VOLUME 9, ISSUE 2

MATCH PRESENTED BY:

 TODAY'S MATCH

Game 2
PROVIDENCE PARK

Sunday,
March 8, 2020
Kickoff: 4 p.m. (Pacific)
Broadcast: ESPN
Radio: 750 The Game
1150 AM/93.5 FM La GranD

NOTES

Sunday’s match between

10 Seasons in MLS 1 the Portland Timbers and
Nashville SC marks the
first-ever meeting between
0-1-0 2019 Record 0-1-0 the two clubs. The match
against Nashville marks
the Timbers’ 11th match
Goals Scored all-time against an MLS
1 in 2019 1 expansion side.

Total Assists
0 in 2019 0 In 11 all-time meetings
against MLS expansion
sides, the Timbers have
Leading Goal
Diego Valeri (1) Scorer in 2019 Walker Zimmerman (1) posted a record of 5-4-2. In
five matches at Providence
Park against expansion
Leading Assists clubs, Portland holds a
N/A in 2019 N/A record of 3-1-1. Notably,
Diego Valeri has scored
Record at the most goals against
0-0-0 Providence Park 0-0-0 MLS expansion sides (3) in
Timbers history.
vs. Opponent

Diego and Yimmi Chara

became the 15th set of
brothers to play on the same
AGAINST NASHVILLE SC team at the same time in
MLS history against Minne-
All-Time Series (Regular Season): 0-0-0 sota United FC on March 1.
Home Record vs. Nashville SC: 0-0-0 The pair are the fourth set
of brothers to play for the
First meeting: Timbers in all eras of the club
First-ever meeting between the two teams (Brian and Bruce Gant, Dell
and Grant Herreid and Josh
First meeting at Providence Park: and Shawn Saunders).
First-ever meeting between the two teams
Last regular-season meeting at Providence Park:
After scoring against
First-ever meeting between the two teams Minnesota on March 1, Valeri
has now scored six goals in
Last regular-season meeting: season openers for Portland
First-ever meeting between the two teams with goals in 2020, 2019,
2017 (two goals), 2016 and
Leading goal-scorer in all-time series: 2013. With his goal in the
N/A match, Valeri became the first
Timbers player ever to score
in eight different seasons.

1 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

 # NAME POS.
1 Joe Willis GK
TODAY'S MATCH 2 Daniel Lovitz D
3 Jalil Anibaba D
# NAME POS. 4 David Romney D
1 Jeff Attinella GK 5 Miguel Nazarit D
2 Jorge Moreira D 6 Dax McCarty M
4 Jorge Villafaña D 7 Abu Danladi F
7 Andy Polo M 8 Randall Leal F
8 Diego Valeri M 9 Dominique Badji F
PORTLAND TIMBERS

NASHVILLE SC
9 Felipe Mora F 10 Hany Mukhtar M
10 Sebastián Blanco M 11 David Accam F
11 Jaroslaw Niezgoda F 12 Alistair Johnston D
12 Steve Clark GK 13 Adrían Zendejas GK
13 Dario Zuparic D 14 Daniel Ríos F
14 Andrés Flores M 15 Eric Miller D
15 Chris Duvall D 16 Ken Tribbett D
17 Jeremy Ebobisse F 18 Jack Maher D
18 Julio Cascante D 19 Alan Winn F
19 Tomás Conechny M 20 Aníbal Godoy M
21 Diego Chara M 21 Derrick Jones M
22 Cristhian Paredes M 22 Matt LaGrassa M
23 Yimmi Chara M 23 Taylor Washington D
25 Bill Tuiloma D 24 Tanner Dieterich M
27 Dairon Asprilla M 25 Walker Zimmerman D
30 Eryk Williamson M 26 Luke Haakenson M
31 Aljaz Ivacic GK 27 Tah Brian Anunga M
32 Marco Farfan D 30 Elliot Panicco GK
33 Larrys Mabiala D 55 Brayan Beckeles D
40 Renzo Zambrano M 94 Jimmy Medranda D
44 Marvin Loría M
98 Blake Bodily M

Entering his first

season with
Nashville SC in
2020, defender
Walker Zim-
merman tal-
lied a goal in goal
in Nashville’s
inaugural MLS
match against
Atlanta United
FC on Feb. 29.
Notably, Zimmer-
man was an MLS
All-Star and Best
XI selection
in 2019.

Timbers
defender Dario
Zuparic made
his debut for UP NEXT: Portland travels to face the New England
the club against Revolution on Sunday, March 15, at Gillette Stadium;
Minnesota United kickoff is set for 10:30 a.m. (Pacific). The match features
FC at Providence a regional television broadcast on ROOT SPORTS and
Park on March local radio broadcasts on 750 AM The Game (English)
1. Zuparic was and LaGranD 1150 AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).
one of three
players to debut
THIS ISSUE
for the Timbers
last week against Portland Timbers
1844 SW Morrison St.
Editorial Staff
Kevin Acevedo
Team photographer
Craig Mitchelldyer
Minnesota. Portland, OR 97205 Mike Donovan Graphic Design
(503) 553-5400
Collin Romer Gutoski Creative
www.timbers.com
Katie Simons
2 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com Twitter: @TimbersFC
Facebook.com/PortlandTimbers Mauricio Villarreal
Cover Illustration
Brent Diskin
 TIMBERS X HERITAGE SERIES

