Orlando City board have made plans of a major revamp of the team’s management staff after recording their worst ever campaign in Major League Soccer history, starting from the top of the club as the club announced that it has parted ways with General Manager of Soccer Operations Niki Budalic.
He was later promoted to the role of General Manager in December of that year, but his time at the club has finally come to an end following back-to-back frustrating seasons in which the club failed to qualify for the playoffs despite a whole lot of changes.
The club founder himself, Rawlins, had to take up the General Manager duties following the failed hiring of Armando Carneiro as the Chief Soccer Officer of the club and sacking of former General Manager Paul McDonough. Carneiro lasted only three months in office.
CEO Alex Leitao said in a club statement, “I would like to thank Niki for these past three seasons with us and wish him the best in his future endeavors. We start a new year with many projects to look forward to, including strengthening our soccer operations department for the MLS and NWSL teams, opening a new training complex and a revamped academy structure”.
Budalic in turn thanked the Lions for the opportunity, which happened to be his first managerial role in North America after ending his playing career in 2014.
The former player was instrumental in building the team’s current roster, signing Yoshimar Yotun and selling the likes of Dom Dwyer and Sacha Kljestan.
Orlando City were expected to compete for the title this season after a major overhaul but things turned sour after a six-game winning streak early in the season.