Orlando City SC

**History** edit **Overview** edit Originally a United Soccer League (USL) club, Orlando City was founded in 2010 by Stoke City F.C. board member Phil Rawlins. Following the conclusion of the 2010 season, Rawlins bought the USL franchise rights of Orlando Pro Soccer – an stillbirth club affiliated with the Orlando Titans of the National Lacrosse League that failed to field a team, despite Steve Donner leaving the Titans to focus his efforts on the soccer team. Rawlins subsequently moved Austin Aztex FC to Orlando, bringing with him the Aztex's manager and most of its roster, and unveiled its rebranding as Orlando City SC in an October 2010 press conference. Rawlins stated at the press conference that he intends to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Orlando "within 3–5 years", and intends to bring international matches to the city. On February 28, 2011, Orlando City announced it met with commissioner Don Garber and league officials concerning expansion. Topics covered included the demographics of the Orlando marketplace, the local corporate and fan support for soccer, and developing a roadmap for a future Major League Soccer franchise in Orlando. Orlando City's first preseason began with a home match against Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union, winning 1–0, with Lewis Neal scoring the first goal in club history. Orlando City opened their first season on April 2, 2011, at Richmond Kickers, losing 2–0, and played their first home game on April 9 against F.C. New York, winning 3–0 with Maxwell Griffin scoring the first competitive goal for the club. They finished the regular season top of the American Division on 51 points, which resulted in the USL Pro regular season title. On September 3, they played the Harrisburg City Islanders in the final. This match ended in a 1–1 draw, and after extra time the score was still tied at 2–2. Orlando went on to win 3–2 in penalty kicks making them the 2011 USL Pro champions. Following their inaugural season, Orlando City team officials met with Garber again on November 10, 2011, for further discussions about joining MLS as its 20th club (which ultimately went to New York City FC). Brazilian World Cup-winner Kaká was the team's first Designated Player On March 1, 2012, Garber visited Orlando to meet with city and county officials. He stated, "It's not a matter of if, but when", addressing Orlando's chances of joining MLS. Later on August 31, Rawlins told the Orlando Business Journal the team could get the Major League Soccer approval as early as late 2013, and be ready to play in the league by 2014 or 2015. Rawlins said to make that happen, the league had asked the team to explore building a 22,000-seat soccer-specific stadium. "They didn't say we had to have a stadium built before we could join, but they at least would like a plan that it's happening." Orlando City repeated as regular season champions, but exited the playoffs in the semi-finals with a 4–3 loss to Wilmington Hammerheads. In their third year in USL Pro, the Lions took second place in the regular season. Their first game in the playoffs was a 5–0 win against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. The semi-finals were a 3–2 win over the defending champions, the Charleston Battery. The result in the finals was a 7–4 win over the Charlotte Eagles. This marked Orlando City's second championship in 3 years. On November 19, 2013, leaded by Flavio Augusto da Silva, Orlando City was announced as the league's twenty-first franchise. The team's new logo was unveiled in May 2014 and Flavio Augusto da Silva signed their first player to an MLS contract, former Brazil international Kaká, a month later. Kaká, who also became the team's first Designated Player after his release from AC Milan, was immediately loaned to São Paulo until the start of the MLS season. In the same month, Orlando City announced a partnership with Benfica. As part of that partnership, Orlando City later signed two players from Benfica U19s  – Estrela and Rafael Ramos – to MLS contracts on August 7, 2014. On July 6, 2014, four Orlando City supporters were arrested following an altercation at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg during a game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in which fans were assaulted and illegal fireworks were used after members from both supporters groups had hidden themselves in the crowd. One of the arrested had previously identified himself as a co-president of the Iron Lion Firm. In response, the club "indefinitely suspended" both the Ruckus and Iron Lion Firm, pending their agreement to a new Fan Code of Conduct. One week after the St. Petersburg incident, members of the Iron Lion Firm