Reeves' Army

Orlando City has released its 2012 preseason schedule.

All of the usual suspects from 2011 will again be involved.

Tickets for the Philadelphia Union friendly go on sale to the public this Wednesday, February 1. Season ticket holders should get their tickets to this game soon.

Tickets are currently available for the games at the Pro Soccer Classic through TicketMaster. It’s $15.50 per day for adults, $10.50 per day for children, and that gets you in for both games that day. There is also an all-tournament pass for $69. All these are available with discounts to season ticket holders if you call the team office at 855-675-2489.

I am unsure about the Old Dominion friendly or the Rollins friendly, but the Stetson and Tampa friendlies will be free.

You want to make some waves? Sign a Rooney. Even if it’s Wayne’s little brother.

Orlando City’s signing of midfielder John Rooney has the international press buzzing. Here’s a few links:

ESPN Soccernet

Fox Sports Australia

Sky Sports UK (essentially Fox Sports, too)

The Daily Mail

The Washington Post

Yordany Alvarez has been transferred to Real Salt Lake full-time.

In addition, Lewis Neal is currently on trial with Real Salt Lake.

Oh, by the way…

It was announced at the Supporters’ Summit last night that Orlando City has signed midfielder John Rooney, the little brother of the Wayne Rooney of Manchester United.

The 21-year-old midfielder spent last year at Red Bull New York after 2 1/2 seasons at Macclesfield Town in England. He came up through the Everton and Macclesfield Town youth systems. He decided to move on to the U.S., and was selected in the 2nd round of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, with the 25th pick. He played in five MLS matches in 2011, and had a goal in U.S. Open Cup competition.

Last night, Mojo’s Cajun Bar & Grill was packed with hundreds of screaming and chanting fans for the first annual Orlando City Supporters’ Summit.

Probably the biggest news of the night were the new 2012 kits. Red is once more the away color, and the home color has switched to purple.

[youtube_sc url=4w3DFXIAUaI]

Team president Phil Rawlins was excited about being able to get into Umbro’s uniform market early for 2012. They were late in shopping last year, and could not get the designs or colors they really wanted. Those who attended were permitted to purchase replica kits early after the event, and business was brisk. They officially go on sale online and at United World Soccer next week.

The second biggest news of the night relates to Major League Soccer. At the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in late February, MLS Commissioner Don Garber has meetings lined up with Orlando City team personnel, as well as Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County mayor Teresa Jacobs. Orlando City has also arranged for a supporters’ meeting with Garber. It will take place around March 1. Further details will be revealed later.

In keeping with our mantra that No Game is Unimportant, Phil Rawlins made it clear that Garber will be paying attention to the Pro Soccer Classic. He brought more MLS teams to gauge interest in the MLS level in Orlando. We need to get everybody out there. We need to flood the complex for these games. Force them to push the Braves out of Champion Stadium and play games there if we have to.

Tickets for the Pro Soccer Classic, which is taking place February 24-March 3, are available at TicketMaster. Individual days, which give you access to two games that day, are $15.50 for adults and $10.50 for children. An all-tournament pass is available for $69 each. Season ticket holders can get discounted single-day tickets for $49 all-tournament passes by calling the team office at 855-675-2489.

I listened to the interview Orlando City president Phil Rawlins had with Jim Philips and his Real Radio 104.1 show The Philips Phile. Here are some highlights:

• Season ticket sales for 2012 are triple what they were for 2011. The lower prices on the sidelines probably helped, as well as our success last year.
• The team is negotiating to bring two European teams to Orlando for summer friendlies. He anticipates an announcement in time for the regular season opener.
• Registration is taking place now for the Orlando City Youth Club. Florida Soccer Alliance approved its acquisition by Orlando City yesterday.
• Phil emphasized the Supporters’ Summit tomorrow night. He was coy when Jim and his crew tried to get details for the 2012 kits.
• There will be a major announcement regarding Major League Soccer at the Supporters’ Summit.

Stoke City got stunned at home by West Brom yesterday, 2-1. Manager Tony Pulis was umimpressed by the Potters’ performance, calling it “flat” and “bitterly disappointing”. Stoke remains in 8th place in the Premier League. They will play in the 4th Round Proper of the FA Cup next Saturday, then go to Manchester United next Tuesday, 1/31.

