Orlando City Signs Draft Pick Rio Hope-Gund
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Orlando City announced today that the club has signed 2021 first-round MLS SuperDraft selection Rio Hope-Gund to a one-year contract with club option years for 2022, 2023, and 2024. Hope-Gund was Orlando’s second pick in the first round (No. 19 overall) in January’s draft just 11 spots below his Georgetown University teammate Derek Dodson. The center back will be added to the team’s Supplemental Roster.
“We’re excited to sign Rio after taking him in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft,” Orlando City Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “We decided after the draft that it would be beneficial for him to return to Georgetown for the Hoyas’ spring season and he’s done well there, helping their defense to only allow five goals across their eight games played so far and starting in all of them. He’s a player that w
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Orlando City’s Quiet Off-Season
The Lions are being smart, not splashy, in building a sustainable club.
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Everyone loves it when their club makes a big, splashy signing in the off-season the type of player signing that grabs the headlines for the entire league rather than just for the individual club. That is exciting, but is that always the best thing for a club to do? The answer is, of course, no, and that applies to Orlando City during this off-season.
I am not saying that the club wouldn’t take a big name if the deal was too good to pass up, but Óscar Pareja, Luiz Muzzi, and Ricardo Moreira are trying to build sustainable success in a salary cap league. That means taking care of the core group of players, building depth, and adding players who fill a need, but are still a good bang for the buck.