were ejected from a home game after profane language was chanted in their section. The majority of the remaining Firm members walked out before the end of the game. The Ruckus was reinstated on July 21, 2014, after agreeing to abide by a new Code of Conduct. Weeks later the club reinstated the Iron Lion Firm as a recognized supporter's group as well. On November 21, 2014, head coach Adrian Heath signed a contract extension committing him to the club until the end of the 2017 MLS season. The fourth year in the USL Pro was its last in the league. In the preseason they competed in the 2014 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, taking 2nd in their group with 3 draws and drawing in the 3rd place match against the New York Red Bulls. By finishing the season 19–5–4, Orlando City won its 3rd Commissioner's Cup. As an expansion team, Orlando had the first overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and used it to select Canadian forward Cyle Larin. Orlando City's USL Pro license was acquired by minority owner Wayne Estopinal in June 2014. Using the license, Estopinal founded Louisville City FC, based in Louisville, Kentucky, and began play in the 2015 USL season as Orlando City's affiliate. **2015–2019: MLS arrival and subsequent struggles** edit Kaká, Kevin Molino (foreground), and Donovan Ricketts (background) after a match against Houston Dynamo FC in 2015 The team hosted their first MLS game at the Citrus Bowl on March 8, 2015, against fellow expansion team New York City FC, in front of a crowd of 62,510. Kaká scored in stoppage time to earn a 1–1 draw. In the following game, they defeated Houston Dynamo 1–0 on the road to earn their first victory. On March 21, Orlando conceded a late stoppage time goal to Octavio Rivero of Vancouver Whitecaps FC for their first defeat. In their inaugural season Orlando City finished 7th in the Eastern Conference and 14th in the overall standings, falling short of the playoffs by one point. Larin scored 17 goals across the season, breaking Damani Ralph's record of 13 as a rookie and earned the MLS Rookie of the Year Award. Midway through the 2016 season, following disappointing results and performance of the team, head coach Adrian Heath was fired in July 2016. He was replaced by Jason Kreis. However, the Lions ended the season missing the playoffs once again. In 2017, the Lions moved to the purpose-built Inter&Co Stadium. With the team again struggling, they attempted to improve during the summer transfer window by acquiring Sporting Kansas City striker Dom Dwyer who had played for Orlando City's USL Pro team on-loan in 2013, notably scoring four goals in the USL Pro Championship Final. The club traded incentives totaling to $1.6 million, a record trade between two MLS clubs at the time. The team again failed to reach the postseason. Kaká announced that he would not return for Orlando City and soon after confirmed his retirement. On January 15, 2018, Orlando City signed Josué Colmán from Paraguayan club Cerro Porteño for a club record fee of reportedly $3 million. Later that same month on January 30, Orlando City transferred Cyle Larin to Turkish club Beşiktaş for a club record fee of reportedly $2.3 million following Larin's "unacceptable behavior" during transfer negotiations in which he had traveled to Turkey and claimed he was a free agent. Fifteen games into the 2018 season, Orlando City released head coach Jason Kreis after nearly two seasons. Two weeks later, USL club Louisville City FC announced head coach James O'Connor, a former defender and assistant coach of the original Orlando City team, was to become Kreis's replacement. However, O'Connor only managed two wins in his 18 games in charge in 2018 as City missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and also set a new MLS record with 74 goals conceded on the year. At the end of the season on December 27, Orlando City transferred Yoshimar Yotún to Mexican club Cruz Azul for a new club record fee of reportedly $4 million. O'Connor was fired at the end of the 2019 season with the team missing out on playoffs again and remaining 11th in the Eastern Conference. **2020–present: Consistent success and first post-USL trophy** edit Ahead of the 2020 season, Orlando hired former Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas head coach Óscar Pareja. With the season disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Orlando competed in the MLS is Back Tournament held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in July and August. The Lions reached the final, eventually losing to the Portland Timbers 2–1. MLS resumed the regular season on August 12. After failing to make the postseason the previous five years, Orlando snapped the