The story of how Soccer City, USA

became a part of MLS By Richard Farley

P ortland learned about the news two days

before it became official. “Oregon, we’ve
got games,” the city’s main newspaper, The
Oregonian, headlined their news. For over
two years, the newspaper had owned the
coverage, seemingly balancing every will
they with a won’t they in the city’s Major
League Soccer pursuit. Come time to trum-
pet the outcome, sports fans in Portland
knew which sport they were talking about.
The stories that ran on March 19, 2009,
were a culmination. For the better part of
two years, negotiations at Portland City Hall
had inched forward, with the MLS possibil-
ities igniting after new ownership imbued
the city’s second-division team with first-tier
hopes. Since the early-1980s wane of the
North American Soccer League, Portland
had been a city with only one major sports
team, allowing the Portland Trail Blazers to
foster the type of monopoly the National
Basketball Association also enjoyed in other
places, like San Antonio, Orlando, or Sac-
ramento. Their only competition within their
market came from Triple-A baseball and the
equivalent in the soccer world, the United
Soccer League. Two days after The Ore-
gonian’s initial headline, those second-tier
teams were set to be uprooted.
It’s why the head of that new owner-
ship group, Merritt Paulson, was at the
downtown Hilton Hotel on Southwest 6th
Avenue on that date, at a space Major
League Soccer had reserved days before.
League commissioner Don Garber was
there, too, returning to a city he had visited
multiple times over the prior two years.
Drew Mahalic, head of the Oregon Sports
Authority, was also at the event, one which
allowed the Council’s chief proponents of
the move – Mayor Sam Adams and City
Commissioner Randy Leonard – to take
their victory lap with Paulson. Adams and
Leonard had leveraged significant political
capital throughout the process, forced to
wear down incalcitrant responses from not
only the Council’s opposition but also at the
county level, as well as within various com-
munities whose neighborhoods were drawn
into the plans. Garber’s decision delivered
their payoff.
More work needed to be done, and it
would be months before the city met the
final mandates defined by Garber, but as
the news was celebrated with those in at-
tendance from the Timbers Army, Paulson,
Adams and Leonard could finally see the
next phase of the project come into view.
By summer’s end, the negotiations would
be completed, with the landscape of Port-
land forever changed by the reemergence of
the one-time National American Soccer
League club.
"If it wasn't for Soccer City USA, we
wouldn't be here," Garber exalted while
revealing his league’s decision. As early
as March 2007, Garber had begun buying
into the vision, saying MLS could come if
one important condition was met. "How
could you have a city named Soccer City
and not have an MLS team?"
For Garber, that condition was a
stadium. Come 2007, Major League
Soccer had experi-
enced an evolution
as it concerned its
facilities. A decade
before, at the dawn of
the league, fledgling
teams were often
secondary tenants in
multi-use venues, with
only the Columbus
Crew able to forge a
soccer-specific home.
Having joined MLS as
commissioner in 1999,
Garber eventually
saw the errors of his
league’s ways, soon
demanding that new
venues cater primarily
to soccer’s customers.
Chivas USA, Real
Salt Lake and Toronto
FC were added to
the league between
2004 and 2006, and each would soon be
playing in soccer-first homes. With few
exceptions, Garber made the same de-
mands on MLS’ next generation of clubs.
Over a decade on from the Timbers’
day at that downtown Hilton, under-
standing the stadium issue remains the
key to understanding how the Timbers
joined Major League Soccer, as well the
* The following
is an excerpt
major obstacles Paulson’s group had from “The story
to overcome. Within that issue though, of how Soccer
is a series of smaller struggles: of two City, USA became
of Portland’s early-century teams; the a part of MLS”.
ownership changes that salvaged one
To read the full
franchise’s path; a history of Portland’s
story, please visit
minor-league baseball that nearly derailed
soccer’s arrival; and the solution that, in www.timbers.com.
time, made the Rose City into a world
renowned soccer destination.
Today, the Timbers have become a
driving part of Portland’s international
reputation, with atmosphere created by
the Timbers Army held up worldwide as
an exemplar of the United States’ evolv-
ing soccer culture. Game days outside

