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Lion Links: 12/21/17

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7 years ago

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Good morning and happy Thursday, Mane Landers. I hope you’re all well and gearing up for the holidays, because believe me they’ll be upon us before you can blink. There’s a lot of news to cover today, so let’s do this thing.

Orlando City Reportedly Negotiating for Josue Colmán

OCSC is reportedly in the home stretch of negotiating for Josue Colmán, a 19-year-old attacking midfielder from Paraguay. Colmán currently plays for Paraguayan club Cerro Porteño, but is apparently on his way to joining the Lions if the report is true. The club is in need of a new attacking midfielder after the release of Giles Barnes and Colmán could prove to be a good replacement. While only 19 years old, he has participated in 32 league games for the club this year, a pair of Copa Sudamericana matches, and has represented his country at the youth level. Stay tuned, as we here at The Mane Land will have more if/when this deal is finalized.

R.J. Allen Speaks About Orlando

New Lions fullback and New Jersey native R.J. Allen recently gave an interview to the Best of NJ website. The interview was updated to include Allen’s thoughts on being acquired by Orlando City in a recent trade.

“I still think that I can take my game to another level and be better than I was last year and the year before, when I had a goal and six assists.

“I’m hoping for another like that this season. I’m going to a team that’s going to compete for every trophy. Hopefully, I can make history and, for the first time, make the MLS playoffs for a great city like Orlando.”

Check out the full interview to learn more about one of the newest Lions.

Nashville Gets its Team

It’s official, folks. Nashville is joining Major League Soccer. It was widely expected that MLS would announce the capital of Tennessee as the newest franchise after the league scheduled an announcement at the city on Wednesday, and that’s exactly what happened. Cincinnati, Detroit, and Sacramento will battle it out for the other slot. There are no details yet on the club’s name, crest, colors, or date when it will begin play. Nashville will be the third southeastern city with a team in the league, following Atlanta and of course Orlando. Best of luck to the new franchise, just not too much of it!

Eight Candidates for USSF Presidency

There are now eight official candidates for the United States Soccer Federation presidency. Those eight candidates are as follows: Steve Gans, Eric Wynalda, Carlos Cordeiro, Michael Winograd, Paul Caligiuri, Kyle Martino, Kathy Carter, and Hope Solo. Paul Lapointe is no longer in the race. The eight candidates have secured the necessary three letters from delegates, and passed background checks, which means they’re now officially in this thing for real. We’ll have more on this race as it develops.

Female Players Finding Their Voices

Women’s soccer is growing quicker than ever before. Both in the United States and in the rest of the world, attendance and viewership numbers are rising. However, there’s still a lot of inequality present between the men’s and women’s games. Take, for example, members of Argentina’s women’s national team revealing that they’re paid roughly $8.50 for every training session, or members of the Irish women’s team being forced to share kits with the country’s youth teams. However, the women’s players are campaigning for change, and while peaceful protests and threats of strikes have been necessary in many cases to drive negotiations, the negotiations have still taken place. There’s still a long way to go, but recognizing the problems present is one of the first things that has to happen in order to affect change.

FIFA Reduces Guerrero Appeal

FIFA has decided to only partially uphold the ban on Peruvian international Paulo Guerrero, reducing the ban from one year to only six months. Guerrero was banned after he tested positive for benzoylecgonine following a game played on Oct. 5 of this year. Just for the record, benzoylecgonine is the main metabolite of cocaine. So make what you will of that, at least they didn’t overturn the ban entirely since that would probably be a bit questionable to say the least. Anyhow, six months means that Guerrero will be available for selection when Yoshi Yotún and Peru start their World Cup campaign. As long as he doesn’t go for another romp in the snow, anyway.

Free Kicks

If you ever happen to coach a team, don’t do this. Just don’t.

  • Bristol City boss Lee Johnson apparently bought Jose Mourinho a £450 bottle of wine in the hopes that the Manchester United manager would stop and have a chat with him after their Carabao Cup tie yesterday. Not sure if Mourinho will have been up for that though, considering Bristol City shocked the Red Devils 2-1.
  • The NWSL’s Utah Royals are off to a hot start with ticket sales.
  • Today’s birthdays include Samuel L. Jackson, Kiefer Sutherland, and Ray Romano.

That’s all for me today. I leave you with one piece of advice: for the love of god don’t leave your holiday shopping until the last minute like me. Nothing good comes of running around a mall like a madman. Be better than me, Mane Land friends, be better than me. Ciao.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/2/25

Orlando Pride players on International duty, NWSL power rankings, USWNT friendlies, and more.

