Twitter reacts to… Orlando City SC signing Júnior Urso

/ Taylor Williams

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The identity of Oscar Pareja‘s Orlando City SC is in even sharper focus after the Lions finally announced the signing of Brazilian midfielder Júnior Urso from Corinthians today.

The arrival of the 30-year-old defensive midfielder has been anticipated for weeks now after news first broke that the Lions were close to sealing a deal back in December.

With Corinthians announcing the deal on January 6 ahead of today’s announcement by Orlando City SC, Lions supporters had already allowed themselves to get excited about Júnior Urso‘s signature.

>> CLICK HERE TO VIEW JÚNIOR URSO’S PLAYER PROFILE <<

With “Urso” being the Portuguese word for “Bear”, this describes the cryptic tweet by Orlando City SC prior to officially announcing Júnior Urso‘s arrival.

Who is Júnior Urso?

An experienced enforcer in midfield, this is Júnior Urso‘s first taste of Major League Soccer following an 11-year senior professional career spent on two continents.

Representing Santo André, Ituano, Avaí, Paraná, Coritiba, Atlético Mineiro and most recent club Corinthians in Brazil, Júnior Urso also enjoyed spells in China with Shandong Luneng and Guangzhou R&F.

Part of the Corinthians squad that won the Campeonato Paulista in 2019, Júnior Urso was also named in the illustrious Team of the Tournament too.

Winning four other major club honours during his career, Júnior Urso‘s experience and mentality will be vital for an Orlando City SC side still seeking a first ever appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Standing at 5 ft 11 in, Júnior Urso is often described as a box-to-box midfielder with energy in abundance.

Not simply stopping opposition counter attacks but chipping in with goals too, Júnior Urso‘s most prolific scoring streak was for Shandong Luneng where he struck 12 goals in 58 appearances for Taishan Dui.

Speaking after Júnior Urso‘s arrival, Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations Luiz Muzzi said: “We are very excited to welcome Júnior Urso to Orlando City.

“Coming from a renowned club like Corinthians, he brings a great amount of international experience to Orlando while allowing us to add more depth and a new skill set to our midfield.

“He possesses great vision and abilities on the ball and we expect him to make an immediate impact on our roster.”

Júnior Urso most recently wore squad number 30 for Corinthians but he has already been designated squad number 11 at Exploria Stadium, a number last worn by Pierre da Silva.

A South American midfield?

The fourth South American addition already this off-season, Orlando City SC‘s Director of Scouting & Recruitment Ricardo Moreira has been busy recruiting talent from his familiar home continent.

With Ecuador international Jhegson Méndez and Colombia youth international Andrés Perea already on the roster, we could well see an all South American midfield under Oscar Pareja.

While Spaniard Uri Rosell will have something to say about that, Júnior Urso‘s arrival means Orlando City SC could well look something like this in 2020.

Please note, current Orlando City SC transfer target Pedro Gallese is included in goal.

The fans’ view

With #OCTwitter currently reacting to Júnior Urso‘s announcement as an Orlando City SC player, we gathered the best tweets from the Twittersphere.

What are YOU making of Júnior Urso’s arrival at Orlando City SC?

Comment below or tweet us at @Orlando_CityUK to let us know!

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