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Lion Links: 1/20/18

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9 years ago

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Happy Saturday, everyone! There was a good amount of stuff that went on yesterday, including Orlando City‘s turn in the draft. Like the Orlando Pride, the Lions had one pick but they certainly made the most of it.

The Florida Cup will wrap up later today over in St. Pete, so if you’re over that way, stop by Al Lang Stadium for the 6 p.m. start. Atletico Nacional could win the tournament with a two-goal victory over Legia Warsaw.

Now, on to the links!

Orlando City Selects Chris Mueller No. 6 in 2018 MLS Draft 

The biggest news of yesterday revolved around Orlando City’s first-round draft pick. The Lions selected Chris Mueller, a forward/winger from the University of Wisconsin. The 21-year-old comes off an impressive senior season, receiving the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. Here’s more on the newest Lion from SBI Soccer.

Mueller, who comes from Schaumberg, IL, scored nine goals and had 21 assists during his senior season of 2017. He also helped lead his team to the conference championship as well as the third round of the College Cup. Though he is listed as a forward by most analysts, Mueller can play in a variety of positions, such as a winger or even in the center of the pitch. It will be curious to see where Jason Kreis and his staff see Mueller fitting into the team. Here’s what Kreis and Mueller had to say at the SuperDraft. Let’s go in the green room with him courtesy of mlssoccer.com:

Orlando City Adds Additional Game to Preseason Schedule

A few days ago, Orlando City announced its preseason schedule which contained matches against Jacksonville University, Minnesota United, Philadelphia Union, Real Salt Lake, and a final game against Chicago Fire in Orlando City stadium. Additionally it appears that Orlando has added an additional game to the slate for preseason. According to Nashville SC, the new USL club will be facing Orlando City on Feb. 25. This game will take place one day after the preseason game against the Chicago Fire, which likely says that Orlando City plans to get the reserves a run-out.

Former Orlando City Midfielder Darwin Cerén Traded 

Darwin Cerén, former midfielder of Orlando City from both the USL and MLS days, was traded from San Jose Earthquakes to Houston Dynamo. The trade has Cerén going to Houston and San Jose receiving $100,000 in General Allocation Money and $75,000 in Targeted Allocation Money with potential performance incentives. Cerén played one season with Orlando City’s USL side and then joined the team when it made the jump to MLS. He then continued to play for the club for a season and a half before he was traded to San Jose Earthquakes for Matías Pérez García.

Former Orlando City Center Back Conor Donovan Joins New Team

Former Orlando City and OCB center back Conor Donovan has found a new team after his option was not exercised by the club. Donovan will be joining Rio Grande Valley FC this upcoming season. RGV is the USL affiliate for the Houston Dynamo and should see some player shuffling before the USL season begins.

Donovan was selected in Orlando City’s first MLS draft in 2015 with the 22nd pick overall as a Generation Adidas player our of North Carolina State and had a lot of upside coming out of college. He made his professional debut against Philadelphia Union in August of 2015, but ended up tearing his ACL in the 10th minute. Ever since the injury Donovan was not able to really make it back to the first team, spending most of his time with OCB on rehab assignments. Best of luck to Donovan!

Chicharito to Beşiktaş?

The Cyle Larin saga gets even more…strange?

As many people know, Cyle Larin left for Turkey earlier this week in an attempt to force Orlando City to transfer him to Besiktas. The club has since prepared itself for a legal battle and is in talks with Besiktas to see if an agreement can be made. In the meantime, rumors have been swirling around the internet that claim Besiktas are in for Chicharito (Javier Hernandez). According to Goal, the Turkish club is offering 8.5 million euros for Chicharito which would make Larin’s move suspect to say the least. 

This could be a play for Besiktas to get Larin then loan him out so he can work on his game but it doesn’t look like they are willing to spend much money on the Canadian if he were to join the club. We’ll be sure to see how this saga plays out but it isn’t looking great for Larin.

Large MLS Trades Run Rampant on Draft Day

The MLS Draft had a handful of trades with many teams moving up, back, and even out of the first round. The biggest deal of the day was the trade between the Chicago Fire and Philadelphia Union, where Chicago sent David Accam to Philadelphia for $300,000 in General Allocation Money and $900,000 in Targeted Allocation Money. This trade reaches one of the highest allocation money deals in league history.

The day didn’t end there, either! As reported a week ago, Ola Kamara and Justin Meram had asked Columbus Crew to trade them. There were a few teams interested in both players but no one could reach the the asking price until Friday. LA Galaxy and the Columbus Crew agreed to a trade where Gyasi Zardes and $400,000 in allocation money would go to Columbus in return for Ola Kamara. This trade has now shaken up the eastern conference and strengthened LA Galaxy.

