New Day Rising — An Orlando City Story

One of the fastest-growing, top 20 metropolitan areas in the United States will soon be the home of Major League Soccer’s 21st club, as MLS Commissioner Don Garber and expansion team owners Flávio Augusto da Silva and Phil Rawlins announced tonight that Orlando will join the league in 2015. Orlando's new MLS team, Orlando City Soccer Club, will join as an expansion team for the league’s 20th season.

With the addition of Orlando, MLS has added 11 clubs since the beginning of the 2005 season, leading to a remarkable and rapid transformation of professional soccer in North America. Three more expansion teams will be added by 2020.

“We are proud and excited to welcome Orlando to Major League Soccer,” Commissioner Garber said. “From the success of the Orlando City Soccer Club, to the incredible fan support and passion in the community, this is a new market that really excites us. We have great confidence in Flávio Augusto da Silva, Phil Rawlins and the rest of the Orlando City ownership group. They love this sport, our League and this city. And thanks to the commitment of ownership, the City of Orlando and Orange County, Orlando City will soon have a spectacular new stadium that will provide fans and the entire community with a truly unique downtown sporting experience.”

One of the world’s top tourism destinations with more than 57 million visitors annually, metropolitan Orlando is the 19th largest market in the United States and features a diverse, young and vibrant community. The Orlando area’s Hispanic population has more than doubled since 2000, making it the nation’s fourth fastest-growing Latino market.

Orlando City’s inaugural season will see the club open its own soccer stadium in downtown Orlando. The brand new stadium will be located on Church Street, in a vibrant section of Orlando's entertainment district. The new stadium will be accessible by both car and public transportation, with its construction scheduled to begin in spring of 2014. Prior to moving into the new stadium in the summer of 2015, Orlando City will play matches at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium.

Orlando City SC announced today it has signed global soccer icon Kaká to a multi-year contract. The signing marks yet another historic milestone in the Club’s journey to joining Major League Soccer starting in the 2015 season.

Kaká has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world, such as Spain’s Real Madrid and most recently with Italy’s A.C. Milan. Simply put, Kaká, who has appeared for the Brazilian National Team more than 80 times, including as recently as last year, has compiled one of the most highly decorated resumes of any soccer player in history both on and off the pitch.

Kaká has been signed as a MLS Designated Player. Per MLS Rules, each Club may sign up to three players which only have a portion of their salaries counted towards the Club’s official salary budget. Kaká joins other high-profile MLS Designated Players past and present such as England’s David Beckham (LA Galaxy), France’s Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) and United States World Cup stars Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders F.C.) and Michael Bradley (Toronto FC).

It was also announced today by Orlando City that it will loan Kaká for six months to Sao Paulo F.C., one of the top Brazilian clubs and Kaká's hometown club. Kaká will then start play with Orlando City on January 1, 2015 in preparation for the Club’s inaugural MLS season.

Orlando City SC are proud to announce that, as of this afternoon, former Spain international Jordi Trueta has signed on as manager of the Lions through the 2015 season. Trueta, 41, is leaving his post as assistant manager at Corinthians, an office he has held since his retirement from playing the beautiful game in 2010.

The Club would also like to extend our gratitude to Adrian Heath, who managed Orlando City throughout its existence in USL Pro, as his contract expires at close of business today.

Trueta, who has met a few times to discuss joining the club with Orlando City Designated Player Kaká in São Paulo over the past couple of months, joins with not only his experience as an assistant manager in South America's premier competition, but also with a glittering C.V. as a player.

Jordi began his career with his hometown club, Barcelona's Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol. He made his debut at right back for Espanyol B at age 17 in 1990, going on to make 91 appearances for Espanyol's secondary side before making his full debut with the senior squad at 20. Trueta would go on to make 316 appearances for his beloved Periquitos until his first move abroad at the age of 30, earning six caps for the Spanish national team, plus another 16 for Catalonia in friendlies along the way.

Jordi went on to don the colours of Bayer 04 Leverkusen of Germany, Italy's Genoa, Swansea City of Wales, and Brazil's Corinthians before hanging up his boots at the age of 37 to go into coaching at his last professional stop.

"I'm very excited to be joining Orlando City Soccer Club at this moment in time," said Trueta today at his introductory press conference at the Citrus Bowl. "A club joining a league such as MLS doesn't happen every day, so, to think I'm getting in on the ground floor, all the while working alongside such a talent as Kaká, well...it's really beyond words. Or at least words I know in English."

Jordi will begin working with Orlando City's scouting staff immediately, as the Major League Soccer Expansion Draft (incorporating both Orlando City and fellow newcomer New York City Football Club) approaches on 10 December.