Connect with us

Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/7/23

Published

4 years ago

on

Welcome to the weekend, Mane Landers! Here’s one that has almost certainly never been put into the links. Tonight, I’m taking my wife to her first ever tractor pull. It might sound like an odd way to spend a Saturday night in January, but I was raised in rural Tennessee and this feels like homecoming in a way. If you have never been to a tractor pull or have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s like a mix of a farmer’s drag race and motorized CrossFit. And if that still doesn’t make sense, check out this video clip of fails and wild rides. Don’t worry though, I’ll be sure to catch some soccer action this morning with the English FA Cup. Now, enough about tractors. Let’s get to what you all came here for — today’s links!

Bye Bye, Benji

Despite Orlando City extending a Bona Fide offer to Benji Michel, the forward has decided to part ways and take his talents to Europe. The Orlando native has signed with FC Arouca in Portugal’s top flight, the Primeira Liga. Michel started in 50 of his 103 league matches with Orlando City, while accumulating 5,154 minutes. He scored 15 goals, added six assists, and appeared in all four of the club’s playoff games to date.

Loyola Called Up to U-19 Team Camp

The United States Under-19 Men’s Youth National Team will kick off 2023 with a training camp at the University of Miami. Head Coach Marko Mitrović has called 23 players in and all are eligible for this summer’s 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia. Orlando City midfielder Favian Loyola is among those receiving the call. The 17-year-old midfielder became the club’s 13th Homegrown in December after inking a three-year deal, with two additional years of club options.

Daryl Dike Bounces Back

Former Orlando City striker Daryl Dike had a difficult 2022. After finding himself as a January transfer from Orlando City to West Bromwich Albion — worth around $9.5 million up front and potentially more in future sell-on fees — Dike crashed hard into a string of injuries that limited him to just four appearances during his first 10 months with the English Championship club. The lengthy time off the pitch turned him from a rising USMNT No. 9 contender to an afterthought in a World Cup year. However, the striker has produced since finally getting healthy, and people are taking notice.

“What he’s doing right now is so commendable. It’s so fun to watch,” three-time USMNT World Cup striker and SiriusXM pundit Eric Wynalda told MLSsoccer.com this week. “That diving header the other day, to me, that’s just a striker’s goal. It’s a guy with a knack of where to be at the right time – can’t teach that. You can only screw it up, to be honest.”

Dike’s physical presence has clearly lifted both teammates and fans alike. West Bromwich Albion enters the new year as one of England’s hottest teams, skyrocketing from last place in the 24-team Championship to ninth.

“What I love about his game is, it still has the ability to evolve, especially with his back to goal,” said striker turned television personality Taylor Twellman. “His feet are softer than people think, than he’s given credit for. The instincts in and around the goal, I think playing in the Championship, all of those things are things that, even for the Josh Sargents of the world, that league is about survival, hunger and just wanting it more than others when it comes to in and around the box. And I think that enhances any natural goalscoring instincts that may be there in a player.”

One thing is for certain — if Dike can continue to garner minutes and stay healthy, he has an opportunity to become the future of the USMNT striker pool before the 2026 FIFA World Cup. There is definitely more to come from Daryl Dike.

Sophia Smith Named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year

Portland Thorns FC forward Sophia Smith has had quite the year. She was the leading scorer for both the U.S. Women’s National Team and Portland Thorns FC, won the National Women’s Soccer League’s Most Valuable Player Award, and was named MVP of the NWSL Championship Game. Smith has now claimed her first U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year Award for the 2022 year.

Smith becomes the 19th different player to win the award in its 38-year history and also just the fourth player to win both U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year and U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, proving her continued great form. At the age of 22, Smith was the youngest player to lead the USWNT in scoring since 1993 and the youngest ever NWSL MVP.

“Obviously this is surreal, and I’m super humbled,” said Smith. “It’s been a very exciting year, and certainly there’s been some challenges, but just being able to grow and develop in the environments with the National Team and the Thorns, and being surround by such amazing players, players that I have looked up to for so long, has pushed me to become a better player and person. I’ve said many times, if you embrace these environments, you have no choice but to get better and grow, and that’s a testament to the players, coaches and all of the staff. I appreciate everyone holding me to such high standards day in and day out. This award wouldn’t be possible without all those people, and the best thing about it, is that it’s fun too. The journey is so much better when you are doing something so fun and something you love.”

San Diego Wave FC midfielder Jaedyn Shaw was voted the U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year after a standout rookie season in the NWSL and a solid performance at the 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

Aurélien Collin Joins Houston Dynamo Coaching

Former Orlando City defender Aurélien Collin has joined Ben Olsen’s coaching staff with the Houston Dynamo. He will serve as an assistant coach alongside two other new additions —Tim Hanley and Adin Osmanbasic.

“We are happy to announce the first additions to Ben Olsen’s coaching staff for the 2023 season,” said Dynamo general manager, Pat Onstad. “Aurélien is a hungry, up-and-coming coach with clear ideas about the game and a history of leading successful MLS teams as a player… As with many of our new hires and new players this offseason, we are adding hungry, values-driven people with a history of winning. And we’re not finished, yet.” 