Free Kicks

  • Lazio face a two-match stadium closure for Anne Frank photo scandal. Italian football federation prosecutors have requested Lazio play two games behind closed doors and fined 50,000 euros ($61,000) after Lazio fans put pictures of Anne Frank on t-shirts during their rivalry game against Roma.
  • The U-20 USWNT opened its 2018 CONCACAF Championship campaign winning 2-0 over Nicaragua with goals by Taryn Torres and Civana Kuhlmann. The ladies will play again on Jan. 23 at 3 p.m.
  • Eziquiel Barco is finally official for Atlanta United. Atlanta United announced at the SuperDraft Friday that the team had finally signed the 18-year-old. Atlanta had gone back and forth with Independiente for weeks about the price.
  • D.C. United unveiled their new 2018 jersey before the SuperDraft on Friday. The jersey is crafted to represent the new stadium as well as the unique history of the District of Columbia.

  • MLS announced the new match ball for the 2018 MLS season, the “NATIVO.” What do you think? 

As I always like to end Lion Links on a happy note. All of us at The Mane Land would like to say congratulations to Antonio and Federica Nocerino on the birth of their new child, Mattia!

Welcome Mattia 🇮🇹🇺🇸 19january2018❤️

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/19/26

Orlando City match day, Colin Guske reportedly being loaned to RSL, Banda is an MVP candidate, and more.

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9 hours ago

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August 19, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Orlando City plays in a midweek match that thankfully isn’t a Leagues Cup match. There are those who will say they’re sad the Lions are out of Don Garber’s cash grab competition, but I’m not one of them. The U.S. Open Cup and the MLS regular season provide plenty of fixtures for now. The schedule congestion is real, as we can see this week. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Match Day

Orlando City hosts Robert Lewandowski and the Chicago Fire tonight in an Eastern Conference clash. Defending against Lewandowski and Philip Zinckernagel will be a tough task for the Lions’ defense. Orlando City will need its offense to keep pace with the Fire if the Lions are going to take any points from the match. It will be interesting to see both Antoine Griezmann and Lewandowski on the pitch at the same time. Here is your official match guide from the club. Our match preview will drop later this morning at 11 a.m. You can also listen to our thoughts on the match on The Mane Land PawedCast.

Go West, Young Guske

It appears that Orlando City is loaning midfielder/defender Colin Guske to Real Salt Lake, according to Tom Bogert. This is not entirely surprising given how crowded Orlando City’s defensive midfield is with Joran Gerbet and Wilder Cartagena healthy and Luis Otavio rounding into form, not to mention Eduard Atuesta and Braian Ojeda once they return. It’s a good opportunity for Guske to get some minutes, given he’s a bit down on the depth chart with the senior team — far enough down to see more minutes recently at center back with the first team than in the midfield.

MVP Candidate Banda

Despite being away for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and not scoring in her first game back, Barbra Banda maintains her slim lead in the Golden Boot competition and is still a League MVP candidate. If she hopes to win either of those accolades, she will need to resume scoring. The upcoming match against the Washington Spirit this Sunday is the perfect opportunity to extend that lead.

U.S. National Team News

USMNT defender Mark McKenzie is reportedly returning to the Philadelphia Union and will occupy a Designated Player spot. Real Salt Lake’s 19-year-old forward Zavier Gozo has been signed by Premier League club Crystal Palace. Of course, there are other USMNT players already playing in Europe, and some are making a quick return to form following the World Cup. USWNT players are also experiencing ups and downs in the NWSL.

Free Kicks

  • Former Lion Nicholas Gioacchini is headed to CE Sabadell FC of the Segunda División in Spain.

That will do it for today. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for match updates and we will also have a recap of the match. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/18/26

Americans in midweek action, WAFCON takeaways, senior FIFA official fired, and more.

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1 day ago

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August 18, 2026

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Image of Barbra Banda holding off a Washington Spirit defender.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a great weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as the three outfits combined to take just one point from the nine on offer. Fortunately, Orlando City gets an immediate opportunity to bounce back against the Chicago Fire Wednesday night, before all three teams are back in action over the weekend. We’ve got plenty to talk about today, so let’s have a look at the links.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans playing games during the working week, so get some of the highlights marked down on your calendar. Things get started later today when Tanner Tessmann and Lyon face Fenerbahce in UEFA Champions League qualifying. Wednesday features Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid kicking off their La Liga season against Malaga, before Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Gornik Zabrze in UEFA Conference League qualification play. The week then wraps up on Friday when Haji Wright and Coventry City open the Premier League season against Arsenal.

