In the history of Major League Soccer, some of the world’s top players have come to play. Few come with the credentials of Kaka, who joined expansion Orlando City SC prior to the club’s inaugural season.
Hristo Stoichkov, David Beckham, Thierry Henry and now Frank Lampard all brought with them top three finishes in FIFA World Player of the Year voting, but only twice in league history has a former FIFA World Player of the Year signed with the league. The first was Lothar Matthaus, who was 39 years old when he signed with the MetroStars in 2000. Now Kaka, at 33 years old, is much closer to the prime of his career – and the 2007 season when he won the World Player of the Year honor, beating out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have combined to win the award every year since.
On Saturday, Kaka and OCSC will visit Rio Tinto Stadium for the first time as Real Salt Lake takes on Orlando in an Independence Day clash. And while his is a different kind of spectacle, RSL is focused on earning three points at home.
“He’s special. He’s one of the greatest players I have ever seen, but tomorrow he is going to be our rival,” said RSL midfielder Javier Morales, who came to MLS in 2007. “We’re going to play against him and we’ll try to win the game.”
Kaka scored 105 goals in 308 career matches for AC Milan and added 29 goals in 120 matches for Real Madrid. In that time, he won two league titles in Serie A and La Liga, the 2006-2007 UEFA Champions League title and the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup. All of that on top of the 2002 World Cup title with Brazil.
In 2007, after leading AC Milan to the Champions League crown and winning the Club World Cup, he was named FIFA’s World Player of the Year.
“He’s an international superstar and he brings a presence. As this league continues to grow, every team is going to have one of those. It’s just something to keep an eye on,” said RSL goalkeeper Jeff Attinella. “It’ll be fun to be on the same field as him, but at the same time, we have to do our best to try and eliminate him from the game and have him not make the difference. It’ll be a tough task, but I think we’re ready for it.”
Kickoff in Saturday’s match is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT with a firework show to follow. The match will be broadcast live on KMYU.
