Orlando City SC
Orlando City Soccer Club, commonly known as Orlando City SC, is a professional soccer franchise based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS). Established in 2015 after transitioning from the United Soccer League (USL) Pro, the club is part of the Eastern Conference and has quickly become known for its passionate fan base. The team, often referred to as “The Lions,” plays its home matches at Exploria Stadium, which opened in 2017. Orlando City SC enjoyed considerable success in the USL, winning two championships before its move to MLS, and has maintained competitive performance since then.
Under the ownership of the Wilf family, who also own the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, the club has seen notable achievements, including its first MLS playoff appearance in 2020 and a victory in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup Final. The team has been home to prominent players such as Brazilian star Kaká and Portuguese forward Nani, both of whom served as captains. With a history that dates back to its original formation as the Austin Aztex in Texas, Orlando City SC has established itself as a significant presence in American soccer culture, continuing to attract a diverse and enthusiastic fanbase.
Orlando City SC
Team information
Inaugural season: 2015
Home stadium: Inter&Co Stadium
Owner: Mark, Zygi, and Lenny Wilf
Team colors: Purple, white
Overview
Orlando City Soccer Club, usually written as Orlando City SC or simply as Orlando City, is a franchise in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-level men’s professional soccer league in North America. The club joined MLS for the 2015 season after previously competing in the lower-tier United Soccer League (USL) Pro circuit. Its ascension to MLS was announced in November 2013, making Orlando City SC the twenty-first team in MLS. Orlando City SC is also informally nicknamed “The Lions,” owing to the presence of a lion on its official crest.
Prior to joining MLS, Orlando City SC had been a successful competitor in the USL Pro league during its four seasons of competition. The club’s move to the senior MLS league was facilitated by the October 2013 completion of a financing plan to build its home field, Exploria Stadium. MLS formally confirmed Orlando City SC as an expansion team for the 2015 season the following month. The team moved to the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando upon its completion in 2017.
Entrepreneur Flavio Augusto da Silva owned Orlando City SC during the club’s transition from the USL Pro circuit to MLS. Da Silva completed the sale of Orlando City SC to the Wilf family in July 2021. The club’s new owners, headed by brothers Mark and Zygi Wilf and their cousin Lenny Wilf, also own the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). They operate Garden Homes, a real estate development and construction company.
Orlando City SC competes in the Eastern Conference of MLS. In 2020, the club made their first-ever appearance in the MLS playoffs following a shortened season that was interrupted by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The following year, it won its first trophy as an MLS team, defeating Sacramento Republic 3-0 in the US Open Cup Final.
History
Orlando City SC traces its history to Austin, Texas, where the club began play in 2009 as Austin Aztec Football Club (Austin Aztec FC). The team relocated to Orlando, Florida, for the 2011 USL season, competing in the lower-tier USL Pro league. Orlando City SC was among the USL Pro league’s most successful clubs during its four seasons of competition in Florida, which spanned the 2011–2014 USL Pro seasons. The club finished first overall three times in four years, with the lone exception coming in 2013 when Orlando City SC finished second. Orlando City SC also won two USL Pro Championships, capturing the league’s title in 2011 and 2013.
Da Silva publicly declared his intention to bring Orlando City SC to MLS during the club’s time as a lower-tier competitor. To this end, da Silva worked for years toward a plan to build a soccer-only stadium in central Orlando. In October 2013, after securing financing commitments from Orlando’s mayor, local commissioners voted in approval of a proposal to complete the stadium’s financing plan with funds from a local tourism tax. In July 2015, the stadium project’s backers unveiled an amended plan that would complete construction with private financing and increase the soccer-only venue’s capacity from 19,500 to 25,500. The changes were necessitated by Orlando City SC’s strong attendance numbers, which saw the team draw an average of more than 31,000 fans during its first 10 home dates of the 2015 MLS season. At the time, Orlando City SC was playing home games at the Orlando Citrus Bowl (now Camping World Stadium). Orlando City SC had also posted an impressive attendance figure of 62,358 for its first home game in MLS.
Orlando City SC finished the 2015 MLS season with a record of 12 wins, 14 losses, and 5 ties to finish seventh in the Eastern Conference, just outside the playoffs. The club regressed in 2016, with its record sliding to 9 wins, 11 losses, and 14 ties, seventh-best in the Eastern Conference. In 2017, Orlando City SC moved to its present home at Exploria Stadium, which was originally known as Orlando City Stadium. The club’s inaugural game at its new home ranked among its 2017 highlights, as Orlando City SC struggled on the field and won just 10 of its 34 games that season to finish second-last in the Eastern Conference.
Partway through the 2018 MLS season, Orlando City SC brought back James O’Connor as its head coach. O’Connor had played for and coached the team during its time in the USL Pro circuit, and he replaced outgoing coach Jason Kreis. O’Connor’s stint as Orlando City SC coach was not a successful one: He led the team to only two wins during the 18 games that remained in the club’s schedule after the coaching change. Orlando City SC finished 2018 with 74 goals against, marking an all-time high in MLS history to that point. After Orlando City SC finished 11th in the 12-team Eastern Conference in 2019, O’Connor was relieved of his duties.