joint second-longest MLS playoff drought in history under the guidance of Pareja. The Lions reached the conference semi-finals, eliminating New York City FC in a dramatic penalty shootout in the first round before losing to New England Revolution. On May 12, 2021, Orlando City majority owner Flavio Augusto da Silva announced he was in advanced negotiations with Zygi and Mark Wilf, owners of National Football League franchise Minnesota Vikings, for the sale of the club including the Orlando Pride, Inter&Co Stadium (which at the time was called Exploria Stadium), and other related soccer assets. The combined value of the deal was estimated at $400–450 million. The sale was officially completed on July 21, 2021. Orlando qualified for the playoffs for a second season in a row, but were eliminated in the first round by Nashville SC. On January 1, 2022, Orlando City transferred Daryl Dike to English club West Bromwich Albion for a club record transfer fee of $9.5 million. Later on January 24, Orlando City broke their transfer record, previously held by the signing of Josué Colmán, with the signing of Facundo Torres from Uruguayan club Peñarol by reportedly paying a combined total of $9 million to sign the player. On September 7, 2022, Orlando City won their first trophy as an MLS team, beating USL Championship side Sacramento Republic 3–0 in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup final. Orlando once again qualified for the playoffs, but were defeated again in the first round, this time by CF Montréal. Orlando debuted in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2023, qualifying as U.S. Open Cup winners. The team's first opponent was Mexican-side Tigres UANL in the round of 16. The Lions were eliminated by Tigres on the away goals rule after a 1–1 draw on aggregate. Orlando finished the regular season in second place overall and in the eastern conference with 63 points, the club's highest points total and highest placement in both the overall and eastern conference tables. The Lions would make it past their first playoffs game for the first time since their playoffs debut, but would be knocked out by Columbus Crew, the eventual champions, in the conference semifinals. Orlando City and New York Red Bulls players emerge onto the field at the start of the 2024 Eastern Conference final Orlando qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup due to their placement in the 2023 MLS Supporters' Shield standings. In round one, Orlando faced Canadian-side Cavalry FC, and defeated them 6–1 on aggregate, the first time the club had won in the competition. In the following round, Orlando once again faced Tigres UANL, and were subsequently defeated 4–2 on aggregate after a goalless draw at home. On March 1, the United States Soccer Federation announced the format for the 2024 U.S. Open Cup, confirming that only eight MLS teams, not including Orlando City despite the club winning the competition two years prior, would be participating due to the league's failed attempt to withdraw from the competition entirely. Orlando finished the regular season in 4th place in the Eastern Conference with 59 goals scored in the regular season, a club record. Orlando later advanced the furthest they ever had in the playoffs, but were eliminated in the Eastern Conference final by the New York Red Bulls. On December 20, Orlando transferred Facundo Torres to Brazilian club Palmeiras for a new club record fee of reportedly up to $14 million. In 2025, Orlando City returned to the U.S. Open Cup where they were defeated by Nashville SC in the round of 16. Orlando also participated in the Leagues Cup for the third consecutive season. In the Leagues Cup, Orlando City placed fourth after being knocked out of the semi-finals by rivals Inter Miami and losing in the third place match to LA Galaxy, a match which, if they won, would've secured qualification to the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Orlando City finished the regular season with their most prolific offense of all time, with 63 goals scored, but placed ninth in the Eastern Conference, resulting in them qualifying for the wild card round in the playoffs. Orlando City lost the wild card match 3–1 to the Chicago Fire, resulting in the earliest exit from the playoffs in team history. After the conclusion of the season, Alex Freeman became the second player in team history to win the MLS Young Player of the Year Award after Cyle Larin in 2015 and the first player in team history to be named to the MLS Best XI. On January 29, 2026, Freeman moved to La Liga club Villarreal for a reported transfer fee of up to $7,000,000, a club‑record fee for a Homegrown Player. 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