Orlando Perez (born July 12, 1977 in
Pomona,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
) is an American
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
defender, who played eight seasons in
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
.
Perez never played
college soccer
College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...
, but he was drafted twice in MLS, both times by coach
Octavio Zambrano
Octavio Zambrano Viera (born February 3, 1958) is an Ecuadorian football coach. He is a former player with international coaching experience. Zambrano has coached in North America, Latin America, and Europe. He holds a UEFA "A" diploma and a USS ...
. The first came in the first round of the
1999 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1999 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft took place in Fort Lauderdale on the afternoon of Sunday, February 7. The second and third rounds of the 1999 MLS College Draft had taken place earlier that morning. In this supplemental draft, a nu ...
, when Zambrano was with the
Los Angeles Galaxy
LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...
. Perez failed to make the team and played with
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
's
Orange County Zodiac
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
. With Zambrano moving to the
MetroStars in 2000, he plucked Perez again, this time in the fourth round of the
2000 MLS SuperDraft
The 2000 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 6, 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and consisted of six rounds.
One of the most successful draft picks was goalkeeper Nick Rimando, a third round pick, who went on to hold the record ...
.
Perez would spend the next two and a half seasons with the Metros, a part-time player his first, a starter at left back his second. Zambrano dealt him midway through the third, to
D.C. United
D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...
with
Petter Villegas
Petter Villegas (born November 15, 1975 in Esmeraldas) is an Ecuadorian-born Puerto Rican footballer who played for Puerto Rico Islanders in the North American Soccer League.
Career
Youth and college
Villegas came to the United States with h ...
for
Mark Lisi
Mark Lisi (born October 11, 1977) is an American former soccer player who played midfielder for New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer until his retirement due to debilitating injuries at the finish of the 2006 season. Lisi Court in Franklin ...
and
Craig Ziadie
Craig Ziadie (born 20 September 1978 in Pembroke Pines, Florida) is a Jamaican-American soccer player, who last played right back for the MetroStars of Major League Soccer.
Youth and College
Although he was born in Florida, Ziadie grew up ...
. Perez then became only one of two players in MLS history (
Winston Griffiths is the other) to play for three teams in one season as DC traded him the
Chicago Fire for a draft pick after only eight games.
Perez was in-and-out of the Fire lineup since. He scored two goals in six years in MLS. Perez was taken by Chivas in the
2004 MLS Expansion Draft
The 2004 MLS Expansion Draft was held on November 19, 2004 and consisted of 10 rounds. The two new teams, Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake, drafted players from the other 10 Major League Soccer teams.
Existing MLS teams were allowed to protect 12 pl ...
. He was waived at the end of the 2007 season.
References
External links
*
1977 births
Living people
Orange County Blue Star players
New York Red Bulls players
D.C. United players
Chicago Fire FC players
Chivas USA players
American people of Puerto Rican descent
Puerto Rican footballers
Sportspeople from Pomona, California
Major League Soccer players
A-League (1995–2004) players
New York Red Bulls draft picks
LA Galaxy draft picks
Association football defenders
{{PuertoRico-footy-bio-stub