Collin transitioned to coaching following his retirement from professional soccer in March 2022. The defender won the 2013 MLS Cup and was named finals MVP with Sporting Kansas City before joining the Lions in 2015 as an MLS expansion side, starting 27 of his 28 regular-season games. After only playing two games for the Lions in 2016, Collin left the club, having found the back of the net twice in his tenure. As a stalwart on any team’s back line, he competed in the MLS Cup playoffs in eight of his 11 seasons as a player in Major League Soccer across his various clubs.

Free Kicks

  • Former Orlando City academy director Darren Powell has been promoted to Inter Miami’s first-team technical staff. With that move, Inter Miami CF II has appointed Federico Higuaín as head coach ahead of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season.

There was a whole slew of transfer news coming through this week. With the preseason set to begin soon, there will surely be more. I personally love the drama and rumors. With no official announcement from the club of Martín Ojeda joining as the third DP, who would you like to see the club go after should the deal fall through? Let me know in the comments below!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend. Vamos Orlando.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/5/26

Lions called up for international duty, USMNT roster announcement, UEFA Champions League roundup, and more.

Published

49 minutes ago

on

November 5, 2026

By

Image of Justin Ellis dribbling the ball between two Monterrey defenders.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Happy Thursday, beautiful readers. Decision Day is almost upon us, but we can’t go getting too far ahead of ourselves just yet. There’s plenty of soccer news taking place in the here and now, and that news is what we need to talk about this morning. Let’s have a gander at today’s links.

Lions Set for International Duty

Three Orlando City players have been called up (so far) to represent their nations in the upcoming November international window. Justin Ellis will join the United States Men’s National Team as it faces Haiti across two legs in a Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal.

Maxime Crepeau is back in the fold for Canada for its Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal matches against Guatemala.

Finally, David Brekalo will join Slovenia for a pair of matches against North Macedonia and Switzerland.

Congratulations to all three players, and good luck!

Mauricio Pochettino Names November Squad

In addition to Justin Ellis, Mauricio Pochettino has named the full 25-player roster that will take on Haiti in the Concacaf Nations League. Former Lion Alex Freeman is unsurprisingly included, and the roster also sees the return of big guns like Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, and Folarin Balogun. Philadelphia Union youngster Cavan Sullivan is in too, while defender Reed Baker-Whiting and midfielder Santiago Castaneda will have chances to earn their first caps with the USMNT. The first leg of the quarterfinals will take place on Nov. 14 at Inter Miami’s Nu Stadium, with the second leg set for Nov. 17 at FC Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium.

UEFA Champions League Recap

Matchday four of the UEFA Champions League is in the books, and we were treated to a wild Wednesday of games. The most eye-popping result of the day belonged to Cesc Fabregas’ transcendent Como side, which went on the road and thrashed Lens 9-1 to settle nicely into fourth in the table. Fenerbahce scored in the 73rd and 79th minutes to come back and secure a 3-2 win over Liverpool at home, while Real Madrid got a 92nd-minute winner from Federico Valverde to break the hearts of AEK Athens fans in the Greek capitol. The other big result of the day was Porto putting a 4-1 beatdown on Napoli at Estadio Do Dragao, and with Napoli eighth in Serie A and 27th in the UCL table, Massimiliano Allegri’s days at the club could be numbered.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Every season is transfer season, so let’s take a look at some of the most interesting rumors floating around at the minute. We start with Juventus, which is reportedly contemplating moves for Benjamin Sesko and Folarin Balogun in the January window, as the Italian side is said to be on the hunt for a physical striker. Real Madrid is reportedly close to signing former Manchester United youth player JJ Gabriel, who asked to leave the Red Devils in September. Sunderland is said to be interested in signing Almeria midfielder Stefan Dzodic, although the club would likely face competition from Atletico Madrid and several other English clubs. Finally, Napoli reportedly intends to submit a bid for Barcelona midfielder Gavi during the January window, as he has had difficulty securing regular playing time for Hansi Flick this season.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City celebrated Wilder Cartagena after the midfielder made his 100th appearance for the team.
  • Martin Ojeda has been honored with a special card in EAFC 27.

The ultimate Tincho transformation 👻EAFC 27 is bringing out Tincho's hidden talents with an 84-rated striker card as part of its Halloween-themed Ultimate Scream campaign 🧘

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2026-11-04T19:41:35.830Z
  • Check out this teaser for a biopic about Marta.

