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Orlando City SC has acquired 26-year-old forward Ercan Kara from Rapid Vienna of the Austrian Bundesliga, Austria’s top flight, it was announced today. Kara will join the Lions as a Designated Player, pending the receipt of his P-1 Visa and ITC, on a three-year contract through 2024, with Club options in 2025 and 2026.
“We are very excited to secure Ercan as another strong attacking presence for the Club,” said Orlando City SC Chairman Mark Wilf. “He strengthens our lineup and will help us take another step toward winning championships in Orlando.”
“Acquiring Ercan is a great move for us and we’re really happy to get him to Central Florida,” said Orlando City General Manager and EVP of Soccer Operations Luiz Muzzi. “His size and strength make him a great target for us inside the box, but his skills make him a threat from outside as well. We think his versatility up top is going to open a lot of opportunities for us in attack.”
A product of SK Slovan HAC’s youth academy system in his native Austria, Kara joined SK Slovan’s first team at the start of the 2014 season and has been at Rapid Vienna since January of 2020. Since 2014, the striker has totaled 55 goals and 23 assists in 108 appearances across all competitions at the professional level, including appearances in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
On March 31, 2021, the Vienna, Austria, native made his senior international debut for his home country in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Denmark. Kara entered the match as a second-half substitute for his first minutes at the international level. The striker has since made a total of seven appearances for Austria and provided one assist.
Austria is set to take on Wales in a qualification playoff match on March 24, 2022. The winner advances to take on the winner of Scotland and Ukraine for Playoff Group A’s advancing spot.