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21 hours ago

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April 2, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. There is plenty of Orlando Pride news today, which is good considering we’re heading into an international break. That means we can look forward to some women’s international matches in addition to Orlando City’s next bout against the Philadelphia Union. Before we jump into today’s news, please join us in wishing Orlando City midfielder Cesar Araujo a happy 24th birthday. Let’s get to the links.

International Duty, Pride Edition

Four players from the Orlando Pride have been called up for international duty. Anna Moorhouse (England), Angelina (Brazil), Emily Sams (U.S.), and Zara Chavoshi (U.S. U-23 training camp) will all head to their respective national teams. Moorhouse’s England will compete in the UEFA Women’s Nations League, while Angelina and Sams will face off in a pair of friendlies between the USWNT and the Brazil Women’s National Team.

Pride Still on Top

It seems that there are more outlets providing NWSL power rankings every week, but as long as they keep the Pride on top, I’ll keep letting you know about it. Given that the Pride are undefeated, with the most goals scored and the best goal differential, it isn’t surprising that the club is sitting atop the official standings along with these “highly scientific” power rankings. Goal.com, Sports Illustrated, and All For IX all rank the Pride in first place just above the Kansas City Current. I suppose even power rankings are occasionally correct.

Orlando’s Various World Cup Ties

You probably know that Orlando wasn’t selected to be one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As disappointing as that was, there’s still a chance that the city, and Orlando City SC’s training grounds at Osceola Heritage Park will host team training during the event. The top notch facilities, plus the relatively close proximity to host cities Miami and Atlanta, make Orlando a good option.

On a more positive note, Orlando was chosen as a host city for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Camping World Stadium will see Club León vs. CR Flamengo, and Juventus vs. Manchester City. The Group H runner-up vs. Group G winner match and one of the quarterfinal round matches will also be in Orlando. There’s plenty to see and do in the City Beautiful, including some great soccer.

USWNT Youth Movement

Sams won’t be the only younger player in Emma Hayes’ lineup for the friendlies against Brazil. Hayes wants to deepen the player pool, which means bringing in players with an average age of just over 25 years old, and the average number of appearances is less than 35. Hayes also believes this is a chance for the younger players who appeared in the loss to Japan in the SheBelieves Cup. The first of the two matches is this Saturday at 5 p.m., with the second coming up Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.

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That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Orlando City and OCB matches this weekend. Hopefully, you have two screens since the match start times overlap. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/1/25

Barbra Banda’s continued importance, Americans in midweek action, USWNT announces friendly, and more.

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2 days ago

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April 1, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Good morning everyone! It was a great weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams as Orlando City and the Orlando Pride both won, meaning that we got treated to a six-point weekend (OCB was off). As always we have plenty to talk through this morning, so let’s get into today’s links.

Barbra Banda Keeps Rolling in 2025

After a wildly successful debut season with the Orlando Pride in 2024, Barbra Banda has showed no signs of slowing down this year. A brace in the season opener meant that she picked up right where she left off last year, and the team has continued to be successful too. The Pride have made it three wins from three to start the 2025 season, and while Banda hasn’t scored since the opener, her blend of pace, power, dribbling, passing, and movement have continuously helped open things up for her teammates, and she drew a penalty that led to the Pride’s game-winning goal Saturday. She isn’t the Pride’s only offensive weapon, but the team clicks into a different gear when she’s at her best.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans who will be playing in games during the working week, and there are some very important clashes on hand. Things get going later today when Antonee Robinson and Fulham visit Arsenal in Premier League play as the Cottagers are in hot pursuit of a coveted European place. Wednesday has Chris Richards, Matt Turner and Crystal Palace facing Southampton, while Tyler Adams and Bournemouth take on Manchester City. Also on Wednesday, Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan will face Inter Milan in a Coppa Italia semifinal. Things finish up on Friday as Aidan Morris and Middlesborough travel to Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Championship.

USWNT Announces Canada Match

The United States Women’s National Team has announced another friendly taking place this summer, as the team will face Canada on July 2 in Washington, D.C. The match will be the third that the USWNT will play during the window, following a pair of friendlies against Ireland in late June. The neighboring countries will meet at Audi Field with the match designated as the Allstate Continental Clasico, with this being the first time that the match will feature the USWNT. The U.S. faced Canada twice in 2024, with both matches ending in 2-2 draws and the USWNT emerging victorious in shootouts.

