Lion Links: 2/13/24

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you’re all well-rested and ready to tackle whatever the work week throws at you. We’re less than two weeks away from Orlando City’s first game of the 2024 Major League Soccer season, and that means the news is coming as fast as ever. With that in mind, let’s jump right into today’s links.

Get to Know Nico Lodeiro

Orlando City has a new no. 10 this year after the arrival of longtime Seattle Sounder Nico Lodeiro. The Uruguayan playmaker took some time to sit down and help Lions fans get to know the team’s new attacking piece. One of the things he spoke about was already being familiar with some of his new teammates and how that played a part in his decision to join OCSC. He also highlighted the conversations he had with Oscar Pareja prior to making the move to the City Beautiful and stated that the strong Latin culture around the team has made it easy to integrate into the squad and feel right at home.

MLS Players to Watch in 2024

The start of the 2024 MLS season is right around the corner, and that means it’s time to start familiarizing yourself with some names to watch during the upcoming campaign. Some are Homegrown Players like Orlando’s Michael Halliday, who will be looking to reclaim the starting right back position that he had started staking a claim to in 2023 before injury and international duty saw Dagur Dan Thorhallsson take over. Others are higher profile stars like Martin Ojeda, Aaron Boupendza, and Sam Surridge, who all arrived in 2023 and will hope for improved performances during the upcoming season. Ojeda’s six goals and 10 assists in 34 league games wasn’t a bad return, but he’ll almost certainly be targeting both an increase in output and a spot in the starting XI during his sophomore year in the league.

Daryl Dike Out for Remainder of 2024

There aren’t many players who spring readily to mind who have had worse injury luck lately than Daryl Dike. Unfortunately, West Brom confirmed that the former Orlando City striker has ruptured his left Achilles tendon, and will be sidelined for the remainder of 2024 as a result. This is the second time Dike has ruptured an Achilles tendon, as he was playing in just his fifth game since returning from the same injury in his right leg. We all wish Daryl a speedy recovery, and look forward to seeing him back on the field soon.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of United States Men’s National Team players who are in action this week, so make sure you have the matches you want to watch marked down on your calendar. Cade Cowell will try to build on a strong performance from the first leg against Forge FC as Chivas takes on the Canadian outfit during Concacaf Champions Cup action tonight. Thursday sees Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan kick off the team’s Europa League campaign at home against Rennes after being ousted from the Champions League, Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis will play host to Dinamo Zagreb. Things then finish up on Friday as Ricardo Pepi, Malik Tillman, Sergino Dest, and PSV Eindhoven take on Heracles in Eredivisie play.

Free Kicks

• Inter&Co Stadium will host a match between the Mexican and Colombian women’s national teams on April 6 as part of MexTour W.
• Forbes has estimated Orlando City’s projected value at $475 million, which is an increase from last year’s number of $420 million.
• Brazil’s men’s team will miss out on the Olympics for the first time since 2004, and will not be able to defend the gold medal it won at the Tokyo games.
• Serie A’s clubs collectively voted against reducing the number of teams in the division to 18, as only four clubs voted in favor of the idea.
• Former Lion Justin Meram is leaving Charlotte FC.

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