The British soccer legend held a press conference in Miami on Wednesday that included MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade county Mayor Carlos Gimenez to announce that he has exercised his option to buy an MLS franchise.
Even though Beckham's future club won't start taking the field for several more years, with a lot more work to be done -- securing a stadium deal being the top priority -- it set the ball rolling for an MLS rivalry in Florida when Beckham and his club finally get the chance to meet on the field with Orlando City Soccer, Major League Soccer's 21st club that will begin play in 2015."I think people maybe were hoping we were going to have the team name [Wednesday], hoping we were going to have the stadium locked down. Those things take time," Beckham said. "The first big decision we have to make, which we'll make in the next couple of months, is the right investors. We have a lot of good people that are coming in to be a part of this and want to be large investors in this franchise."
Shortly after the announcement was made official, Orlando City SC was quick to tweet out the picture above, starting the friendly in-state rivalry a few years early.
"It's always good to have rivals in soccer, but they're not going to be the only one there." Beckham said of Orlando City. "They're not just going to be our only rivals that we'll have. We're going to have rivals around the league, but it's always nice to have someone close to us."
Sure, this rivalry might not start out with the same spice and passion as with others in the league, like the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers, and New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union, but in time, Orlando vs. Miami will be one of the top rivalries worth circling on the calendar, no matter who you're rooting for.
And if the first photo didn't get you fired up about what's soon to come on the pitch, we'll always have this photo that @OrlandoCitySC tweeted out no long after the first photo:
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