3 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

 TIMBERS X HERITAGE SERIES:
The story of how Soccer City, USA
became a part of MLS (continued from page 3)
of Providence Park find tourists who’ve targeted
Portland for its new sports landscape sprinkled
among a crowd who’ve yet to have a less than ca-
pacity turnout for an MLS show. Beyond the games,
the connection the Timbers and the Army have
made throughout the greater Portland area, through
their sporting and charitable pursuits, have added
something that extends beyond the sidewalks of
Southwest 20th, Southwest 18th, and Southwest
Morrison.
Particularly for people like me, who were only
visitors to Portland before the change, it’s difficult
to remember what the city was like before it was
a Major League Soccer town. For those who have
been here longer, the contrast must be stark. In
terms of sports, Portland has taken on a different
identity since becoming
a city that has two
major-league teams,
with the stadium itself,
having just completed
Saltzman upstaged his City Council
another renovation,
transformed into an
colleagues thoroughly as he kept an
envy of the American audience heavy with Timbers fans
soccer landscape.
There’s also been in suspense about how he would
the arrival of a second
major soccer team: the vote on bringing a Major League
National Women’s Soc-
cer League’s Portland Soccer team to town.
Thorns FC. There’s
been the arrival of a
star above the Timbers’
crest, the team having
won a title in 2015. The Thorns have claimed two
titles of their own, as well as an NWSL Shield, one
year, after the league’s best regular season perfor-
mance. Lindsey Horan and Diego Valeri have given
fans Most Valuable Players in each league. Players
like Diego Chara and Christine Sinclair have had
impacts few others could match throughout MLS or
the NWSL. Still more, like Jack Jewsbury and Tobin
Heath, have crafted legends that show the array of
icons that are possible throughout Portland.
"How could you have a city named Soccer City
and not have an MLS team?" It’s a ridiculous pos-
sibility, now. But back in 2007, there were a number
of reasons.
The new ownership
Paulson had been looking for an avenue into pro-
fessional sports long before his Portland opportunity
emerged, with Major League Soccer a primary
focus. In the mid-aughts, as San Jose was about
to temporarily lose one of MLS’ original teams, the
Earthquakes, Paulson had pursued a solution that
would have kept the team in the Bay Area. The cost
of the franchise would have been low – two to three
million dollars – but building a facility from scratch
in the South Bay would have cost him just short of
nine digits. At the time, MLS was only three years
removed from having contracted two teams, and
it had just begun expanding past the 10 members
it had in 2002. Paulson eventually walked away
4 4GREEN
GREEN & WHITE
& WHITE MAGAZINE
MAGAZINE / 2019
/ 2020 / timbers.com
from the talks, and by 2006, San Jose moved to
Houston.
“Soccer was always a primary target,” Paul-
son said, remembering back on his early sports
pursuits. “San Jose, we were really looking at that,
and after that, we had other options with minor
league baseball. But we knew with Portland, with
the stadium here, we had a real shot with Major
League Soccer.”
Those minor league baseball pursuits nearly land-
ed his group in San Francisco’s North Bay, where a
$24 million investment would have brought a team
to Petaluma. Even then, the possibility Portland
was on his radar, leaving local leaders very familiar
with his group by the time his Timbers ownership
was announced.
"I know the Paulson family comes with an impec-
cable reputation," Mahalic said, when Paulson’s
ownership was confirmed in Portland. "We're ex-
pecting sound
business
policy, people
of integrity
to conduct
the team. All
indications
are that this
purchase is a
very positive
deal for Port-
land."
By the time
Paulson made
his Rose City
commit-
ments, the
promise of
soccer was looking undeniable. Two months before
the new group assumed control of the Timbers
and Beavers, Garber had been in Portland to scout
PGE Park. By October, dollar amounts were being
quoted around another refurbish of Goose Hollow’s
venue, and that same month, MLS’s deputy com-
missioner, Mark Abbott, joined Garber for a second
visit of 2007. Come October 18, Paulson, Garber
and Abbott were taking their case to City Hall, in
person.
“Originally MLS had looked to bring in not two
Pacific Northwest teams at the same time in 2011,
which is what ended up happening with us and
Vancouver,” Paulson remembers. “They were think-
ing more Montreal and Vancouver.”
The end game was going to be securing a third
vote from the five-member Council. Adams was
out front of the campaign, as was Leonard, albeit
to a different degree. Over the course of two years,
Paulson and Leonard’s disagreements would
occasionally trickle into the public, with Leonard’s
devotion to keeping baseball downtown proving an
obstacle in the process’s final stages. But their two
votes were generally good bets. Together, and with
MLS, the trio needed to find a third councilor.
“These deals – stadium deals, expansion deals
around sports, they often take many years” Timbers
President of Business, Mike Golub, says. In 2007,
Golub was working for the Trail Blazers, two years
ahead of his move into soccer. His time in the NBA,
where he also worked for the Memphis Grizzlies as
they established themselves in a new market, lends
perspective on sports’ off-field obstacles.
“There are a lot of moving parts, and the pub-
lic-private marriages are very hard to consumate,
sometimes,” he explains. “And so, much to Mer-
ritt’s credit, the timing was impeccable, but also,
he and we, we did it right. In the middle of a really
major recession, we put a really smart public-pri-
vate partnership together ... I think we were really
pretty systematic about it. It was never a fire drill.
But it was a bit of a blur at times.”
Amid that blur, Paulson had to extend to win a
skeptical council’s confidence. He would have to
personally guarantee all future rent payments and
ticket revenue needed to repay the city’s invest-
ment, even if his teams went out of business. As
part of that exchange, he and Major League Soccer
made clear that a venue tailored for soccer was a
prerequisite to any invitation to join the league, giv-
ing the Beavers, once the Timbers began playing
in MLS, a five-year sunset on their time in Goose
Hollow. That meant finding a venue for the city’s
baseball team, a complication which, even after
MLS signed off on the Timbers, threatened to derail
the team's first-division hopes.
Getting the final votes
On March 12, 2009, with debates around urban
renewal districts sharing headlines with Leonard’s
and Paulson’s public debate, the Timbers got
their third vote, for which the name Dan Saltzman
should always live in team lore. While commission-
ers Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish would ultimately
make dissenting decisions, Saltzman swayed
toward Adams and Leonard, voting for a proposal
that, at the time, would shift the Beavers from
Goose Hollow to the Rose Quarter.
“Saltzman upstaged his City Council colleagues
thoroughly as he kept an audience heavy with
Timbers fans in suspense about how he would vote
on bringing a Major League Soccer team to town,”
The Oregonian wrote, at the time. “In the end,
Saltzman did supply the crucial third vote …”
Almost immediately, parts of the plan were cast
into doubt. The same day the council’s 3-2 vote
seemed to put Portland in line with MLS’s criteria,
the Portland Trail Blazers’ senior vice president
of business affairs, J.E. Isaac, spoke out against
what a Rose Quarter park would do to the NBA
team’s business, testifying before a city task force
that, “replacing Memorial Coliseum with a baseball
stadium will leave us as a facilities district." In the
days that followed, Isaac could walk back his com-
ments, slightly, but the dissent started an early de-
bate about the site. Even if Memorial Coliseum was
torn down – an idea that proved unpopular enough
to abandon – how should that land be used?
The idea of establishing a new urban renewal
district, something needed to collect new tax
revenue, eventually dissipated, too, with then-Mult-
nomah County commissioner Ted Wheeler, a future
Portland mayor, convincing council members of the
plan’s potential harm to his charge.
"I've heard lawyers, I've heard consultants, I've
heard planners for the city of Portland all standing
up and saying there's no risk to Multnomah Coun-
ty," Wheeler said, in what The Oregonian described
as a “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington moment.”
"With all due respect, I'm new in this job, but I
wasn't born yesterday. I'd like to have my lawyers
and my consultants and my planners take a look
at this, and then we can come to the table and
mutually agree on what our community's priorities
should be."
As time went on, the plan continued to be picked
apart, and at one
point, an op-ed
in The Oregonian
lamented Paul-
son’s unwilling-
ness to pay off
the debts caused
by Portland Fam-
ily Entertainment.
A responding op-
ed, penned by
Paulson, quickly
pointed out the
injustice of hand-
ing another’s ills
to his group.
The view was
an outlier, but
it was also an
indicator of
a growing feeling within the negotiation – that
eventually, Paulson’s group should pony up more.
The MLS expansion fee, eventually acknowledged
as $35 million, came out of the team’s pocket, with
the team also on the long-term hook to repay a
series of city-backed loans. But from the moment
the City Council initially approved the soccer-base-
ball plan, a $15 million gap existed in the finances.
How to close that gap, along with other funding
concerns, sparked drama over the process’s final
months.
“There was a meeting behind closed doors that
got pretty animated, and that’s something that
those of us in the room still talk about today,”
Paulson says. “By and large, I’d say it was a
very measured, thoughtful process. But it was a
difficult negotiation. I would say that when I was in
a room with Sam and Randy, and a bunch of the
city lawyers, there was one meeting that sort of
went to DEFCON 1. I still communicate with Sam
and Randy a little bit, and there were a number of
stories throughout the process.
“At the time, it wasn’t enjoyable to me, I’ll tell you
that. I was on pins and needles … there was an
attitude of a never-ending fountain of money that
could be tapped into. But the way it transpired was
fairly humorous, in retrospect.”
As the summer of 2009 approached – as ballpark
locations failed and sources of new funding went
unrequited – it became clear a new plan was
needed, one that would separate the funding for
stadium renovations from the needs of baseball.
On June 20, 2009, Leonard issued a final threat,
warning his support of the MLS deal could wane if
baseball wasn’t preserved. Five days later, though,
a 4-1 vote officially separated baseball’s fortune
from soccer, paving the way for a PGE Park reno-
vation plan was approved on July 24.
5 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
 TIMBERS X HERITAGE SERIES:
The aftermath of the deal
Eleven years later, the legacy of those
battles is evident at Providence Park. The
stadium began its facelift for the Timbers’
2011 debut. By the team’s second year in
MLS, the venue could accommodate over
20,000. Last spring, a second phase of the
venue’s major-league growth was completed,
adding the new levels to the site’s east side
while bringing capacity to over 25,000. Now,
the venue mostly enclosed, is laden with new,
modern video displays, and boasts a luxury
level that would have felt absurd at the old
PGE Park. If the mind increasingly strains to
remember what Portland’s sports scene was
before MLS, it too will struggle to think back
on the old Civic Stadium.
But just as the Timbers’ jump to MLS led
to Providence Park’s new look, so too did it
help remake Major League Soccer. Following
Seattle’s arrival two years before, Portland’s
move up from USL is part of a turning point
in league history. Long-time followers could
point to Toronto’s fanbase as a hint, or the
influence the Sons of Ben had in bringing a
team to Philadelphia, but the fan culture that
has become definitional to MLS arrived when
the Sounders and Timbers came on board.
Almost immediately after the rivals were back
in the same league, Portland versus Seattle
redefined the league’s standard for local
animus. In time, older rivalries like D.C. United
versus New York were being compared to a
new benchmark.
“The way the Timbers Army activated in
those early years,” Paulson remembered,
“and that success MLS had in Seattle, too.
[Seattle] opened a lot of eyes. Both of those
were huge factors in the success we had, ear-
ly on. The fact that the Army was as engaged
and active with the city of Portland the whole
time was very powerful, as well.”
Come 2022, Major League Soccer will have
30 teams. When the league first expanded
into Cascadia, it grew to 15. The size of the
league has doubled since the first Pacific
Northwest teams came on board, and as
much as the on-field success of Portland and
Seattle plays into that, the success the teams
have had off the field, in the support they’ve
received from their fanbases, has changed the
league forever.
“The glue to all this thing [was] our sup-
porters,” Golub said. “The fact that we were
granted a team and already had an amazing
supporters group and the Timbers Army
was and continues to be the secret sauce,
right? We worked hard, as did the Army, and
together, cultivating a larger Timbers Army
than we had had during the USL days, but the
fact that the culture, the ethos, the community
of the TA predated our MLS years was and is
an awesome thing. It was the tailwind that we
constantly had behind our momentum.”
Perhaps the biggest legacy of 2009’s deal
is what the revitalized Timbers have done for
Portland itself. A decade ago, when outlets
6 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
The story of how Soccer City, USA
became a part of MLS (continued from page 5)
wrote about the city’s aspirations – whether
there was value in moving from, in major
sports terms, a one-team city to a two –
none could have predicted what the atmo-
sphere would become at Providence Park,
how much the Timbers Army’s growth would
help promote Portland’s international profile,
or how major the Timbers themselves would
become. Soccer may still exist in a bubble,
of sorts, with fans of traditional, big three or
four sports slow to accept a new option, but
within Portland, that new option has proved
foundational, in terms of the city’s culture.
Throughout a season, news organizations
from across the world come to Providence
Park, with each of their features trying to
answer the same, possibly eternal question:
Why? In so many ways, Portland could just
be another
NBA city, like
Sacramento or
San Antonio
– a one-team
town, with an
identity that
corresponds.
Instead, Port-
land’s profile
has exploded,
with its love
for soccer
meshing with
an aesthetic which has made the city mar-
ketable. Within those international features,
figuring out why Portland has developed
its distinct identity is less important than
merely documenting it, season after season.
That unique, counterculture identity, though,
proved the perfect match for the Timbers’
revival.
“It’s a trite expression that things happen
for a reason,” Paulson says, now, “and we
operated according to a very good plan with
people who knew Portland really well – with
how things happen in Portland. I had great
support, and we took a patient and open
and intelligent approach. Ultimately, I think
it was the right thing for this city, and things
happen for a reason.”
There are few places in the United States
where a team’s scarf is so ubiquitous; where
the atmosphere around the matches, nestled
into the urbanity of Goose Hollow, feels so
communal; where a fanbase’s identity is so
influential. Though there were uncertainties
along the way, and the fight for the Timbers’
MLS place lingered for months after the
league’s approval, Portland’s new sports
landscape began on that March day at the
Hilton Hotel. It began with a question that
probably should be rephrased, now.
Don Garber asked, when announcing the
Portland bid’s success, "How could you
have a city named Soccer City and not
have an MLS team?" Now, it seems a better
question would be: How could you be a Ma-
jor League and not have Soccer in Portland?
 EACH STEP, BIG OR SMALL,
CREATES A BRIGHTER ENERGY FUTURE.
FULLCLEANAHEAD

