Orlando City SC announced on Wednesday that Fernando Jose De Argila Irurita will be the new head coach of Orlando City B, the Lions reserve side that will return to play as a founding member of USL League One, the new third-division competition set to debut in 2019.
De Argila joins OCB after three years as head coach and director of methodology at the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy (SIMA), a highly respected youth program which has groomed nearly 30 players currently in the professional ranks in MLS, USL and European leagues and is a youth development partner with Orlando City, which moved its academy teams to SIMA earlier this year.
“With his vast experience in the youth systems of FC Barcelona and as a head coach of various professional teams in Italy, Spain, and Greece, Fernando is the perfect fit for what we are striving to accomplish,” OCB general manager Mike Potempa said in a club statement. “His passion for football and extensive knowledge of our current methods of development at Montverde Academy will be extremely beneficial as we transition to USL League One.”
An experienced coach with a global resume, De Argila previously served as head coach and technical director of FC Barcelona’s youth academy and professional futsal program and has also worked with the Catalan national team, Girona FC and CD Gava in Spain and a range of Italian and Greek clubs.
The Spaniard speaks fluent Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian and Portuguese and what OCSC call “soccer-proficient levels” in English and Greek. He holds a UEFA “A” coaching license, a professional coaching license from the Argentine Football Association and a goalkeeping instructional degree from the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
OCB competed in USL in 2016 and 2017 before going on hiatus this year.
