After a short, breathless, and exciting off-season of refreshment, anticipation fills the air as Oscar Pareja‘s Orlando City SC kick off the 2024 Major League Soccer campaign.
Starting at home for a tenth consecutive MLS season, City open against CF Montréal (just like we did in 2022) after our crushing 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs defeat to Columbus Crew back in November. Continue reading
Just three days before our 2024 Major League Soccer campaign gets underway, Orlando City SC are set to experience a super unique away day as they visit Langford, British Columbia to take on Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League in Round One of the newly rebranded 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The first of two legs to determine who will face Tigres UANL in the Round of 16, this is City’s second successive appearance in North America’s premier club competition. This time, the Lions have been spared the brutal sub-zero February temperatures of Calgary, Alberta with the game being moved from ATCO Field to Starlight Stadium due to understandable pitch concerns. Continue reading
(Credit: Orlando City SC)
After much anticipation, the new 2024 Orlando City SC away jersey – “The Legacy Kit” – has officially been unveiled at Cheyenne Saloon on Church Street as part of the club’s Kickoff to Soccer activation.
Revealing the new look of our road whites just six days before facing Cavalry FC in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, The Legacy Kit is our sixth away jersey design in Major League Soccer and will be worn in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Continue reading
Heavily linked with Orlando City SC since January 31, the Lions have today announced the signing of experienced striker Luis Muriel from Atalanta. Becoming our third Designated Player after Facundo Torres and Martín Ojeda, and our fifteenth ever DP in MLS, the 32-year-old has signed a three-year contract through 2026 at Inter&Co Stadium for a fee believed to be worth around €2 million.
Despite Duncan McGuire returning to Central Florida after his six-month loan to Blackburn Rovers collapsed, the 45-cap Colombian international Muriel will now, in all likelihood, lead the line for City with the Orlando City SC Front Office pulling the trigger on his permanent transfer now rather than waiting for him to become a free agent in June when his current contract was set to expire in Bergamo, Italy. Continue reading
(Credit: Orlando City SC)
Probably more important than any on-field signing Orlando City SC could have made this off-season, the Lions have crucially retained the services of dynamic Brazilian duo Luiz Muzzi and Ricardo Moreira who have each signed new two-year contracts through 2025 at Inter&Co Stadium yesterday.
Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi, and Technical Director Ricardo Moreira were last promoted back in January 2022 and have each played a pivotal role in City’s player recruitment and subsequent upward trajectory since being hired ahead of the 2019 season – moves that saw Moreira join from Columbus Crew and Muzzi reunite with Oscar Pareja after working together at FC Dallas. Continue reading
(Credit: Blackburn Rovers)
After an EFL Board meeting today, Duncan McGuire’s six-month loan move to Blackburn Rovers has now officially collapsed due to an ‘administrative error’ by the EFL Championship side. In other words, the move has fallen through because McGuire’s registration paperwork was submitted after England’s January transfer window deadline of 11pm back on Thursday, February 1. On Tuesday, Tom Bogert even went as far to tweet that Rovers only clicked “save” and not “submit paperwork” before the deadline in what is truly a farcical clerical error. Turning 23 on Monday, this has been no way to spend a birthday with McGuire now having to return to Orlando City SC with immediate effect.
This dramatic transfer saga peaked last Wednesday when McGuire took a flight to England, only for Rovers to call Orlando City SC and our striker’s agent to inform us that they were pulling out of a deal. McGuire then remained grounded in England as fellow suitors Sheffield Wednesday re-entered the race, only for Rovers to then remarkably re-enter negotiations themselves, finally announcing Duncan McGuire’s six-month loan arrival on social media at 23:02, minutes after the January transfer window deadline had passed.
Orlando City UK now understands that Blackburn will fly over to the United States over the coming weeks to try to conclude a pre-contract agreement with Orlando City SC, so that Duncan McGuire can officially become a Rovers player in the summer. Continue reading
Heavily linked with Orlando City SC since early January, the Lions have today announced the signing of centre back David Brekalo from Viking Stavanger with the 25-year-old signing a contract through 2027 (with a club option in 2028) at Inter&Co Stadium for a fee believed to be worth $2.5 million.
After City overcame a cheeky beat-the-deadline loan bid from Blackburn Rovers, the 6 ft 1 in Slovenian international of 11 caps now fills the void left by former City favourite Antônio Carlos who departed Central Florida this winter, returning to his native Brazil when joining Fluminense back in December. Continue reading
With England’s January transfer window deadline having just closed at 11pm (GMT), Orlando City SC have now announced that Duncan McGuire has joined EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers on a six-month loan. With Tom Bogert confirming that the loan fee is worth $700,000 with a purchase option of around $7 million, plus $2.5 million in add-ons, McGuire’s move across the pond comes after he reportedly rejected a contract extension in Central Florida. This alone is merely half the story however!
A high drama situation that has been unravelling all week, Blackburn looked all set to wrap up the deal yesterday. However, despite McGuire flying to England on Wednesday to seal his transfer to Ewood Park, Rovers then pulled out of a rumoured $4 million deal for the recently capped USMNT striker at the eleventh hour due to ‘financial reasons’. This not only left McGuire – on his transatlantic flight at the time – in limbo but also the Orlando City SC Front Office and City supporters who all faced an unprecedented transfer saga, or should we say soap opera, that has truly had supporters, journalists, and pundits transfixed since last weekend. News of the Blackburn deal collapsing then alerted McGuire’s other suitors Sheffield Wednesday with the striker spotted at Kenwood Park Hotel in Sheffield this morning.
Are you still following? From here, after cheekily attempting to hijack Orlando City SC’s move for David Brekalo, Blackburn remarkably re-entered negotiations for Duncan McGuire, and at 4:15pm this afternoon, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano put everybody out of their misery by tweeting that McGuire was “on his way to Blackburn to sign on loan with an option to buy clause.”
A saga that has had more twists and turns than the VelociCoaster at Universal Islands of Adventure, it’s been one of the craziest weeks in Orlando City SC‘s MLS history. With Duncan McGuire joining Rovers on loan until July, City must now wait to cash in on the 22-year-old with the start of our 2024 campaign looming large. A shock for some and an inevitability for others, City have now been forced back into the transfer market to find a starting centre forward replacement for the recently capped USMNT striker with Colombian international Luis Muriel looking the most likely candidate as we speak. Continue reading
Initially signed on a four-year contract from Peñarol back in January 2022, our Designated Player Facundo Torres has now signed a new contract through 2026 with club options in 2027 and 2028, keeping El Cuervo at Inter&Co Stadium for now and boosting his transfer value simultaneously.
The jewel in the crown of Orlando City SC, Uruguay international Torres is undoubtedly City’s most talented player and the creative fulcrum of our attack. Since arriving in Central Florida, the 23-year-old has impressively scored 27 goals across all competitions for the Lions and registered 14 MLS regular season assists, not to mention playing a pivotal role in helping City win the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, scoring a brace in the final against Sacramento Republic back in September 2022. Continue reading
Orlando City SC have today announced the marquee signing of two-time MLS Cup champion and CONCACAF Champions League winner Nicolás Lodeiro after the attacking midfielder departed Seattle Sounders on December 12.
Signing a contract through 2024 with an option for 2025, Lodeiro won’t occupy a Designated Player slot at Inter&Co Stadium despite his proven calibre. Ultimately, the 34-year-old MLS veteran now fills the void left by fellow Uruguayan number 10 Mauricio Pereyra who spent four-and-a-half years in Central Florida before mutually terminating his City contract and returning to Nacional in December. Continue reading
