Leagues Cup

Open letter: Orlando City UK, my baby, and my farewell (kind of!)

/ Taylor Williams / Leave a comment

Ten years is a lot doing anything! 😮 And it takes real dedication to stick around so long. Luckily for me, these past ten years have been some of the best of my life, growing and nurturing Orlando City UK.

Orlando City UK has been my baby since November 2015 – a labour of love, obsession, and way too much caffeine. A little fun fact – when I first joined Twitter (X) in 2015, the @orlandocityuk handle was already taken. I reached out to the owner and explained my plans to cover the team, but he politely declined. So I went with @Orlando_CityUK – and from that moment, I was fully committed to covering all things Orlando City SC.

But life has a way of reminding you that you can’t do everything forever. There comes a time when balance matters more than ambition, when priorities shift, and the next chapter calls louder than the one you’ve been living. So here’s the big news first. In 2026, I’m going to become a DAD! 💜 Amazing, right? With Baby Williams arriving in June, our journey has been extremely difficult. But we’re incredibly grateful that our second round of IVF was successful. My wife, Christie, and I want to thank the team at Care Fertility, as well as our family and friends, for their constant support over the past four years. It’s been the perfect way to end 2025, and we’re both excited for what promises to be a huge 2026 – with maternity and paternity leave timed just right for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 😉

Orlando City UK isn’t going anywhere, but content will be far more reduced. That means no more weekly Stats Previews, live blog commentaries, and transfer articles. Instead, I’m choosing to be kinder to myself by taking more off my plate. I’ll still be around – cheering, writing, and sharing. But with a lot less energy, more sleepless nights, and an exciting new focus on our own little Lion cub. 🦁 Continue reading →

Orlando City UK celebrates our 10th birthday: 2025 round-up

/ Taylor Williams / Leave a comment

Today, we’re celebrating our 10th birthday at Orlando City UK, with our Official International Fan Club of Orlando City SC established a whole decade ago 😮 – time flies!

After back-to-back top-four finishes in 2023 and 2024, this season has been a big step backwards – plain and simple!

A strange season that quickly swung from hope to heartbreak, our loyal UK supporters watched all the action live on Apple TV. Continue reading →

Twitter reacts to… Pedro Gallese’s Orlando City SC exit

/ Taylor Williams / Leave a comment

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A CLUB LEGEND DEPARTS! 🐙😢 After six unforgettable seasons between the sticks, Pedro Gallese’s time with Orlando City SC has officially come to an end. The club confirmed the news yesterday, with the Peruvian international departing following the expiration of his contract.

Having flexed his tentacles for the last time in purple, the man affectionately known as “El Pulpo” departs Orlando just nine days after our gutting 3-1 defeat to Chicago Fire in the 2025 MLS Wild Card match (East). Continue reading →

Winners revealed in Orlando City UK’s 2025 end-of-season awards

/ Taylor Williams / Leave a comment

This past week, we asked Orlando City SC supporters on X to select their Orlando City SC Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year for 2025 as part of our annual Orlando City UK end-of-season awards.

A public vote designed to recognise the standout Orlando City SC players in our challenging 2025 campaign, we can now proudly reveal the winners as voted by you! Continue reading →

The good, the bad, and the ugly: Orlando City SC’s 2025 season – From hope to heartbreak

/ Taylor Williams / Leave a comment

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⚠️ Warning: this blog comes with a disclaimer. ⚠️ Before you read any further, be warned – there’s a high probability you might upset yourself again as we delve into Orlando City SC’s 3-1 defeat at Chicago Fire in the 2025 MLS Wild Card match. Maybe, like me, you were already resigned to defeat – a feeling so alien in the Oscar Pareja era. How quickly times have changed! But it’s time for a final word on 2025 – a strange season that promised so much but ultimately delivered so little. When you rely on the same tactics, you often get the same results, and many supporters are now ready to call time on Pareja’s six years in purple.

I didn’t watch the game live – which is unlike me for such a pivotal game – but when I caught the eight-minute MLS highlights this morning, all I saw was wave after wave of Chicago Fire attacks. With last night’s win, Fire sealed their FIRST MLS Cup Playoffs appearance since 2017 – EIGHT years ago! While Alex Freeman, Martín Ojeda, and Marco Pašalić can hold their heads high this year, their individual contributions have sadly counted for nothing.

When the Wilf family completed their takeover in 2021, the aim was trophies. We got one in 2022, of course, but since then, MLS Cup has remained elusive. Moving away from signing international superstars like Kaká and Nani, the club has leaned on a low-risk, high-ceiling transfer strategy – a hallmark of Ricardo Moreira’s approach. Yet with the recent news that Orlando are attempting to lure Richarlison to Central Florida, perhaps it’s time to rethink everything.

Bouncing back will be hard though. When you perform below expectations, your best players become targets. Alex Freeman is almost certain to move on this winter and Borussia Mönchengladbach are “interested” in Marco Pašalić who “would like to return to Europe”. You have to imagine that suitors will come circling for our MVP Martín Ojeda too – heaven forbid!

This blog is our full autopsy of 2025 – so buckle up for a bumpy ride as we put in the final word on a season that quickly swung from hope to heartbreak. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Toronto FC vs Orlando City SC – 18.10.2025

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WIN THIS AND LOCK IN A TOP SEVEN FINISH!! 🤞🏽🙏🏽 Orlando City SC travel to Toronto FC this Saturday, desperate to bounce back after last weekend’s 1-2 collapse to Vancouver Whitecaps. Leading for most of the game, we capitulated badly after the 81st minute. Don’t get me wrong – facing Vancouver without four first-team internationals was always going to be tough. That bloody 2025 Leagues Cup run continues to haunt us, doesn’t it? But it’s no excuse. There’s parking the bus, and then there’s just giving up altogether! I love what Oscar Pareja has done for our club. But his bunker-and-counter approach AT HOME feels outdated, momentum is gone, and the season already feels over. Worst of all, the threat of the Wild Card match looms large.

