Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at Osceola County Stadium.[1]
 | |||
| Full name | Orlando City B | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Lions, OCB | ||
| Founded | June 30, 2015 | ||
| Stadium | Osceola County Stadium Kissimmee, Florida | ||
| Capacity | 5,400 | ||
| Owner | Orlando City SC | ||
| Head coach | Manuel Goldberg | ||
| League | MLS Next Pro | ||
| 2023 | 5th, Eastern Conference Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals | ||
| Website | http://www.orlandocitysc.com/ocb | ||
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| |||
The club played in multiple leagues, beginning with the United Soccer League, the second tier of the US soccer pyramid in 2016 and 2017,[2] before electing to forgo the 2018 season and join the newly formed third division, USL League One, in its inaugural 2019 season.[3] After another season on hiatus in 2021, the team became an inaugural member of MLS Next Pro.
History
editUnited Soccer League
editOn June 30, 2015, Orlando City SC announced that they would operate a USL club starting in 2016[4] in the Central Florida area. The team would be their direct USL affiliate, and Orlando City and Louisville City (their USL affiliate club for 2015) had negotiated a "long-term formal partnership" to replace their affiliation arrangement.[5]
Orlando City also announced that Anthony Pulis would coach the new team. Pulis was a player for Orlando City SC's USL club from 2011 to 2014 and is the son of Tony Pulis, manager of numerous English Premier League sides.[5] On August 11, 2015, Arizona United announced that Rob Valentino would retire from playing[6] to take the assistant coach role for Orlando's new USL team.[7]
On October 15, 2015, the club was officially branded Orlando City B, with home games to be played in Melbourne at the Titan Soccer Complex on the campus of Eastern Florida State College.[8] In addition, OCB announced its first ever player signings: defenders Mikey Ambrose and Kyle Callan-McFadden, and midfielder Tony Rocha.[9]
On August 12, 2016, in a game against New York Red Bulls II, Orlando City B participated in the first competitive match in North America to employ Video Assistant Referee technology.[10] They finished their debut season 8th in the Eastern Conference, the final qualifying spot for playoffs. They lost in the Conference Quarterfinal to New York Red Bulls II 4–0.[11]
In November 2016 it was announced that OCB would be moving to the newly opened Orlando City Stadium in time for the 2017 season.[12] The team finished the season in 9th place, two points short of the playoffs, but finished one place higher in the overall standings than their debut season.
On January 12, 2018, the organization declared its intention to forgo the 2018 season as they continued to assess their minor league participation, a move that had looked likely by this point with OCB only having one player under contract and lacking a manager following Anthony Pulis' departure for Saint Louis FC in November.[13]
USL League One
editIn June 2018, the club announced it was to become a founding member of USL's new third-tier league, USL League One, scheduled to begin play in 2019.[14] It was hoped the move would lead OCB to better act as an upward transitional stepping-stone between Orlando City's Development Academy and the senior MLS team. On October 3, 2018, Fernando De Argila was announced as head coach. He had previously been head coach and director of methodology at the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy.[15] After winning only three of the opening 19 games, De Argila was sacked in July 2019. Roberto Sibaja acted as interim head coach from the rest of the season as the team finished in last place.[16]
In May 2019, the team announced plans to relocate OCB as part of a wider vision to house all of Orlando City's development pyramid at the same location for the first time, creating a 20-acre training complex at Osceola Heritage Park to house the senior MLS team, OCB and Development Academy.[17] Orlando City B will play their matches at the new site starting in the 2020 season following the departure of minor league baseball team Florida Fire Frogs.[18] Ahead of the season it was announced Orlando City Academy Director Marcelo Neveleff would be the team's new head coach.[19]
In October 2020, the team announced it was withdrawing from USL1 at the end of the season with a possibility of an MLS reserve league launching in 2021.[20][21][22]
MLS Next Pro
editAfter spending the 2021 season on hiatus, the club announced on December 6, 2021, that it was joining the inaugural 21-team MLS Next Pro season starting in 2022.[23]
Location
editTim Holt, Orlando's vice president of development, said that they would be looking for a stadium in Central Florida in order to facilitate the training of emerging players with the MLS team. Holt was the president of USL until May 2015.[4] Eastern Florida State College's stadium was visited by team personnel as a possible location.[24]
On August 21, 2015, the VP for athletics at Eastern Florida State College claimed in a pitch to the Brevard County Tourist Development Council's Sports Commission that the college's Titan Soccer Complex and a stadium in Deland were among the finalists to host games for the USL team.[25] Said plan was approved and the Titan Sports Complex at ECSC was OCB's official home venue for the 2016 season.[8][9]
For the 2017 season in the USL, Orlando City B moved to Orlando City's newly built home stadium, Orlando City Stadium.
For the 2019 season in USL League One, the team moved to Montverde Academy.[26]
In 2020, as part of a club-wide move, the team relocated again, this time to the new Orlando City training facility at Osceola Heritage Park alongside both the senior MLS team and Development Academy. Matches are played at the complex's newly converted 5,400 seat Osceola County Stadium.[1]
Players and staff
editRoster
edit- As of March 15, 2024[27]
- ^ Orlando City SC first team player.