fullcleanfuture.com

pge_timbers_4875x35.indd 1 5/15/19 4:33 PM

@PTStandTogether
www.PTStandTogether.com
 2020 TIMBERS SCHEDULE

Day Date Opponent Time (PT) TV

Sunday March 1 MINNESOTA UNITED FC 4:30 p.m. FS1

Sunday March 8 NASHVILLE SC 4:00 p.m. ESPN
Sunday March 15 @New England Revolution 10:30 p.m. ROOT SPORTS
Sunday March 22 @Los Angeles FC 6 p.m. FS1
Saturday March 28 PHILADELPHIA UNION 7:30 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday April 4 @Houston Dynamo 3 p.m. ROOT SPORTS
Saturday April 11 FC DALLAS 7:30 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday April 19 @Atlanta United FC 3:30 p.m. FS1
Saturday April 25 VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC 7 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday May 2 LA GALAXY 12:30 p.m. ABC
Saturday May 9 @Real Salt Lake 6 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Sunday May 17 SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 2 p.m. FS1
Saturday May 23 @Minnesota United FC 5 p.m. ROOT SPORTS
Wednesday May 27 @Chicago Fire FC 5 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday May 30 @Orlando City SC 4:30 p.m. ROOT SPORTS
Saturday June 13 SPORTING KANSAS CITY 2 p.m. ESPN
Wednesday June 17 COLORADO RAPIDS 7:30 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Sunday June 21 @New York Red Bulls 2 p.m. FS1
Sunday July 28 @Sporting Kansas City 3:30p.m. FS1
Wednesday July 1 COLUMBUS CREW FC 7:30 p.m. ROOT SPORTS
Sunday July 5 @Nashville SC 4 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday July 11 @Colorado Rapids 6 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday July 18 SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 7 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday July 25 HOUSTON DYNAMO 7:30 p.m. ROOT SPORTS
Saturday Aug. 2 @LA Galaxy 7 p.m. FS1
Saturday Aug. 8 FC CINCINNATI 7:30 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Sunday Aug. 16 INTER MIAMI CF 6 p.m. FS1
Saturday Aug. 22 @Seattle Sounders FC 1 p.m. ESPN
Sunday Aug. 30 LOS ANGELES FC 6 p.m. FS1
Saturday Sept. 5 @FC Dallas 5:30 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday Sept. 12 @San Jose Earthquakes 7 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday Sept. 19 TORONTO FC 6 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Saturday Sept. 26 REAL SALT LAKE 7:30 p.m. FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX)
Sunday Oct. 4 @Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1:30 p.m. ROOT SPORTS

*Broadcast schedule is subject to change.

