Lion Links: 6/18/19

Happy Tuesday, Mane Landers. All in all, it wasn’t a terrible weekend for soccer around here as the Orlando Pride picked up their second point of the year with a draw on the road. Unfortunately, Orlando City B was blanked 2-0 on the road, but I suppose it’s selfish to ask for everything to go well. There’s lots to talk to go over today, so let’s get to it.

Recognition for the Pride

The Orlando Pride got a little love both as a team and individually following their 2-2 draw with the Houston Dash over the weekend. The team moved up one spot out of the cellar and into eighth place in NWSLsoccer.com’s weekly power rankings. Meanwhile Joanna Boyles has been nominated for the NWSL Goal of the Week for her 13th-minute free kick that opened the scoring and helped the Pride to eventually secure a valuable point on the road. Congratulations to the Pride, and to Joanna.

Florida Cup Teams Announced

An announcement was made yesterday regarding the first two teams that will be participating in next year’s Florida Cup. Brazilian club Palmeiras will be making its Florida Cup debut in the 2020 edition of the tournament, while 2018 winners Atletico Nacional will be back for the team’s second appearance in the competition.

Palmerias and Atletico Nacional play in the top flights of Brazil and Colombia, respectively, and are among the most successful clubs in their respective countries and South America as a whole. The remaining two teams will be announced at a later date, and it’s a fair bet that at least one European team will be in the mix, as none of the tournament’s five editions to date has been an all-South American affair and in fact there have been at least two European teams in all five competitions to date.

MLS All-Star Game Jerseys Released

The jersey has been released that the MLS All-Stars will wear during next month’s MLS All-Star Game. With a purple base featuring small white stars dotted all over the kit that also has a maple leaf graphic, the kit is certainly a departure from last year’s more traditional-looking white jersey. Whether you like it or not is entirely up to you, but the purple of the jersey is inspired by Orlando City SC, which is rather fitting considering Orlando is hosting the game. The MLS All-Star Game will be held on July 31 at Exploria Stadium.

Chelsea to Offer Lampard Managerial Role

Chelsea FC will reportedly offer Frank Lampard a three-year contract this week to become the club’s new manager. Maurizio Sarri left to take the previously vacant Juventus job on Sunday and the word about town is that Lampard is the club hierarchy’s preferred man to take over for him. Derby County, Lampard’s current team, are keen to keep him on after he helped guide them to the playoff final this year, but his success combined with Sarri’s departure means that many Chelsea fans have been clamoring for him to get the job. The way he helped along several of Derby’s youngsters this season isn’t hurting his case either, with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek seemingly ready for more responsibility at the club despite both currently recovering from Achilles injuries.

Free Kicks

• You can catch two Orlando City players out and about this Friday.

• Former USL Lion Jamie Watson will be calling the Lions’ U.S. Open Cup clash with the New England Revolution tomorrow.

• Walking circus Diego Maradona has gone on the record saying that even Tonga can beat the Argentinian national team after its 2-0 loss to Colombia on Saturday. While I understand his point, considering that Tonga is currently 202nd out of 211 teams in the albeit rubbish FIFA Rankings, I find that statement very suspect.
• Lastly, here’s a throwback to some jerseys that are either iconic or vomit inducing, depending on who you talk to.

That’ll be all for today. Don’t forget that Orlando City will be in action at home tomorrow against the New England Revolution in the U.S. Open Cup. Tickets are only $15 and there will be discounts on food inside the stadium, so it’s well worth going out to support the boys in their first home match in quite awhile. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. in Exploria Stadium, so go eat, drink, and be merry, and with a little luck the Lions will win and get another home game that I won’t have to miss because of work. Finger crossed all around.