Lion Links: 11/5/25

I don’t know about you all, but the time change still has me in a bit of a fugue state, as it constantly feels like I just woke up from a nap. The weather remains nice at least. Hopefully that trend continues as we make our way through the week. In the meantime, let’s dive into today’s links!

Orlando City Linked With Luis Otavio

With Orlando City’s season over, attention turns to how the team will improve for 2026, and the club is reportedly interested in Brazilian midfielder Luis Otavio. The 18-year-old is currently with Internacional in Brazil’s top flight and under contract through 2028.

Orlando has a track record of identifying young talent from South America and has open MLS U22 Initiative Player slots to bring in players who can make an impact. With Cesar Araujo possibly leaving this off-season, adding some depth at the position after it was ravaged by injuries this season makes plenty of sense.

OCSC Celebrates Youth Financial Literacy

The Orlando Pride’s Decision Day game also served as a celebration for local children and families who took part in this year’s Financial Literacy Game Night by Orlando Saves, a program that helps teach students in Orlando neighborhoods how to save, invest, and budget. The Orlando Saves partnership with Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and digital bank Inter combines sport with the goal of increasing financial literacy among the community’s youth. On top of the Pride’s match being a celebration of the students’ efforts, Orlando City players Tahir Reid-Brown and Thomas Williams visited students as well.

“Our goal is to make a lasting impact in our community and amazing partners like Inter understand the importance of investing in our local youth,” said Kaia Forget, Vice President of Community Impact & DEI for Orlando City and Orlando Pride. “Together, we are helping students learn critical life skills that will set them up for long-term success.”

Anders Dreyer Named MLS Newcomer of the Year

San Diego FC winger Anders Dreyer was announced as this year’s MLS Newcomer of the Year after recording 19 goals and 19 assists this season. The 27-year-old was phenomenal in his first year in the league, providing a goal contribution on more than half of San Diego’s 64 goals to help the expansion club claim the top spot in the Western Conference standings in its inaugural season. He dominated the voting for the award, garnering 74.11% of the total vote to win it over LAFC star Son Heung-Min and Chicago Fire midfielder Philip Zinckernagel.

UEFA Champions League Roundup

We’ve reached the fourth round of the league phase of this year’s UEFA Champions League, and there have been some exciting matches. Bayern Munich extended its win streak to 16 games across all competitions after beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in France. Luis Diaz scored twice before being sent off right before halftime after a foul on Achraf Hakimi that forced the PSG right back to exit due to the injury. In another heavyweight matchup, Liverpool beat Real Madrid 1-0, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring the game’s only goal. Arsenal, Tottenham, and Atletico Madrid also secured nice wins, while Juventus was held to a 1-1 draw against Sporting CP.

As for the Americans in the tournament, forward Folarin Balogun scored the winner in Monaco’s 1-0 victory against Bodo/Glimt by smashing the ball into the top of the netting.

Ricardo Pepi also scored, salvaging a point for PSV Eindhoven with a goal in stoppage time to equalize things in a 1-1 draw with Olympiacos. The 22-year-old is no stranger to delivering in big moments in the Champions League, joining some pretty rare air in the tournament’s history.

Free Kicks

• The New England Revolution will reportedly name Marko Mitrovic as the club’s next head coach. Mitrovic is currently the head coach of the U-20 United States Men’s National Team, recently leading the side to the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup.

• In other MLS coaching news, LAFC Assistant Coach Marc Dos Santos is reportedly the favorite for the head coaching job once Steve Cherundolo exits after this season.

• The Portland Thorns signed midfielder Olivia Moultrie to a contract extension that will keep her with the club through 2029. The 20-year-old led the Thorns with eight goals this season.
• The U-17 U.S. Men’s National Team will take on Burkina Faso today in its first match of the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
• North Carolina FC announced that it will cease playing in the USL Championship after this year and has submitted an application to join the USL’s Division One league, which won’t start until 2028. It’s an interesting time for the club to announce this decision, considering the team is still playing in the postseason.
• Speaking of the USL Championship, Sporting Club Jacksonville appointed Liam Fox as its new head coach. Fox heads to the U.S. after coaching Heart of Midlothian and Dundee United in Scotland.
• The groups for UEFA’s 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifying are out and the format sets up some interesting fights for direct qualification in this stage. England was drawn in a group with Spain, Germany will contend with Norway, and France is in a group with the Netherlands.

That’s all I have for you this time around, Mane Landers. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday and rest of your week!