Orlando Perez (born July 12, 1977 in Pomona,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

defender, who played eight seasons in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. Perez never played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

, but he was drafted twice in MLS, both times by coach

Octavio Zambrano Octavio Zambrano Viera (born 3 February 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 USSF ...

. The first came in the first round of the 1999 MLS Supplemental Draft, when Zambrano was with the

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. Perez failed to make the team and played with

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

Orange County Zodiac Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

. 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 MLS SuperDraft, 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 t ...

. 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 an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. 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 To ...

and

Craig Ziadie Craig Ziadie (born 20 September 1978) 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 in Kingston, Jamaica. He ca ...

. 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. 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 sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Puerto Rican men's footballers Sportspeople from Pomona, California Soccer players from Los Angeles County, California Major League Soccer players A-League (1995–2004) players New York Red Bulls draft picks LA Galaxy draft picks Men's association football defenders {{PuertoRico-footy-bio-stub