Orlando Perez (born July 12, 1977 in Pomona,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

) is an American soccer defender, who played eight seasons in Major League Soccer. 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 K ...

, 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 pla ...

. Perez failed to make the team and played with A-League'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. 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

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* 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