All regular-season matches will be broadcast in Spanish on La GranD 1150 AM.

8 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

 GM / PRESIDENT OF SOCCER
G avin Wilkinson, a 19-year
veteran of the Timbers organi-
zation and a former New Zealand
international, serves as the club’s
general manager and president
of soccer. He first joined the club
as a player for the Timbers’ USL
First Division side in 2001, before
taking over as the head coach and
general manager during the club’s
final years in the second division
from 2007-10.
Wilkinson also serves as the
general manager and president of
soccer for Portland Thorns FC.
During Wilkinson’s tenure as
general manager and president of
soccer, the club has won MLS Cup
in 2015, NWSL championships in
2013 and 2017 with Thorns FC, an
NWSL Shield in 2016 and a nation-
al championship with the Timbers
U-23s in 2010. Additionally, the
Timbers have made two appear-
ances in Concacaf Champions
League (2014-15, 2016-17) and
are one of just three MLS teams
to appear in three conference
championships (2013, 2015, 2018)
over the last six seasons, winning
their second Western Conference
Championship and advancing
to MLS Cup for a second time
in 2018. The Timbers also have
secured the Western Conference’s
No. 1 playoff seed with the best
regular-season record two times
(2013, 2017).
In his current role, Wilkinson
has formed the Timbers’ deeply
integrated, vertical development
system, which includes USL
Championship club Portland
Timbers 2 (T2), the Timbers U23
and Timbers Academy teams. He
was instrumental in establishing
an innovative partnership with
Oregon Youth Soccer Association,
which encompasses the statewide
Olympic Development Program
and regional training centers, as
well as the adidas Timbers Alliance
program.
As the club’s general manager
and head coach from 2007-10,
Wilkinson assembled a 50-29-39
10 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
GAVIN WILKINSON
record over four seasons in the
USL First Division/USSF Division-2
Pro League and was a two-time
USL First Division Coach of the
Year (2007, 2009). He guided the
club to three postseason berths,
including its only semifinals
appearances as a second-divi-
sion club in 2007 and 2009. As
head coach, Wilkinson oversaw
Cascadia Cup (a fan-based derby
between Portland, Seattle and
Vancouver) titles in 2009, 2010 and
again in 2012.
He led the Timbers to one of
the best seasons in USL First
Division history in 2009, including a
record-setting, 24-game unbeaten
streak and winning the Commis-
sioner’s Cup.
Wilkinson’s 13-year professional
playing career included time with
clubs in six different countries, During Wilkinson’s
including Portugal, Ireland, Hong
Kong, Singapore and Australia. tenure as general
A defender, he joined the reborn
Timbers for their inaugural United manager, the club
Soccer Leagues season in 2001,
playing in each of the club’s first
has won MLS Cup
six seasons and serving the dual
role as a player/assistant coach
in 2015, an NWSL
from 2005-06. He finished his championship with
playing career ranked among the
Timbers’ USL franchise career Thorns FC in 2013
leaders in games (124) and minutes
played (10,181). and 2017 and a
A New Zealand native, Wilkinson
earned 38 caps with the New national champi-
Zealand National Team and com-
peted in the 1999 and 2003 FIFA
onship with the
Confederations Cups.
Wilkinson founded the youth
Timbers U-23s
club Eastside Timbers, based in in 2010.
Gresham, Ore., in 2001. He helped
run the club as its coaching direc-
tor for many years and now serves
as an advisor for the club. In 2010,
Eastside’s U-18 boys team (’91 Liv-
erpool) won the U.S. Youth Soccer
U-18 national championship and
became the first youth club team
from Oregon to win a national title
since 1994.
He and his wife, Heather, have
two children, Kienan and Brooke.
 HEAD COACH
G iovanni Savarese begins his third
season as head coach of the Tim-
bers, and is the only manager during
the club’s MLS era to guide Portland
to the MLS Cup Playoffs in each of his
first two seasons at the helm. In his
first season with the club, Giovanni
Savarese led the Timbers to 15
regular-season wins in 2018, tied for
the third-most victories for a first-year
head coach in MLS history. Under
Savarese’s guidance, the Timbers
won their second Western Conference
Championship and advanced to their
second MLS Cup in 2018. Registering
18 wins overall, Savarese became one
of three head coaches since 2000 to
register 18 or more wins, including
playoffs, in their first year as a head
coach in the league. He also became
just the second head coach in the last
14 seasons to advance to MLS Cup in
his first year in MLS.
Appointed as the Timbers’ head
coach on Dec. 18, 2017, Savarese
brings over 25 years of professional
experience as a player and coach to
the Timbers organization.
A native of Caracas, Venezuela,
Savarese joined the Timbers after
spending the previous five seasons as
the head coach and sporting director
of the New York Cosmos, where he
developed one of the most successful
clubs in the NASL, compiling a 65-
26-44 record in 135 regular-season
games, including a career-best 20-7-5
record in 2016 and an undefeated
NASL Spring Season in 2015. Addi-
tionally, the Cosmos scored 223 goals
during Savarese’s five seasons at the
helm, which ranked as the most in the
NASL during that stretch. Savarese
also led the Cosmos to four Soccer
Bowl appearances, claiming the 2013,
2015 and 2016 championships. Most
recently, after a 10-7-15 record in the
2017 regular season, Savarese guided
the Cosmos to their third straight ap-
pearance in the NASL championship
match, narrowly falling 2-0 to the San
Francisco Deltas.
Prior to joining the Cosmos
organization, Savarese, who holds
a U.S. Soccer Pro License – the
highest soccer license recognized
in North America and the peak of
the U.S. Soccer coaching education
pathway, served as the head of
youth development for the New York
MetroStars/Red Bulls from 2005-2007,
before joining the Cosmos as the
club’s academy director in 2010, with
a focus on developing youth talent in
the greater New York area. Savarese
12 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
GIOVANNI SAVARESE
served as the Cosmos academy
director for two years before being
announced as the head coach of the
first Cosmos team in 28 years on
November 19, 2012.
Savarese enjoyed an 18-year
professional playing career, including
five seasons in Major League Soccer,
scoring 159 goals in 322 games
played in various leagues in the
United States, Venezuela, Italy and
England. At the international level,
Savarese earned 30 caps for the
Venezuela National Team from 1989-
2001, scoring 10 goals, including a
notable finish against South Ameri-
can rival Argentina in 1996.
After beginning his profes-
sional career in Venezuela with
Deportivo Italia in 1986, Sava-
rese spent five seasons (1990-95)
playing in the Cosmopolitan Soccer
League and the USISL before being
drafted by the MetroStars in the
inaugural MLS SuperDraft in 1996 as
the ninth overall selection, notching a
Savarese enjoyed
team-record 41 goals and 94 points
in 85 regular-season appearances
an 18-year
during three seasons with the club.
The striker’s record stood until 2009
professional
when it was surpassed by Juan playing career,
Pablo Angel.
Following his three seasons with including five
the MetroStars, Savarese spent
the 1999 MLS campaign with the seasons in Major
New England Revolution, scoring
10 goals in 27 appearances. Shortly League Soccer,
afterwards, Savarese joined Italian
Serie A club A.C. Perugia and was scoring 159 goals
in 322 games
loaned to A.S. Viterbese in 2000,
before returning stateside to join the
San Jose Earthquakes in the 2000
MLS season. After a brief stint with played in various
the Earthquakes, Savarese joined
Swansea City, where he scored 14 leagues in the
goals across all competitions, prior to
signing with Millwall F.C. in 2001. Fol- United States,
lowing short spells with Venezuelan
club Deportivo Italchacao and Italian
Venezuela, Italy
club Sassari Torres, Savarese’s play-
ing career concluded in 2004 after
and England.
scoring five goals in 10 appearances
with the Long Island Rough Riders.
In the collegiate ranks, Savarese
enjoyed a four-year (1990-93) playing
career with Long Island University af-
ter moving to the United States from
Venezuela in 1990. Savarese has also
served as a member of the media,
working as an analyst for ESPN Inter-
national and ESPN Deportes.
Giovanni and his wife, Michelle,
have two daughters, Valentina
and Alessandra.
SHOP OVER 300 BRANDS IN-STORE AND MARIOS.COM