Ultimately, it’s been a strange season, hasn’t it? We’ve hit high points, including a league double over Inter Miami, beating Crew 1-3 away, and snatching a late 3-2 win over Nashville SC. But injuries to Joran Gerbet and Robin Jansson, a leaky defence, and stale tactics have left us limping to the finish. We look far from MLS Cup contenders despite compiling arguably our strongest roster ever.

It’s now or never for this group too – especially Pedro Gallese, Robin Jansson, and Kyle Smith. Then there’s César Araújo, Luis Muriel, the in-demand Alex Freeman, and maybe even Oscar Pareja too. Let’s just hope we haven’t seen the last of Jansson at Inter&Co after his nasty collision with Vancouver’s Daniel Ríos. Returning internationals will need to inspire at BMO Field, and the Lions must knuckle down to take all three points. With a top seven finish on the line – and Wild Card danger looming – this clash against Toronto FC is huge. Lose, and we may limp into the play-in game, reinforcing the idea that Papi can only deliver playoff soccer but never an MLS Cup. After exiting the U.S. Open Cup early, missing out on a 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup spot, and now facing potential Wild Card jeopardy, 2025 has become a frustrating season for Orlando supporters. Honestly, even the most optimistic Lion would be deflated about our MLS Cup chances. It could be a winter of discontent in Central Florida, so the players must dig deep and create some momentum to salvage the campaign. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs Vancouver Whitecaps – 11.10.2025

/ Taylor Williams / Leave a comment

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WIN THIS AND WE SEAL A TOP SEVEN FINISH!! 🤞🏽🙏🏽 For the first time in six MLS seasons, Orlando City SC welcome Vancouver Whitecaps to Inter&Co Stadium this Saturday. And it’s our final home fixture of the 2025 regular season. The sides haven’t met since April 2019, adding extra intrigue to a clash that was originally scheduled for August 30 before being rearranged due to our deep 2025 Leagues Cup run.

It’s a big night in more ways than one. Already locked into the MLS Cup Playoffs for a sixth consecutive year – the longest active streak in the league – the Lions know this is their last game in hand. And it simply has to count in the race for a top four finish. The timing, though, is awkward, with the FIFA international break stripping both sides of key players. Fortunately for us, Pedro Gallese is available after not being called up by Peru.

For Vancouver, this is a gruelling 3,214 mile trip which is around five hours and forty minutes by direct flight. Whitecaps land in Central Florida jubilant, having recently lifted the 2025 Canadian Championship trophy on October 1. With playoff seeding on the line, it’s high stakes as the Lions look to sign off at Inter&Co in style. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs Nashville SC – 20.09.2025

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We’re feeling the pressure, aren’t we? 😬 After a costly 1-1 draw at bottom-placed D.C. United, Orlando City SC return home for a massive showdown with Nashville SC. Winless since advancing past Toluca, the Lions must rediscover their form with the playoffs fast approaching – or at least we hope! Dropping points at Audi Field was criminal, and with only five regular season games left, the margin for error is now razor thin.

The stakes couldn’t be clearer. Orlando currently sit EIGHTH on 48 points but have one game in hand and trail fourth-placed Nashville by just two. A win at Inter&Co Stadium would put us right back in the top four fight. But Nashville have been a nightmare opponent this year, knocking us out of the U.S. Open Cup and hammering us 5-1 only two league games ago. Nothing less than three points will do if we’re serious about chasing a home playoff spot. No more excuses! Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: D.C. United vs Orlando City SC – 13.09.2025

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BACK TO BUSINESS, LIONS! 🦁 After a frustrating fourth place finish in the 2025 Leagues Cup, Orlando City SC are back in MLS action this Saturday. Visiting D.C. United, we desperately need three points and a return to form. The Galaxy defeat still stings, and the squad looked drained in Carson. But the international break gave most of our players a chance to rest, recover, and reset ahead of this must-win clash.

The East is still wide open, and with a game in hand on the current top four, this fixture is crucial if we want to secure a home playoff spot. D.C. United may be rock bottom, but they’ve picked up under new head coach René Weiler. Unbeaten in three (1-2-0), they pulled off a shock 1-2 win at New York City FC last time out, so they won’t be pushovers. Lose this one, and it’s panic stations. Win it, and we’re back on track, with belief and momentum heading down the stretch. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: LA Galaxy vs Orlando City SC – 31.08.2025

/ Taylor Williams / Leave a comment

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THEY GOT WHAT THEY WANTED, DIDN’T THEY? 🤬😤 Orlando City SC were kicked to the curb in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday. Ultimately, we were robbed of a Leagues Cup Final berth by decisions that only went one way. Just two games ago, we had a chance to reach third place in the East and the 2025 Leagues Cup Final. With both chances missed, we’re now clinging on to salvage at least a 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup spot in the Third Place Match. The game can be cruel and unrelenting, but we need to keep going. As Ricardo Moreira tweeted after our semi-final heartbreak: “Tomorrow is day one again.”

It’s a brutal turnaround, too. Having flown cross-country to Los Angeles on August 20, we’re back in Carson for the third time in 2025. This time not for silverware, but survival of sorts. A third place finish still gets us into continental football, and that has to be the focus. LA Galaxy may be a mess in MLS – rock bottom, with the worst title defence in league history. But don’t think for a second they won’t throw everything at this! Continue reading →