Takeaways from WAFCON

WAFCON 2026 is officially in the books, so what did we learn from this year’s tournament? For one thing, expanding from 12 teams to 16 was largely successful, as Cameroon won the trophy after getting into the tournament on the strength of its world ranking after being eliminated during qualifying. We also saw a competitive tournament that had some upsets, with first-time participants Malawi making a run all the way to the final, and Zambia failing to get out of the group stage despite racking up six points. That said, attendance was non-existent for matches not involving host Morocco, and the video review process wasn’t exactly speedy for the most part. Still, it was mostly a great tournament and a great showcase for African women’s soccer.

Kevin Lamour Leaves Position as FIFA Executive

Kevin Lamour has been fired from his position as FIFA’s chief operating officer just several weeks after strongly condemning Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Lamour said that FIFA’s leadership had been “deceived” when it came to the plan and that losing his job over his opposition to it would be worth it since he would at least be able to sleep well at night. Before his two years at FIFA, Lamour had previously worked alongside Infantino when the two men were at UEFA. FIFA confirmed his departure with a brief statement on Monday afternoon.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Most summer transfer windows will be closing soon, but we’ve still got plenty of rumors to discuss. We begin with a piece close to home, as Breel Embolo has reportedly rejected the personal terms offered to him by Atlanta United and is said to be negotiating with Ipswich Town. Speaking of the Premier League, Manchester City is reportedly still in pursuit of a deal for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez despite missing the Blues’ stated deadline of Aug. 14 to get a deal done. Moving to Spain, Real Madrid is reportedly interested in signing Martin Zubimendi from Arsenal and has already had contact with his representatives. Finally, Inter Milan is said to be interested in signing Liverpool’s Curtis Jones.

Free Kicks

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/17/26

Lions draw FC Cincinnati, Pride and OCB lose, Americans abroad, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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August 17, 2026

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Image of Orlando City's starters pose for a pregame photo wearing their Archive Collection third kits.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’m back to covering high school sports again for the fall season, with golf, soccer, and football this week. Our beloved Lions, Pride, and OCB were all in action over the weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Draw FC Cincinnati at Home

Orlando City drew FC Cincinnati 1-1 on Saturday at Inter.co Stadium. The Lions trailed 1-0 at halftime, but Tyrese Spicer’s early goal in the second half was enough for Orlando to secure a point at home. Orlando City hasn’t won in its last three matches across all competitions and will need to pick up wins down the stretch, with the club sitting outside the MLS playoff spots in the Eastern Conference standings with 21 points. Before the match, Orlando City announced it had signed OCB midfielder Issah Haruna to a short-term contract. Haruna was on the bench but did not play against FC Cincinnati. The Lions have a quick turnaround, with two home matches this week. Orlando City will face the Chicago Fire on Wednesday and Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

Pride’s Winless Run Continues with Loss at Portland Thorns

The Orlando Pride fell 2-1 to the Portland Thorns at Providence Park on Saturday. After a scoreless first half, Portland struck first to take a 1-0 lead in the second half. Jacquie Ovalle scored the equalizer for Orlando, but in stoppage time, Caiya Hanks scored a late winner for Portland. Orlando has lost three consecutive matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Sunday against the Washington Spirit.

OCB Falls at Chicago Fire II

Orlando City B fell 2-0 to Chicago Fire II at SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday. Robert Turdean scored the opening goal for Chicago in the first half, and the Fire took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Damyan Villanueva added the insurance goal for Chicago, which won its third in four matches. The Young Lions have lost four consecutive matches. OCB will be on the road to take on Atlanta United 2 on Saturday.

Americans Abroad

Let’s catch up on Americans in action abroad in Europe. Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten were both in action for Middlesbrough in a 2-1 win against Lincoln City on Saturday in the EFL Championship. Ricardo Pepi scored, and Sergino Dest notched an assist for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-1 win over Excelsior in the Eredivisie. Gianluca Busio played a full 90 minutes for Venezia as his side defeated Modena 3-2 in the Round of 64 in the Coppa Italia. Austin Trusty scored for Celtic, and Cameron Carter-Vickers was also in action in a 4-0 win against Dundee United, as the Scottish Premiership leaders advanced to the quarterfinals in the Scottish League Cup. On Sunday, former Lion Alex Freeman came off the bench late in the second half for Villarreal in a 2-2 draw against Racing Santander in La Liga.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride forward Seven Castain, who is on loan at Dallas Trinity, scored her first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw against the Tampa Bay Sun on Saturday in the USL Super League.
  • Former Lion Cyle Larin scored for Southampton, but his side fell 2-1 to Watford on Sunday in the EFL Championship.
  • Atlanta United is reportedly close to signing forward Breel Embolo from Stade Rennes for an $18 million transfer fee.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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