Lion Links: 2/2/18

Welcome to another Friday adventure in internet land, Mane Landers. I hope you have survived this monstrous week filled with loads of Orlando City and Orlando Pride transfers. Personally, I am still trying to catch my breath and rest my fingers. I don’t think the front office is done yet, but we may have to wait. In the meantime, let’s dig right in to the best of the best links from around the web.

Mohamed has Landed

The long awaited day has finally come. After signing the left back from Serbian side FK Partizan Belgrade back in December, Orlando City has just been waiting for everything to clear for Mohamed El-Munir. Well, it definitely appears as though the paperwork concerns are over and everything is great.

Welcome to Orlando, Mohamed. Now please grab your things and get to Jacksonville as quickly as you can, good sir! Preseason training is already underway.

Kreis Discusses Team on Extra Time Radio

This has been the most heart-wrenching and agonizing off-season I can remember, and these are good things. I also believe that there is more to come. While we continue to wait with baited breath for the next hint or crumb of who the next Lion will be, I guess we will be forced to snack on the nuggets of information sneaking out of training camp. One such nugget comes straight from Head Coach Jason Kreis himself as he recently sat down with Extra Time Radio to discuss Orlando City’s apparent all-or-nothing roster shake-up, where Sacha Kljestan may play, and other items I will not spoil. Listen for yourself.

In Regards to Those Additional Transfers

Dusan Cvetinovic, the Serbian center back rumored for a few weeks now to be in talks with Orlando, may not be coming after all, at least not yet. According to some European papers, Orlando City’s offer was short of the requested amount to secure the transfer of Cvetinovic. Does this mean that the deal is completely dead? You can never count any transfer dead. We here at The Mane Land are watching intently and will keep you updated as this progresses, if it progresses.

USSF Now and Tomorrow

Sunil Gulati, the current president of USSF, recently spoke at the U.S. Youth Soccer Hall of Fame ceremony in Philadelphia. Part of his speech was spent defending himself and the choices made from the barrage of accusations from the current batch of presidential candidates.

Speaking of the candidates, half of them have been asked to speak with the Athlete Council. As a quick refresh and primer, the Athlete Council is made up of 20 current and former national team players and collectively holds 20% of the vote because of their status as a voting bloc.

Kathy Carter, Carlos Cordeiro, Kyle Martino and Michael Winograd were all asked to take part in calls today, although a representative for the Council warns that these four do not necessarily represent the top four candidates for the Council at this time.

Geoff Cameron Lets it all Out

USMNT center back Geoff Cameron, one of the most experienced and athletic center backs currently logging caps for the team, has come forward to give some of his thoughts on how the USMNT missed punching its ticket to Russia. According to Cameron, who was left out of the starting XI for both of the final qualifying matches against Panama (a 4-0 win for the U.S.) and Trinidad and Tobago (a 2-1 loss for the U.S.). A lot comes out in the interview and it is very interesting to see a player’s perspective on the entire story. I highly recommend taking a few minutes to see Geoff’s side, love him or hate him.

Free Kicks

• Are you a fan of #RichieCam yet? Do you even know about #RichieCam? Hop on board with Dom Dwyer and Scott Sutter to learn all about it.

• Get to know Eddie Hawkins, the first African-American to earn a cap for the USMNT. The year was 1984. Let that sink in for a few minutes. I was a 9-year-old.
• Want to know how Orlando’s whirlwind off-season compares to that other team that joined MLS almost four seasons ago? Here you go.
• When you play for Swansea and score a brace against Arsenal in a comeback victory at home, you should be careful how you celebrate the goals.
• Toronto FC has signed Gregory van der Wiel, a defender with World Cup experience. Van der Wiel now becomes the 13th player in MLS history to have played in a World Cup final.
• Stuart Holden in a dress for his daughter’s birthday party might be the best thing ever. I have done the same thing and rocked the hell out of the princess dress too, Stuart.

That is it for today folks, except for this little nugget of fun. You know I can’t help but drop a little music in that is somehow tied to the week’s events. Welcome to Black History Month, and let me please introduce you to Zeal & Ardor. They’re what happens when the internet dares a composer to create an album mashing up traditional slave hymnals and black metal. This album was one of my favorites of 2017, as it is one of the most creative albums I have heard in some time.