Jonathan Spector recently joined the Lions as the team’s latest acquisition. After spending 14 years playing in the United Kingdom, Spector decided it was time to return to his home country and join MLS, a league that he has watched develop from a far. For Orlando City Head Coach Jason Kreis, acquiring Spector a critical part of finalizing Orlando City’s preseason roster.
“We were looking for somebody with a lot of experience, we were looking for somebody with a lot of leadership capability, we were looking for someone who could communicate and lead the backline,” Kreis said after training on Wednesday. “We believe that Jonathan [Spector] will do that.”
Kreis sat down with Spector in December to discuss the possibility of him joining the team. Kreis noted that while Spector has been away from the United States from a while, he’s kept up with MLS and even did announcing for some of the MLS games broadcasted in the UK. “He’s been paying attention to it, he’s been keeping in touch,” Kreis said. “And at the end of the day, he’s American. He was born and raised here. So I don’t think there is gonna be much of a transition, if at all.”
Orlando City the Right Fit for Jonathan Spector
For Kreis, acquiring Spector was the final piece of the puzzle. “It was the one piece where I just kept feeling this large anxiety,” Kreis said. “I think it was the most important acquisition we could make in the offseason was to find that profile of a player. And it wasn’t an easy process to narrow it down and to get the deal done.”
“In the end,” Kreis said. “I’m very, very happy.”
