Kaka and the Future of OCSC

An article posted today by Orlando City owner Phil Rawlins published on 'I4 Business' reminded me of a piece I wrote a few months back for the Iron Lion Firm.

Nice coat ole chap

As we get closer to the 2015 MLS campaign, Kaka continues to garner headlines around the globe as he was recently called up to the Brazilian National Team.  Based on the reader comments on the Orlando City Facebook page, love him or hate him, it seems like all soccer fans have an opinion on Kaka.  While the OCSC facebook page comments are a cesspool of buffoonery at times, the observations are a good reflection of showing how polarizing Kaka is.  He is essentially Tim Tebow with a whole lot of talent.  Kaka wears his faith on his sleeve and is unashamed to be a deeply religious man who is very much involved in his global charitable organizations.  The former FIFA player of the year however is perceived by many to be washed up and past his prime.  I consider this to be a low brow talking point by those who conveniently fail to ignore his recent success as early as this past season with A.C. Milan.  Kaka garners headlines and attention.  Orlando City will be a soccer club known around the globe because of his signing.  Despite the fact he is projected to be MLS highest paid player in 2015, he is still a value and a brilliant signing by the Lions.

Below is my original blog post written on June 19th of this year.

Remember where you were today because this was the moment Orlando City Soccer Club became a global brand. Along with the headlines of today's World Cup matches and England's epic failure, the signing of Kaka by OCSC will be in every major newspaper and media outlet tonight and tomorrow.  From Porto Alegre to Belem, every Brazilian sports fan will now become intimately aware of who Orlando City is. 

Born Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite, Kaka will be the second most important signing in the history of MLS behind David Beckham.  While MLS has been around since 1996, the signing of the Becks was the introduction of MLS to most of the world. Like the English superstar, Kaka is a global brand having signed endorsement deals with the likes of Armani and Adidas.  Kaka is a former FIFA player of the year (2007) with plenty of accolades who is known throughout the world for his charitable work and his outstanding play. 

Orlando City is already a known entity in Brazil.  With over 712,000 fans on Facebook, Orlando City Brazil is already ten times more popular than the clubs main page.  The teams’ affiliation with Flavio instantly gave the Lions name recognition in Brazil.  With one of the countries most popular players now joining Orlando City, the signing of Kaka will spurn interest in MLS and make the Lions a major brand in that country. The Beckham experiment showed Major League Soccer that it is capable of getting a worldwide audience.  Don Garber saw how big first-hand the additional revenue streams MLS was capable of with international superstars joining the league.  Along with David Villa, Kaka is spearheading Garber’s vision for MLS future. 

It is no coincidence that the day before the Orlando City friendly against Sao Paolo, there are news leaks flowing throughout social media and credible news sources that OCSC have signed Brazilian superstar Kaka.  As with all Phil Rawlins and Flavio have done, the Lions front office has been almost flawless in implementing their plan and vision.  Enjoy the journey City fans. Today is an excellent day for OCSC and the ILF.  Even better, the best is yet to come.