- ^ Signed to Orlando City SC Academy contract.
Staff
edit| Executive | |
|---|---|
| Chairman and majority owner | Mark Wilf |
| General manager | Luiz Muzzi |
| Coaching staff | |
| Head coach | Manuel Goldberg |
| Goalkeeper coach | Marcos Machado |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Vander Salas |
Year-by-year
edit- As of September 18, 2022
| Year | Division | League | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Position | Playoffs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||
| 2016 | 3 | USL | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 35 | 49 | 35 | 8th | 19th | First round |
| 2017 | 2 | USL | 32 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 37 | 36 | 42 | 9th | 18th | DNQ |
| 2018 | On Hiatus | |||||||||||
| 2019 | 3 | USL1 | 28 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 23 | 52 | 16 | N/A | 10th | DNQ |
| 2020 | USL1 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 29 | 6 | 11th | |||
| 2021 | On Hiatus | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 3 | MLSNP | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 53 | 25 | 9th | 18th | DNQ |
Head coaches
edit- Only competitive games counted. Includes USL regular season and playoffs.
- As of matches played September 18, 2022
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win%[nb 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Pulis |  Wales
|
June 30, 2015 | November 20, 2017 | 63 | 19 | 20 | 24 | 72 | 89 | 30.16 |
| Fernando De Argila |  Spain
|
October 3, 2018 | July 25, 2019 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 33 | 15.79 |
| Roberto Sibaja (interim) |  Costa Rica
|
July 25, 2019 | December 20, 2019 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 11.11 |
| Marcelo Neveleff |  Argentina
|
December 20, 2019 | October 16, 2020 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 29 | 6.67 |
| Martín Perelman | Argentina
|
March 9, 2022 | March 11,2024 | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 53 | 25.00 |
| Total | 130 | 30 | 32 | 68 | 145 | 223 | 23.08 | |||
- ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places
References
edit- ^ a b "Orlando City SC to Expand Presence in Osceola County". www.orlandocitysc.com.
- ^ "Orlando City B Elects to Forgo 2018 USL Division II Season". January 12, 2018.
- ^ "MLS-owned team becomes fourth announced club in Southeast region". September 10, 2018.
- ^ a b Tenorio, Paul (June 30, 2015), "Orlando City to own, operate USL franchise in 2016", Orlando Sentinel, retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ a b Orlando City SC announce plans to field USL team in 2016, ending Louisville affiliation, MLSsoccer.com, June 30, 2015, retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ Rob Valentino To Retire and Coach With Orlando City SC USL Club, August 11, 2015, archived from the original on December 22, 2015, retrieved August 11, 2015.
- ^ Tenorio, Paul (August 11, 2015), "Former Orlando City defender Rob Valentino named assistant coach of USL team", Orlando Sentinel.
- ^ a b "USL Welcomes Back Orlando City SC for 2016". United Soccer League. October 15, 2015. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- ^ a b Orlando City Announces Orlando City B, Signs Defenders Mikey Ambrose, Kyle Callan-McFadden, Midfielder Tony Rocha, October 15, 2015
- ^ Borg, Simon (August 12, 2016). "MLS, USL receive IFAB approval for live video assistant referee experiments". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ "OCB Season Ends in 4–0 Playoff Loss to New York". The Mane Land. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ^ USLSoccer.com Staff (November 29, 2016). "OCB Moving to Downtown Venue for 2017". USL Championship. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ^ "Orlando City B Opts Out of the 2018 USL Season". The Mane Land. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ^ USLSoccer.com Staff (September 6, 2018). "Orlando City B Becomes USL Division III Founding Member". USL Championship. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ^ "Orlando City B announces Fernando Jose De Argila Irurita as head coach | Pro Soccer USA". www.prosoccerusa.com. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ^ "Orlando City B Parts Ways with Fernando Jose De Argila Irurita". www.orlandocitysc.com.
- ^ "Orlando City Development Academy Set to Make Osceola Heritage Park Official Training Grounds". www.orlandocitysc.com.
- ^ Reichard, Kevin (May 31, 2019). "Fire Frogs to Depart Osceola County Stadium at End of Season". Ballpark Digest.
- ^ "Orlando City SC Appoints Marcelo Neveleff as OCB Head Coach". www.orlandocitysc.com.
- ^ "Orlando City B to Withdraw from USL League One". www.orlandocitysc.com.
- ^ Rueter, Jeff. "MLS to launch reserves league beginning play in 2021, sources say". The New York Times.
- ^ "Portland, Philadelphia and Orlando reserve teams to leave USL after 2020". Major League Soccer.
- ^ "MLS NEXT Pro Unveils 21 Clubs for Inaugural Season". orlandocitysc.
- ^ Malone, Giles (July 1, 2015), Eastern Florida State Could Be Home To Orlando City Soccer Minor League Team, retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ Berman, Dave (August 21, 2015), "Melbourne could get soccer team with Orlando City ties", Florida Today, Gannett Company.
- ^ "Orlando City B Joins USL Division III for Inaugural Season | Orlando City".
- ^ "OCB squad list". Orlando City Soccer Club.