Following the end of the 2023 MLS season, attacking midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro announced he will leave the Seattle Sounders after spending eight years with the franchise. However, that won’t be the end of Lodeiro in MLS.

According to multiple reports, Lodeiro is currently finalizing a deal with Orlando City. The exact terms of the agreement are still being kept under wraps, but Lodeiro isn’t expected to get a Designate Player contract like the one he had with Seattle.

There was a lot of interest in Lodeiro, who scored one goal and dished 10 assists in 2023, from the moment it became clear he won’t be returning to Seattle. Clubs from his native Uruguay, including his boyhood team Nacional, were keen to bring him home, but the 34-year-old player made it his priority to continue his career in MLS.

Reportedly, Lodeiro’s final three options included Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes, and Orlando City. In the end, he liked the project in Orlando the most and will continue his career with the 2022 U.S. Open Cup champions.

Nicolas Lodeiro joined the Seattle Sounders in 2016 after stints with Ajax, Botafogo, and Boca Juniors. He quickly established himself as one of the best players in the MLS, helping the club win the MLS Cup in his first year. Sounders won another MLS Cup and CONCACAF Champions League with Lodeiro manning their midfield while he earned a number of individual honors, including the MLS Best XI nod in 2020.

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Orlando City and head coach Oscar Pareja reportedly agreed to a contract extension. The club is also reportedly working on new deals with technical director Ricardo Moreira and executive vice president Luiz Muzzi.

Pareja’s contract was set to expire at the end of 2023. The new deal is expected to keep him with the MLS side at least through the 2025 campaign.

Keeping Pareja around made sense for Orlando City, considering he is the most successful head coach in the club’s MLS history. Since the Colombian took over in 2020, Orlando has made the MLS Cup playoffs every year. Pareja also brought the club its first trophy, winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2022.

The 2023 campaign was also a resounding success for Orlando City. They finished the regular season in second place in the Eastern Conference and made the quarterfinals of the MLS Cup, matching its previous best postseason achievement.

Oscar Pareja is an MLS veteran, having played in the league in the late ’90s and early ’00s. He also coached Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas, winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield and U.S. Open Cup with the latter in 2016. Pareja also spent two seasons in Liga MX coaching Club Tijuana.

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Forward Alexandre Pato has agreed to the terms of a new one-year contract, Orlando City confirmed on Saturday. The Brazilian national, who joined the MLS club last February, injured his knee in the 2021 season opener against Atlanta United.

While Pato was only able to make four appearances last season, Orlando general manager Luiz Muzzi remains confident in the 32-year-old’s ability to make a positive impact on the team this season.

“He’s been working hard to return to top form and we’re looking forward to him having an impactful year for the club. We’re excited for him to return and play an important role both on the field and in the locker room this season,” Muzzi confirmed in a statement.

Pato joined Orlando after his contract with the Brazilian club Sao Paulo ran out. The high point of Pato’s career came between 2007 and 2013, when the then-rising star played for Italian giants AC Milan.

While playing for the Rossoneri, Pato won the 2010-11 Serie A title as well as the Italian Super Cup in 2011-12. He has also made 27 appearances for the Brazilian national team, scoring 10 goals and winning the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

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Major League Soccer officially returned to action on Wednesday night. Orlando City and Inter Miami met in the opening match in Group A of MLS is Back Tournament, with Orlando claiming a 2-1 win.

After the first 45’ minutes didn’t produce plenty of action, the second half was eventful from the very start. Just a couple of minutes in the second period, striker Juan Agudelo gave Inter a lead by converting Victor Ulloa’s cross in the penalty box.

Orlando responded with a heavy pressure that gave results in the 70’s minute. Captain Nani provided a beautiful flank cross to Chris Mueller, who had no trouble tapping the ball into the goal.

Nani then completed Orlando’s comeback deep in stoppage time, taking advantage of a deflection in the 18-yard box and ensuring his team gets the win and three points.

“Both teams were very generous with their effort. We saw a lot of soccer there,” said Orlando’s head coach Oscar Pareja after the game. “We are proud with the victory. Congratulations to the players and the fans.”

Orlando City will return to the pitch on July 14th, when they are scheduled to meet NYCFC. Inter Miami, on the other hand, will play against Chicago Fire on the same date.

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Orlando City will have a significant help starting the 2019 MLS season. According to ESPN Brasil, City has managed to agree on a deal with former Brazil international Diego Ribas. Ribas, who previously played for several high-profile European clubs like Juventus and Atletico Madrid, will sign a three-year, $2 million deal.

Since Diego Ribas still has six months left on his contract with Brasileiro Série A powerhouse Flamengo, it remains unclear when will he join his new club. Orlando and Flamengo are currently negotiating the terms of his release, but if the two sides are unable to reach an agreement, Ribas will remain in Brazil for the remainder of his contract and come to MLS in the summer.

After Flamengo appointed Abel Braga as the new manager, he went on to publicly say that he doesn’t need Diego Ribas’ services in the future which prompted the player’s agent to test the market for his client. Orlando City emerged as a frontrunner for his services after the team missed out on Peruvian left-back Yoshimar Yotun.

Diego Ribas started his career in native Brasil, playing for Santos between 2002 and 2004, before coming to Europe and signing with Portuguese giants Porto. He later played in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Turkey before returning to Brazil in 2016. Ribas also played for Brazil national men’s team, being featured in 34 games and scoring four goals.

