Orlando City recently announced the signing of U.S Men’s National Team Defender Jonathan Spector. Spector will be a nice addition to the strong backline Orlando City has built this offseason, and after signing, Spector expressed his excitement to be moving back to the United States after spending 14 years playing in England.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Spector said. “I’ve been playing in England for fourteen years and now just sort of felt like the right time to make the move back to the States for a number of reasons. For one, it will obviously be a great opportunity for me and my family, but also important is the opportunity to play in the States again. I’ve been playing for fourteen season in England. I’ve loved it, but at the same time it’s been great to watch kind of from afar how the league has grown. Certainly, the supporters have grown as well and I think Orlando... it’s pretty special here for such a young club to have the fan base that they have, I think it’s wonderful. So for me, it’ll be special to be a part of that, growing not only the sport in this country but also in this city. I think it will be pretty special for me.”
For Spector, the opportunity to return to Florida felt special, which is part of what led him to sign with Orlando City. “It just seems like a good opportunity, it kind of has come full circle for me. I kind of started my career in Florida with the under-17 national team. I was in the residency program in Bradenton, and I was there for a year and a half. As soon as I was done with that, I went to England and signed for Manchester United,” Spector said. “I’ve had a few different clubs there over my fourteen year career thus far and I don’t know, it just seems right coming back to Florida, and certainly what the ownership and Niki [Budalic] is doing here as well as Jason Kreis, I spoke to him. He talked to me about the club, certainly the support of the club here from the fans and within the community. It all just kind of felt right and everything seems to be falling into place for me in this very short period of time.”
Spector said that he is excited to join training and start working with the team, but he’s not sure what he’s most looking forward to in the coming months. “Getting into preseason with the guys, meeting the team. Certainly my first game with the club, my debut. It’s always special when you’re playing for a new club, that first game, it’s always a great feeling. The opening of the new stadium. I mean there’s so much going on in this club and in this city that I feel really fortunate to be part of.”
