Lion Links: 12/7/19

Welcome to the weekend, Mane Landers. Today and tomorrow are a great time to knock out holiday shopping to avoid the desperate scrambling for gifts that is sure to happen in the coming weeks. Maybe you operate better under pressure though, I won’t judge. Either way, I wish you the best of luck during the hectic holiday season. But enough about the stressful stuff, let’s get this weekend started with some links!

Orlando City Set to Add Young Midfielder on Loan

Reports are coming out that Colombian midfielder Andres Perea is set to join Orlando City on loan for a year, with an option to buy later on. For the past month or so, the 19-year-old has been rumored to join MLS, with Orlando City only recently becoming the most talked about destination for him. Perea appeared in eight matches for Atletico Nacional in Liga Aguila in Colombia and featured for Colombia in the FIFA U-20 World Cup this past summer.

Orlando’s Next Era

Although this is far from the first time the club heads into the off-season under a new head coach, this feels like a fresh start for Orlando City after five years of turnover and disappointment. Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations Luiz Muzzi and Head Coach Oscar Pareja can help Orlando crawl out of mediocrity in the league, although it won’t be easy by any means. The pieces are certainly there for this time to be different, but this isn’t the first time Orlando City supporters have heard this. Only time will tell, but Pareja is excited to give fans something to cheer about while building a strong foundation of youth for the club to grow in the future.

Alex Morgan and Marta Make List of Top Players

Only two Orlando Pride players made The Guardian’s list of the 100 best female footballers, but the two placed fairly high. Marta made the list at 26th, while Alex Morgan placed 12th overall after helping the United States Women’s National Team win a World Cup this summer. With Pride players like Alanna Kennedy and Emily van Egmond injured for most of the year, it isn’t too surprising that only Marta and Morgan represent the team on the list. Sam Kerr topped the list, edging out Lucy Bronze and Megan Rapinoe to claim her spot as the best female player of the year.

SeaWolves Hit the Road

The Orlando SeaWolves play their first road game of the season tonight when they take on the Baltimore Blast at 6:05 p.m. The SeaWolves are in search of their first win of the season after falling at home to the Florida Tropics twice already. Tonight’s game comes just two days after the team’s 8-5 loss Thursday night so the SeaWolves have a short turnaround while the Blast have not played a game since Nov. 24. Regardless, the SeaWolves are focused on the task at home and coming back to Orlando with a result.

“This is a long season,” Forward Mike Da Silva said after Thursday’s game. “We’ve just got to take every game by itself. These last two games, we put them behind us and the task at hand is to get the next win in the next game.”

Free Kicks

• The Orlando City Foundation has a new way for you to help make an impact in the local community.

• Pareja weighed in on the differences between MLS and Liga MX, believing that MLS is ahead on fan involvement and stadiums.
• Orlando-linked striker German Cano won’t be returning to Independiente Medellin next season. While this doesn’t mean he’s a step closer to joining OCSC, it does mean that one less team is in the conversation for where Cano will play in 2020.
• Former OCB Lion Joe Gallardo was signed by Real Monarchs SLC in the USL Championship.
• With over 80 days still to go before the MLS season starts on Feb. 29, MLS Commissioner Don Garber is apparently working on a solution for the long off-season.
• Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Zack Steffen could all feature today in European action featuring Americans.
• In English Premier League news, Chelsea’s transfer ban was halved and the team can sign players next month. Brendan Rodgers signed a new deal with Leicester City, committing himself to the team for the future. Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær took a mild shot at Manchester City, getting into the derby spirit for this weekend.
• We end our links with this amazing save out in Argentina by a stray dog. While the dog is impressive, the hidden gem is that bizarre elephant logo that looks fresh out of animal cracker box.

That’s going to be it from me for today. I hope each and every one of you stays safe this weekend, Have tons of fun before Monday rolls around and have a great Saturday!