Concacaf Champions Cup Preview

The Concacaf Champions Cup returns this week, with the first legs of the four quarterfinal matches set to be played today and tomorrow. Things get started tonight with what should be an exciting match between Club America and Cruz Azul, with the crosstown rivals two of the winningest teams in the competition. Cruz Azul’s Angel Sepulveda leads the CCC’s golden boot race with four tallies. The late game sees the LA Galaxy taking on Tigres as the Galaxy will try to distract themselves from a difficult start to their MLS Cup title defense. Wednesday’s slate has the Vancouver Whitecaps taking on Pumas UNAM in Canada in what will be the second-ever meeting between the two teams. The late game will be an all-MLS affair as LAFC hosts Inter Miami in the first meeting between the two sides in CCC play.

Sporting Kansas City Fires Peter Vermes

The longest-tenured coach in Major League Soccer is out of work, as Sporting Kansas City announced the firing of Peter Vermes on Monday morning. It’s an end of an era in Kansas City, as Vermes was the head coach since 2009, back when the team was still called the Kansas City Wizards, and he had been named the club’s technical director three years earlier in 2006. He guided the team to an MLS Cup win in 2013; claimed U.S. Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015, and 2017; and helped the team be consistently competitive for a majority of his tenure. Despite all of that, SKC missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons and was mired in the midst of a 13-game winless streak in all competitions that stretched back to Sept. 18 of last year. After being an assistant on Vermes’ staff, Kerry Zavagnin will take over as interim head coach.

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That’s all I have for this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 3/31/25

Lions and Pride win, NWSL weekend recap, FA Cup quarterfinals, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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March 31, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been very busy at work but will attend the Chicago Cubs’ home opener at Wrigley Field later this week. Our Lions and Pride won while OCB was off this weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Beats LA Galaxy on the Road

On Saturday, Orlando City fought back from a 1-0 deficit, scoring two goals in the second half to defeat the LA Galaxy 2-1 at Dignity Health Sports Park. The Galaxy struck early in the first half to jump on top. In the second half, the Lions were awarded a penalty kick after Eduard Atuesta was taken down in the box, and Martin Ojeda buried the spot kick to tie the match at one. In the 90th minute, Luis Muriel scored the winning goal on a long-range free kick to complete the comeback. Orlando is on a three-match unbeaten streak and beat the LA Galaxy for the third consecutive time. Orlando City’s next match will be on the road Saturday against the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park.

Orlando Pride Defeat San Diego Wave at Home

The Orlando Pride defeated the San Diego Wave 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Inter&Co Stadium and extended their win streak to three matches to start the season. After a scoreless first half, Haley McCutcheon scored to give Orlando the lead. The Wave equalized before Marta converted a penalty kick goal to seal the win for Orlando. The Pride are off to a great start this season, outscoring their opponents 10-1, and are atop the NWSL standings ahead of the Kansas City Current on goal difference. The Pride are off this weekend due to the international break but will be on the road in their next match against the Seattle Reign on April 12.

NWSL Weekend Recap

The National Women’s Soccer League’s third week of matches is in the books. On Friday, the Houston Dash and NJ/NY Gotham FC match ended in a scoreless draw. The Washington Spirit defeated Bay FC 2-0, with Ashley Hatch scoring both goals. On Saturday, the Kansas City Current defeated the Utah Royals 3-0, while the Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage match ended in a scoreless draw. On Sunday, the Chicago Stars fell 1-0 to Racing Louisville and remain winless, while Angel City FC edged the Seattle Reign 2-1 to secure its first win of the season.

FA Cup Quarterfinals Recap

The FA Cup quarterfinals wrapped up with thrilling drama as four clubs booked a spot in the semifinals. Crystal Palace cruised to a 3-0 victory against Fulham, while Nottingham Forest edged Brighton 4-3 on penalties after a scoreless draw to advance. Aston Villa dominated Preston North End as Marcus Rashford scored twice to seal a 3-0 win, while Manchester City edged Bournemouth 2-1. The FA Cup semifinals are set for April 26 as Crystal Palace faces Aston Villa while Nottingham Forest will take on Manchester City.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City GM Luiz Muzzi provided some insight in an ESPN.com article on player transfers and highlighted the importance of building connections with different clubs to facilitate transfers.
  • Former Lion Benji Michel is going to play for HJK Helsinki.
  • That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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