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 COACHING STAFF 2020

Carlos Llamosa Miles Joseph Guillermo “Memo” Valencia Shannon Murray

Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Goalkeeper Coach Video/Data Analyst

Carlos Llamosa enters his
third season as an assistant
coach for the Timbers after
being a part of the coaching
staff that won the Western
Conference Championship
and advanced to MLS Cup
in 2018. Llamosa served four
years as an assistant coach
in the North American Soc-
cer League (NASL) alongside
Giovanni Savarese with the
New York Cosmos. Prior to
coaching with the Timbers,
Llamosa spent four seasons
as an assistant coach with
MLS club Chivas USA (2009-
2012), and with the New
England Revolution (2017).
As a player in MLS, Llam-
osa made 154 appearance
(142 starts), recording three
goals and four assists as a
defender with D.C. United
(1997-2000), Miami Fusion
(2001), the New England
Revolution (2002-2005) and
Chivas USA (2006-2007).
Starting a total of 27
postseason matches in his
MLS career, Llamosa won
two MLS Cup titles with D.C.
United (1997, 1999). At the
international level, Llamosa
made 29 appearances for
the United States, including
appearances during the 1999
Confederations Cup, 2002
World Cup qualifiers and the
2002 FIFA World Cup.
Part of the Timbers
coaching staff that won the
2018 Western Conference
and advanced to MLS Cup,
Miles Joseph enters his
third season as an assistant
coach. He joined the club
midway through the 2018
season from Orlando City
SC, where he served as an
assistant coach for parts of
three seasons (2016-18).
Prior to his arrival in Orlando,
Joseph was an assistant
coach with New York City FC
during the club’s inaugural
MLS campaign in 2015.
He began his coaching
career in MLS with Real Salt
Lake, working with the club
from 2010-14. During that
stretch, Joseph, who holds a
USSF “A” license, was part
of the coaching staff that
helped the club advance to
MLS Cup in 2013 and finish
runners-up for the 2011
Concacaf Champions League
title. Joseph played six
seasons in MLS, appearing
in 120 matches (67 starts),
tallying 11 goals and 21
assists. At the international
level, Joseph earned three
caps for the U.S. Men’s
National Team and was also
a member of the U.S. men’s
soccer team at the 1996
Summer Olympics.
Serving on the coaching
staff that won 2018 Western
Conference Championship
and advanced to MLS Cup,
Guillermo “Memo” Valencia
begins his third season
with the club in 2019.
Prior to joining the staff in
Portland, Valencia spent five
seasons as the goalkeeper
coach for the New York
Cosmos, helping the team
win three NASL Soccer
Bowl championships, while
working alongside Giovanni
Savarese. Valencia, who
maintains his U.S. Soccer
National “A” Coaching
license and National
Goalkeeping “A” license –
the highest license offered
for goalkeeping coaches
in the United States, has
coached goalkeepers for the
U.S. Men’s National Team
between the U-17 and U-23
levels since 2009.
During his 11-year pro-
fessional playing career as
a goalkeeper in Colombia,
Valencia played for America
de Cali (1990-1995) and De-
portivo Pereira (1995-2001),
featuring as a key member
of the Pereira side that won
the Professional Colombian
Soccer Association league
championship. Valencia
later moved to the United
States to compete for the
Westchester Flames and the
Long Island Rough Riders.
Entering his fifth season
with the Timbers organiza-
tion, Shannon Murray was
part of the coaching staff
that won the 2018 Western
Conference Championship
and advanced to MLS Cup.
Murray, who holds a USSF
“A” license, spent two
seasons as an assistant
coach for T2 (2017-18).
Prior to joining the Timbers
organization, Murray spent
a decade working in youth
and coaching development,
including two seasons as
an academy coach with
Seattle Sounders FC.
Additionally, Murray has
been a member of U.S.
Soccer’s National Coaching
Education staff since 2011.
Prior to beginning his
career in coaching, Murray
played six professional
seasons in the A-League
and Continental Indoor
Soccer League.

