Yesterday, Orlando City SC officially announced their updated first team roster following the end of the 2025 Major League Soccer campaign.
The first comprehensive evidence as to who is staying, potentially remaining and departing Inter&Co Stadium before 2026, four players were named in the ‘option declined’ column. Continue reading
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
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
I don’t know about you, but I’m still hurting from Orlando City SC’s gutting 3-1 loss to Chicago Fire in last Wednesday’s 2025 MLS Wild Card match (East).
After back-to-back top-four finishes in 2023 and 2024, it’s clear we’ve come a long way since our rough early years in Major League Soccer. But this season felt like a big step backwards – plain and simple! Sadly, we still yearn for that elusive first-ever MLS Cup title!
Despite scoring more single-season goals than ever before (63), our ninth-placed finish is impossible to ignore. Nevertheless, our latest public vote is designed to recognise the standout players in the Lions’ 2025 season. Continue reading
⚠️ 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
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
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
Despite unveiling an ambitious “career project” to sign him in summer 2026, Orlando City SC have been rebuffed in their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison. Yesterday, Bruno Andrade of ESPN Brasil revealed that City wanted to sign the Brazilian to a long-term deal, making him a central figure in our pre-2026 FIFA World Cup plans. Today, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano corroborated the story, confirming that “Ricardo Moreira spoke to Richarlison’s camp” in London to outline the project. However, talks stalled, with the forward still considered “a key player for Spurs”.
Some claim that Orlando tried to sign Richarlison this past summer, but the biggest obstacle is Tottenham’s asking price – reportedly around €40 million ($46.4 million). This was a figure that Orlando City SC were simply unwilling to consider. Richarlison (28) holds a contract with Spurs until December 2027 and has played in England since 2017. This season, the Brazilian international has contributed three goals and one assist in seven Premier League appearances for Thomas Frank’s side. Continue reading
THE CARDIAC CATS ARE BACK, BABY!! 🫀🦁 And just in the nick of time! Duncan McGuire’s last-gasp winner against Nashville SC wasn’t only massive for him personally. It could prove huge in our push for a top four home playoff spot. When Jacob Shaffelburg made it 2-2 after our hard-earned 2-0 lead, every Lion felt that familiar sinking feeling.
But credit to the boys – and to McGuire – for playing to the whistle, keeping the belief, and snatching what might be a season-defining goal. A trademark poacher’s finish, it was McGuire’s first City strike since May 24, and it keeps our playoff hopes alive heading into the final four games. Next up is a tough trip to TQL Stadium, where Pat Noonan’s FC Cincinnati are pushing hard in the 2025 Supporters’ Shield race. In our third ‘Sunday Night Soccer’ slot of the season, let’s hope we can make it back-to-back wins after busting our five-game winless slump. Continue reading
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