Burnley got a scoreless draw at Portsmouth yesterday. It was the 1-year anniversary of Eddie Howe’s first match as Clarets manager, which was also a scoreless draw. They’ve sunk to 12th place, but are still only three points out of the promotion playoff with 19 matches to go. Their next game is on 1/31 at Nottingham Forest, who currently are relegation bait.

Monterrey earned a 1-1 draw hosting UNAM Pumas. Othoniel Arce scored the tying goal for los Rayados at 62′. Their next match is Friday night at Monarcas Morelia. That match will be at 9pm, and will appear on local channel 21, the national Azteca America channel (DirecTV 441) AND Fox Deportes (DirecTV 425).

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The Orlando City Supporters’ Summit is this Wednesday night, January 25. It begins at 5pm, with a Q&A with the club at 6pm, and the unveiling of the 2012 kit at 7pm. But the full scope of the summit is already being rumored. From what I’m hearing, the team may be disclosing some information about their negotiations with Major League Soccer, insofar as their NDA allows. There is also word that there may be a meeting between MLS Commissioner Don Garber and the Orlando City supporters’ groups during the WDW Pro Soccer Classic. So make sure you attend everything for Orlando City this season. These times are sure to get interesting.

Orlando City has signed British midfielder Anthony Pulis, the son of Stoke City manager Tony Pulis.

Pulis has spent most of his career as a backup, being loaned all over England over the past 9 seasons. He only played two matches for the Potters during his stint at his father’s club, spending his time transferred to four other clubs. He was transferred to the Lions from Aldershot Town.

New forward Matt Luzunaris sat down for a brief write-up with City writer Chris Jones yesterday. In that write-up, he talks about how he likes the European-style play Adrian Heath and Ian Fuller expect at Orlando City. He also said he’d love for the Lions to face his old club, San Jose Earthquakes, some day.

The team and its supporters are getting ready for the opening match of 2012, the February 18 friendly against Philadelphia Union. Make sure to tag up with the Facebook event page. The Ruckus will be tailgating starting at 2pm, and there are events being planned for after the 7:30pm match.

It seems soccer is growing by leaps and bounds in Florida. The state has yet another PDL team for 2012.

The Panama City Beach Pirates have joined the PDL Southeast Division for the 2012 season. This brings the Southeast Division up to 8 teams for 2012.

Also, according to the team’s website, the Nashville Metros will no longer be part of the Southeast Division. The team is still active; it’s one of the more popular PDL teams. It will likely just move divisions to make room for all the Florida expansion teams. Their new division will either be Mid-South or South Atlantic.

Currently, according to the Pirates’ website, the eight teams of the PDL Southeast Division are as follows:

Mississippi Brilla
Orlando City U-23
Bradenton Academics
FC Jax Destroyers
Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy
Tampa VisionPro Sports Institute Academy
Ocala Stampede
Panama City Beach Pirates

With a team forming in Cape Coral in 2013 as well, it’s becoming likely that Mississippi Brilla might have to shift to another division as well.

Orlando City U-23 just got an enormous boost. They have signed 17-year-old defender Nicolas Russo.

Russo has been training with the U.S. men’s youth national teams since age 10. At age 12, he was recruited to join the youth development systems of Argentina. In 2008, he moved into the Boca Juniors youth system, the producers of Diego Maradona.

He spent some time with Central Florida Kraze last year, playing 22 minutes over two matches at age 16. He scored one goal and one assist. The goal was the lone goal in a win over FC Jax Destroyers on June 10. Adrian Heath himself had praise for Russo, saying, “he was playing and training with grown men and was not out of his depth.”

Certainly will be some interesting times in 2012. And who knows? Maybe he’ll see a little time with the big club this year. My understanding is that the new U-23 site will launch with the coming re-launch of the Orlando City website, which should occur soon. Pieces of the new website are already coming into place. Hopefully at that time we will learn the U-23 schedule and where they will play. (Please, no more convoluted doubleheaders at the Citrus Bowl.)