Cameron Knowles enters his third season as head coach of T2, the Timbers’ USL
Championship affiliate. In 2018, Knowles led the club to a regular-season record of 17-
13-4 (55pts) on the way to qualifying for the club’s first postseason appearance. Knowles,
who holds a U.S. Soccer Pro License – the highest soccer license recognized in North
America and the peak of the U.S. Soccer coaching education pathway, was named T2
head coach on Jan. 8, 2018, after spending six seasons as an assistant coach for the
Timbers. Knowles was part of the Timbers coaching staff that won MLS Cup in 2015.
Drafted by Real Salt Lake in the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft, Knowles played profes-
sionally for seven seasons, including two seasons in MLS and four with the USL Timbers
from 2007-10. During his playing career with the Timbers, Knowles was a three-time USL
First Division all-league selection and helped Portland claim the Commissioner’s Cup in
2009 as the league’s regular-season champion. He was a finalist for the league’s Defend-
Cameron Knowles
T2 Head Coach er of the Year award in 2007. In total, Knowles played in 77 games for the Timbers, which
ranks among the club’s second-division career leaders.

14 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

POD AD
 TIMBERS BY THE NUMBERS

The Timbers have added 6,591 seats to Providence Park since

a sellout crowd of 18,627 fans in the club’s inaugural MLS home
opener against the Chicago Fire on April 14, 2011.

306
In 10 seasons
in Major League
Soccer, the Timbers
Since joining during the club during its inaugural MLS campaign have played 306
in 2011, midfielder Diego Chara has played 10 seasons with the
Timbers. Chara is the longest tenured player on the roster. regular-season
matches – holding
a record of 116-
Entering the 103-87 entering the
2020 MLS
campaign,
2020 campaign.
36 different
countries have
been represented
on the Timbers
roster since the
club joined the
league in 2011.

16 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

 TIMBERS Q&A
Timbers Q&A

21
HEIGHT: 5-8

MIDFIELDER
WEIGHT: 150
DATE OF BIRTH: 04/05/1986
BIRTHPLACE: Cali, Colombia

Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Chara

discusses his 10 seasons in the Rose City.
It’s our 10th season as a club in MLS and
your 10th season playing for The Timbers as
well. How much has the club grown, on and off
the field since you arrived in Portland?
“The club has grown a lot. When I first arrived,
almost nine years ago, we didn’t have a training
center and often times we trained at the stadi-
um. However, our fan base remains exactly the
same, which is a privilege as a player. I think
the club has achieved a lot and has participat-
ed in many activities with the community. For
instance, creating Stand Together has made the
club more visible within the community and has
given a lot of people the opportunity to partici-
pate and become a part of the club.”

When you were younger, could you ever have

imagined having kids in a different country?
“I never thought I’d have children outside of
Colombia. Our first daughter was born in Colombia
in 2009 and we were in a different state of mind in
terms of what we wanted to do with our lives. Then
the opportunity to move to the United States came
along and after talking it over as a family we made
a decision that made us very happy. We feel great
personally, professionally and as a family.”

Your brother Yimmi is now on the team. You last played

with him 10 years ago. Does it feel like a full circle
moment for your family to be in Portland together?
“It sure does! The type of support I feel is very different
now that Yimmi is Portland. This is the first time that I
am going to have family close to me. I have many good
friends who feel like family, but having my brother and
his family feels great and I can already tell this year will
be a very meaningful year from a family standpoint.” Having my brother and
In your 10 years of playing in MLS, who are your his family feels great
favorite players you have competed against?
“I regularly thank God for giving me the opportunity
and I can already tell
to play against outstanding players with amazing
careers around the world. For instance, David Beck-
this year will be a very
ham and Thierry Henry were very difficult players to meaningful year from
play against. Also, playing alongside Diego Valeri
and Sebastián Blanco and against other great play- a family standpoint.
ers such as Sebastian Giovinco, Carlos Vela and
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been very special for me.
I feel privileged of having the opportunity to share
the same soccer field and compete together. This
is something Major League Soccer gave me the
opportunity to do and I feel very happy about that.”

18 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 timbers.com

18 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
We love our teams!
Dedicated Fans,
Trusted Partners
Enthusiastic supporters and proud legal counsel
to the Portland Timbers and Thorns

Stoel Rives is uniquely equipped to lead clients

through their most difficult challenges
24
www.stoel.com
 TIMBERS PLAYLIST

Music to relax to…

ERYK

WILLIAMSON
Timbers players pick their
top four songs to relax to.

JEFF LARRYS
ATTINELLA

MABIALA
“American Teen” – Khalid

“Two Piña Coladas ”

Garth Brooks “Letter to Nipsey” – Meek Mill “Mama Africa” – Akon

“It's Five O'Clock Somewhere” “Hot (Remix)” – Young Thug “Money Trees” – Kendrick Lamar
Alan Jackson

“Love Yourz” – J. Cole “Just a Moment” – Nas

“Changes in Latitudes, Changes in
Attitudes” – Jimmy Buffett

“Pas Pareil” - Hiro

“Toes” – Zac Brown Band

20 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

DXprogress.com
 ONWARD ROSE CITY

22 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 timbers.com

22 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
 An exterior shot of Providence Park from
the 2019 MLS home opener against
Los Angeles FC on June 1. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer

timbers.com 2020 / GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE 23

 TOP PICK

Lionel
DARIO ZUPARIC Messi
Kylian
Favorite soccer player in the world to watch

Mbappé

BLAKE BODILY

Lionel
ANDRÉS FLORES
Messi

Adama
Traoré
JEREMY EMBOBISSE

BILL TUILOMA
Sergio Ramos
Isco

DIEGO VALERI
24 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
 TIMBERS SOCIAL

felipemora_ Follow

Timbers forward Felipe Mora picks

three of his favorite Instagram posts
and explains their significance.

"This picture was

taken last Christmas
and I think it shows
how happy we are.
My family is the most
important thing to me
and being able to live
my profession while
I enjoy them is truly
a blessing. You can
see all of us there;
my wife Maria Jesus
and my two lovely
children, Felipe Jr.
and Mariano."

“I like this picture a lot be-

cause you can see how excit-
ed I was celebrating my first
goal with the national team.
I scored against Guinea in a
friendly match last year. At
that point I had played a few
matches with the national
team already, but I am a
player who likes to make a
difference and the feeling
of scoring my first goal with
La Roja is something I don’t
think I will forget for the rest
of my life. ”

“This is a very spe-

cial picture because
it summarizes a great
season with Universidad
de Chile. Not only did we
win the championship
that year (2017), but I
was also the top scorer
in the league. Having my
beloved family next to
me on such a special day
meant the world for me.”

