Orlando City SC have taken strides towards their goal of joining Major League Soccer (MLS) by 2015 which included the bringing in of Brazilian multimillionaire, Flavio Augusto Da Silva as part of the club’s ownership group.
Augusto Da Silva was introduced as Orlando’s newest investor during a press conference back in February. During the press conference Augusto Da Silva and his business partner Alexandre Leitao mentioned their intentions to bring what they called the “Brazilian Beckham” to play for Orlando City once the club made it into the MLS.
“First thing it’s important to say it’s definitely in our plans to have a franchise player.” said Leitao in a one-on-one interview after the press conference.
One of the players who came up during the interview was Brazilian midfielder Kaka, who is under contract with Real Madrid until 2015 and is represented by Octagon Brazil, a company which Leitao is president of.
“Of course it makes sense with our connections in Brazil, for instance Kaka is an Octagon player, so we work for them, so he’s in the roster of our players.” said Leito when asked if Kaka could be their “Brazilian Beckham”.
“What I can tell to you that first this is the plan and second I’ve already started talking to players.” added Leito.
Last Friday Orlando City may have gotten one step closer to finding their “Brazilian Beckham” when Kaka stopped by the club’s training facility in Sanford to take a look around.
“First and foremost I hope we get the opportunity to do it,” said Orlando City managed Adrian Heath about the change to coach a player like Kaka. “Because for us to do it will be in the MLS, I don’t think that Kaka’s going to come play in the USL.
“If he comes and plays in the MLS that’ll mean that we’ve been accepted.” added Heath. “If we could get someone of his standing it would be a great first step for the club.”
It’s worth noting that one of Orlando’s sister cities is Curitiba, Brazil and according to the Central Florida Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce (CFBACC) in 2013 Central Florida’s population consisted of over 30,000 Brazilians.
“The most recent information, from 2013, shows a significant increase over the 2010 results of the Census Bureau, being South Florida the most populated, with 80,000 and Central Florida following with 30,000+ Brazilians.” says a study done by CFBACC
With Kaka’s contract with Real Madrid coming to an end in 2015, that gives Orlando City a great opportunity to sign the Brazilian midfielder without having to pay a transfer fee.