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Following the end of the 2023 MLS season, attacking midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro announced he will leave the Seattle Sounders after spending eight years with the franchise. However, that won’t be the end of Lodeiro in MLS.

According to multiple reports, Lodeiro is currently finalizing a deal with Orlando City. The exact terms of the agreement are still being kept under wraps, but Lodeiro isn’t expected to get a Designate Player contract like the one he had with Seattle.

There was a lot of interest in Lodeiro, who scored one goal and dished 10 assists in 2023, from the moment it became clear he won’t be returning to Seattle. Clubs from his native Uruguay, including his boyhood team Nacional, were keen to bring him home, but the 34-year-old player made it his priority to continue his career in MLS.

Reportedly, Lodeiro’s final three options included Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes, and Orlando City. In the end, he liked the project in Orlando the most and will continue his career with the 2022 U.S. Open Cup champions.

Nicolas Lodeiro joined the Seattle Sounders in 2016 after stints with Ajax, Botafogo, and Boca Juniors. He quickly established himself as one of the best players in the MLS, helping the club win the MLS Cup in his first year. Sounders won another MLS Cup and CONCACAF Champions League with Lodeiro manning their midfield while he earned a number of individual honors, including the MLS Best XI nod in 2020.

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Orlando City and head coach Oscar Pareja reportedly agreed to a contract extension. The club is also reportedly working on new deals with technical director Ricardo Moreira and executive vice president Luiz Muzzi.

Pareja’s contract was set to expire at the end of 2023. The new deal is expected to keep him with the MLS side at least through the 2025 campaign.

Keeping Pareja around made sense for Orlando City, considering he is the most successful head coach in the club’s MLS history. Since the Colombian took over in 2020, Orlando has made the MLS Cup playoffs every year. Pareja also brought the club its first trophy, winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2022.

The 2023 campaign was also a resounding success for Orlando City. They finished the regular season in second place in the Eastern Conference and made the quarterfinals of the MLS Cup, matching its previous best postseason achievement.

Oscar Pareja is an MLS veteran, having played in the league in the late ’90s and early ’00s. He also coached Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas, winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield and U.S. Open Cup with the latter in 2016. Pareja also spent two seasons in Liga MX coaching Club Tijuana.

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Forward Alexandre Pato has agreed to the terms of a new one-year contract, Orlando City confirmed on Saturday. The Brazilian national, who joined the MLS club last February, injured his knee in the 2021 season opener against Atlanta United.

While Pato was only able to make four appearances last season, Orlando general manager Luiz Muzzi remains confident in the 32-year-old’s ability to make a positive impact on the team this season.

“He’s been working hard to return to top form and we’re looking forward to him having an impactful year for the club. We’re excited for him to return and play an important role both on the field and in the locker room this season,” Muzzi confirmed in a statement.

Pato joined Orlando after his contract with the Brazilian club Sao Paulo ran out. The high point of Pato’s career came between 2007 and 2013, when the then-rising star played for Italian giants AC Milan.

While playing for the Rossoneri, Pato won the 2010-11 Serie A title as well as the Italian Super Cup in 2011-12. He has also made 27 appearances for the Brazilian national team, scoring 10 goals and winning the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

The post Alexandre Pato Signs New One-Year Deal With Orlando appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Major League Soccer officially returned to action on Wednesday night. Orlando City and Inter Miami met in the opening match in Group A of MLS is Back Tournament, with Orlando claiming a 2-1 win.

After the first 45’ minutes didn’t produce plenty of action, the second half was eventful from the very start. Just a couple of minutes in the second period, striker Juan Agudelo gave Inter a lead by converting Victor Ulloa’s cross in the penalty box.

Orlando responded with a heavy pressure that gave results in the 70’s minute. Captain Nani provided a beautiful flank cross to Chris Mueller, who had no trouble tapping the ball into the goal.

Nani then completed Orlando’s comeback deep in stoppage time, taking advantage of a deflection in the 18-yard box and ensuring his team gets the win and three points.

“Both teams were very generous with their effort. We saw a lot of soccer there,” said Orlando’s head coach Oscar Pareja after the game. “We are proud with the victory. Congratulations to the players and the fans.”

Orlando City will return to the pitch on July 14th, when they are scheduled to meet NYCFC. Inter Miami, on the other hand, will play against Chicago Fire on the same date.

The post Orlando City Beats Inter Miami as MLS Returns to Action appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Orlando City will have a significant help starting the 2019 MLS season. According to ESPN Brasil, City has managed to agree on a deal with former Brazil international Diego Ribas. Ribas, who previously played for several high-profile European clubs like Juventus and Atletico Madrid, will sign a three-year, $2 million deal.

Since Diego Ribas still has six months left on his contract with Brasileiro Série A powerhouse Flamengo, it remains unclear when will he join his new club. Orlando and Flamengo are currently negotiating the terms of his release, but if the two sides are unable to reach an agreement, Ribas will remain in Brazil for the remainder of his contract and come to MLS in the summer.

After Flamengo appointed Abel Braga as the new manager, he went on to publicly say that he doesn’t need Diego Ribas’ services in the future which prompted the player’s agent to test the market for his client. Orlando City emerged as a frontrunner for his services after the team missed out on Peruvian left-back Yoshimar Yotun.

Diego Ribas started his career in native Brasil, playing for Santos between 2002 and 2004, before coming to Europe and signing with Portuguese giants Porto. He later played in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Turkey before returning to Brazil in 2016. Ribas also played for Brazil national men’s team, being featured in 34 games and scoring four goals.

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