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

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/4/26

Orlando City’s playoff picture, Barbra Banda nominated for the Women’s World 11, USWNT’s preliminary roster, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

November 4, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s a bit odd to be writing the first Lion Links following the news we dropped yesterday that The Mane Land will be ceasing operations after the end of this season. The outpouring of supportive comments we’ve received has been greatly appreciated by all of the staff. We’ve always done this as a labor of love for the the teams we cover, but more importantly, for you, our readers. Of course, we’re not done yet, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City’s Decision-ish Day

Orlando City thankfully heads into the Decision Day match against the New England Revolution already guaranteed a place in the playoffs. That’s not to say that the result doesn’t have ramifications. A win combined with some other results can see the Lions climb back into seventh place, avoiding the play-in match. It won’t be easy, given New England sits in third place in the Eastern Conference. Orlando City is just above the line at ninth, and is No. 18 in the final MLS power rankings of the regular season.

Another Banda Nomination

There were only two NWSL players nominated for the FIFPRO 2026 Women’s World 11, and Barbra Banda was one of them. Gotham FC goalkeeper\ Ann-Katrin Berger was the other. The list was decidedly European, with Banda also being one of only four non-European players making the list. Fortunately, the powers that be didn’t lose their collective minds enough to leave Banda off the list.

Another one for Barbra 🌟BB11 is nominated for the 2026 CAF Women’s Player of the Year 🏆

— Orlando Pride (@orlpride.com) 2026-11-03T19:23:32.546Z

Orlando Pride Off-Season Begins

We’re all familiar with the “one weird trick” articles, which is kind of what this article about what one question each already eliminated NWSL club needs to answer this off-season is. For the Orlando Pride, that question is “Can Barbra Banda get some help?” That is an important question, but it’s also only one of a dozen things that need to be addressed starting yesterday. It will be up to Caitlin Carducci do get the ship righted over the next few months.

Hayes Names Preliminary USWNT Roster

USWNT Head Coach Emma Hayes named a 51-player preliminary roster for the upcoming Concacaf W Championship matches at the end of the month. Hayes will need to whittle that roster down in the next few weeks. Even former Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams made the list — at least for now. There are some NWSL players that have impressed, and others that have not, for the NWSL.

Free Kicks

That will do it for today.

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/3/26

MLS announces playoff schedule, forecasting postseason matchups, Americans in midweek action, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

November 3, 2026

By

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

Good morning, everyone. It was a pretty dreadful weekend for Orlando City and the Orlando Pride, but at least the Lions inadvertently booked a spot in the playoffs. They have a chance to leapfrog the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati on Decision Day, but in order to do so, they need to beat the New England Revolution at home and hope the Crew drop points and Cincy loses, which would give Orlando the tiebreaker on wins.

We’ve got plenty to talk about this morning, so let’s get into the links.

MLS Announces Playoff Schedule

Major League Soccer has announced the schedule for this year’s postseason. The playoffs will start on Thursday, Nov. 19 with the single-elimination play-in games for the Eastern and Western conferences. The first round which is played as a best-of-three series will take place from Nov. 20 – Dec. 2, with the conference semifinals held on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6. Conference finals will take place on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, and the MLS Cup final will be held on Friday, Dec. 18. There will be a break for just under two weeks following Decision Day on Saturday, as the league will observe the November international window.

Forecasting Playoff Matchups

Speaking of the playoffs, there is still some shifting and variability that can happen in both conferences, especially the West, but we’re getting an idea of how the bracket may shake out. Nashville SC is locked into the top seed in the East, and Vancouver has that no. 1 seed in the West. Other than that, there’s a lot of mobility that can still happen on Decision Day, and six teams are fighting for the last three playoff spots in the Western Conference. If the postseason started today, Orlando City would travel to the Columbus Crew for the East’s play-in game, although a win for the Lions combined with the Crew dropping points would instead have Columbus traveling to the purple palace if FC Cincinnati secures a point against Nashville, but if Nashville beats Cincinnati, Orlando wins, and Columbus drops points, the Lions would leap to the last spot above the play-in game. LAFC and San Diego would take part in a clash of California teams, with the winner potentially facing off against the LA Galaxy in the conference semifinals provided the third and final California side manages to upset FC Dallas.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a whole host of American players taking part in games during the working week, and continental competitions are a recurring theme. Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid host Bayern Munich in a marquee UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday, while Alex Freeman and Villarreal take on Paris Saint-Germain in the same competition. Wednesday has Ricardo Pepi, Sergino Dest, and PSV Eindhoven play Club Brugge in the UCL, while Mathis Albert and Borussia Dortmund host Real Betis. Thursday has some American-on-American violence as Tim Weah and Marseille hit the road to battle Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League. We then get more Yank vs. Yank on Friday when Gio Reyna and Strasbourg play Mark McKenzie and Toulouse in Ligue 1 action.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Despite the January transfer window still a way off, there are plenty of rumors flying around that we can sink our teeth into. We start with former Lion Freeman, who is reportedly attracting interest from Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham. Newly crowned Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane says that he expects to sign a new contract with Bayern Munich “within the next few days.” Barcelona fullback Alejandro Balde is reportedly ready to open to leaving during the winter window, with Manchester United and Manchester City both said to be monitoring his situation. Staying with Barcelona, the Spanish side is reportedly preparing to mount a fresh bid to sign center back Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan.

Free Kicks

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

Continue Reading

Trending