccer club Barcelona FC. La Liga has made it clear that a non-Spanish team would not be able to play in the league. Many can’t imagine La Liga without Barca battling Real Madrid, but that may end up happening.
Free Kicks
- Orlando City’s season is over, but the English Premier League is in full swing, and the teams that are sitting on top are the traditional powerhouses like Manchester United and Liverpool. There was plenty of action over the weekend.
- If you have any doubt that soccer can be a dangerous sport, Albacete left back Mariano Bittolo will set you straight. Mariano was injured in a cringe-worthy manner, when a teammate’s studs caught his err…manhood, requiring 10 stitches.
- Famous birthdays for today include founding father John Adams (1735-1826), quarterback Marcus Mariota (23), “The Fonz” Henry Winkler (71), Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale (51), Ivanka Trump (35), actor Matthew Morrison (38), and soccer legend Diego Maradona (56).
That will do it for this edition of Lion Links. Check back in for all the Orlando City goodness you can handle.