Oscar Pareja replaced O’Connor as the team’s bench boss in 2020. Pareja led the team to a noteworthy turnaround in a season interrupted and shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. In July and August of 2020, 24 of the league’s 26 teams took part in the “MLS Is Back Tournament,” which marked the league’s return-to-play event following the COVID-19 disruptions. Orlando City SC advanced to the tournament’s final, where they came up short against the Portland Timbers by a score of 2–1. However, Orlando City SC carried the momentum into the remainder of the shortened and reconfigured 2020 MLS season that followed the return-to-play tournament. They finished fourth in the Eastern Conference, losing only 4 of 23 games and qualifying for the 2020 MLS playoffs. In their first-ever MLS playoff game, Orlando defeated New York City FC in a dramatic penalty shootout, taking the shootout by a 6–5 margin after playing to a 1–1 tie. They went on to meet the New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference semifinals, losing by a 3–1 score.
In 2021, MLS returned to its usual 34-game schedule, and Orlando City SC secured its second consecutive playoff appearance by posting a record of 13 wins, 9 losses, and 12 ties. Orlando City SC matched up against Nashville SC in the first round of the 2021 MLS playoffs. In 2022, Orlando defeated the Sacramento Republic 3-0 in the 2022 Open Cup Final. The team debuted in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2023 and qualified as US Open Cup winners. However, Orlando was eliminated by Tigres UANL on the away goals rule after a 1-1 draw on aggregate.
Notable players
In 2020, MLS released an official list entitled “The 25 Greatest,” which recounts the twenty-five greatest players in league history. The list coincided with MLS’s 25th anniversary. No past or current member of Orlando City SC was included. Since joining MLS in 2015, three players have held the Orlando City SC captaincy: Brazilian star Kakà, American defender Jonathan Spector, and Portuguese forward Nani.
Kakà, whose birth name is Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, joined Orlando City SC in 2014 after a lengthy and decorated career in his native Brazil and Europe’s top professional soccer leagues. In his prime, Kakà was widely considered one of the top offensive talents in the world. He broke into international soccer’s top pro ranks in 2001, playing three seasons for Brazilian club Sao Paulo FC between 2001–2003 before moving to Italy’s Serie A as a member of storied club AC Milan. Kakà later played for Spanish club Real Madrid before concluding his European career with another AC Milan stint. He represented Brazil in three International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup tournaments (2002, 2006, 2010), winning a World Cup title in 2002. Kakà played the final four seasons of his professional career with Orlando City SC, becoming the highest-paid player in MLS when he joined the league for its 2015 season. Kakà retired in 2017.
American defender Jonathan Spector joined Orlando City SC for the 2017 MLS season after an extended career in the English Premier League (EPL), the top professional men’s league in England. During his time in the EPL, Spector played for Manchester United, Charlton Athletic, West Ham United, and Birmingham City. He played 38 games for Orlando City SC in MLS and assumed the team’s captaincy after Kakà’s retirement. Beset with injuries for much of the 2018 season, Spector left the club following the campaign, briefly returning to pro action in Great Britain before retiring.
Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha, better-known as Nani, assumed Orlando City SC’s captaincy following Spector’s departure. Like Kakà, the star Portuguese forward joined MLS after an extended, successful career in Europe’s top leagues, where he played for clubs including Sporting CP (Portugal), Manchester United (England), Fenerbahçe SK (Turkey), Valencia (Spain), and Lazio (Italy). Nani also appeared for Portugal in three Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Championships (2008, 2012, 2016) and one FIFA World Cup (2014).
In 2021, Nani tied for the lead among all Orlando City SC goal scorers with 10 tallies, a mark equaled by American striker Daryl Dike. Dike was selected by Orlando City SC in the first round with the fifth overall pick of the 2020 MLS amateur draft. He played with the team until 2022 when he signed with West Bromwich Albion.
Bibliography
Bogert, Tom. “How Daryl Dike Fell to Orlando City SC at the Draft and What’s Next for the Forward.” Major League Soccer, 24 Oct. 2020, www.mlssoccer.com/news/how-daryl-dike-fell-orlando-city-sc-draft-and-whats-next-forward-tom-bogert. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
“Orlando City Privately Funds Stadium Construction, Increases Capacity and Adds Enhanced Amenities.” Orlando City Soccer Club, 29 May 2015, www.orlandocitysc.com/news/orlando-city-privately-funds-stadium-construction-increases-capacity-and-adds. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
“Orlando City SC Announce Wilf Family as New Majority Owners.” Major League Soccer, 21 July 2021, www.mlssoccer.com/news/orlando-city-sc-announce-wilf-family-as-new-majority-owners. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
“Orlando City SC—Club Profile.” TransferMarkt, 2024, www.transfermarkt.com/orlando-city-sc/startseite/verein/45604/saison‗id/2024. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.