26 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

danner.com/timbers
 VIDEO REVIEW

Video Review was introduced by Major League

Soccer midway through the 2017 regular season.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR), the fifth mem-
ber of the officiating crew, is located in a booth at
each MLS stadium with access to available broad-
cast replays and check all plays for potential clear
and obvious errors or serious missed incidents in four EACH OF TH
game-changing situations -- goals, penalty decisions,
direct red cards, and cases of mistaken identity.
OCCU

1. GOAL
STEP-BY-STEP WAS AWARDING O
OBVIOUS ERROR?
• Did the ball cros
1 Check & Analysis • Was there an inf
(APP)* that woul
• The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is constantly
– Hand ball by t
checking and analyzing each of the four
match-changing incidents to determine if – Foul by the at
there’s a clear and obvious error. – Offside?
– Ball out of pla
2 Video Review – Encroachmen
• In cases of potential CLEAR & OBVIOUS
2. PENV
ERROR, the head referee can decide whether to
conduce a Video Review by making the Video
Review signal (TV box sign). WAS AWARDING O
• A Video Review takes place when playCLEAR AND OBVIO
has stopped. • Was there a pen
• During a Video Review, the referee can either
• Was the foul ins
take information from the VAR and/or view
replays via a sideline monitor. • Was there an inf
(APP)* that woul
NOTE: There are no time constraints to conduct
a Video Review
– Hand ball by t
– Foul by the at
3 Final Decision – Offside?
• Once a decision has been made, it will be–com-
Ball out of pla
municated in-stadium and on the TV broadcast.

*ATTACKING PHASE
OPPOSITION’S PEN
4 Restart
• Play resumes with the correct restart or drop ball
Time used for Video Review is made up in stop-
page time at the discretion of the referee.

GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2017

28 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
V
 FIELDS
FIELDS FOR
FOR ALL
ALL IS
IS AA COLLABORATION
COLLABORATION BETWEEN
BETWEEN THE
THE PORTLAND
PORTLAND
TIMBERS’ STAND TOGETHER COMMUNITY INITIATIVE, OPERATION
TIMBERS’ STAND TOGETHER COMMUNITY INITIATIVE, OPERATION
PITCH
PITCH INVASION
INVASION AND
AND GENEROUS
GENEROUS SPONSORS.
SPONSORS.

Since
Since 2011,
2011, the
the Timbers
Timbers have
have contributed
contributed to
to 17
17 soccer
soccer fields
fields and
and futsal
futsal courts
courts to
to
provide our city with organized outlets for play in underserved areas.
provide our city with organized outlets for play in underserved areas.

THANK
THANK YOU
YOU TO
TO OUR
OUR SPONSORS:
SPONSORS:

www.Timbers.com/Stand-Together
www.Timbers.com/Stand-Together
 PO RT L A N D T H O RNS FC

20,000 Supporters A Match

10,000 Annual Members
2 NWSL Championships

Guarantee your seats at Thornsfc.com

 PORTLAND THORNS FC

O n Aug. 11, 2019, Portland Thorns FC registered a 2-1 win over

the North Carolina Courage in front of an NWSL single-game
record crowd of 25,218 fans – the first sellout for Thorns FC follow-
ing the transformation of Providence Park. Notably, it ranked as the
second-largest crowd for a standalone match in the history of U.S.
women’s professional soccer, trailing only the record-setting crowd
of 34,148 fans at the inaugural match of the Women’s United Soccer
Association (WUSA) on April 14, 2001, at RFK Stadium between the
Washington Freedom and the Bay Area CyberRays.

33 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

 TIMBERS DEVELOPMENT
Rooted in the club’s deep history, the Timbers have a passion for
developing youth players and the sport of soccer in the region. Through
partnerships established with Oregon Youth Soccer Association (OYSA) and
Oregon’s Olympic Development Program (ODP), the Timbers have built a
comprehensive vertical development structure, which allows players with-
in the club’s development territory a direct path from the youth level to the
top tier of professional soccer in North America – Major League Soccer.
PORTLAND TIMBERS 2
The level just below the Portland
Timbers first team on the pyramid is
T2. Playing in their sixth season in the
35-team USL Championship, T2 was
founded on Oct. 14, 2014, and is a
professional team that creates a bridge
between the Timbers Academy and the
Timbers first team. In 2019, the Timbers
and Hillsboro Hops announced a new
partnership for T2 in which the Hops
would be responsible for running the
business operations for the USL Cham-
pionship club, including marketing,
ticketing and sponsorship sales. The
Timbers will continue to own T2 and
manage soccer operations for the club.
As part of the new partnership, T2 will
play their home games at Hillsboro Sta-
dium beginning with the 2020 season.
PORTLAND TIMBERS U23
In 2017, the Portland Timbers ventured
into a partnership with Capital FC
Timbers in Salem, Ore., where the Sa-
lem-based club will handle the day-to-
day operations of the Portland Timbers
U23 PDL team, while the MLS club will
provide resources and assist with player
recruitment and selection. The team
won the PDL national championship
in 2010.
PORTLAND TIMBERS ACADEMY
The Timbers Academy consists of
teams in the U-18/19, U-16/17, U-15,
34 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
U-14 and U-13 age brackets of the U.S.
Soccer Development Academy. The
Timbers Academy provides elite youth
players from the Timbers development
territory advanced training and com-
petitive opportunities against the best
youth players across North America.
TIMBERS YOUTH LEAGUES,
TOURNAMENTS & CAMP
adidas TIMBERS ALLIANCE
The adidas Timbers Alliance is a
The Timbers and OYSA
strategic partnership between the club
have formed an innova-
and elite local youth clubs throughout
tive partnership, which
the Timbers’ development territory, de-
sees the statewide youth
signed to build unique working relation-
soccer organization
ships and development opportunities
become a part of the
to help channel the top youth players
Timbers’ comprehensive
toward Timbers development programs
youth development struc-
and academy. Started in 2012, the alli-
ance includes the following clubs: Idaho ture. The Timbers and
(Boise Nationals FC, Sting Timbers FC), OYSA provide its clubs
the Portland metro area (Westside Tim- resources for coaching
bers, Eastside Timbers), Central Oregon and referee education
(Bend FC Timbers), Southern Oregon and share best practices
(Rogue Valley Timbers), the Willamette in player development,
Valley (Capital FC Timbers, Eugene creating a unified
Timbers FC), Southwest Washington development philosophy
(Washington Timbers) and New Mexico across the state.
(Las Cruces Timbers).
The Timbers offer an ex-
ODP/REGIONAL citing camp program for
TRAINING CENTERS
soccer players of all ages
In partnership with OYSA, the Portland
and skill levels through-
Timbers and Portland Thorns FC over-
out Oregon, Southwest
see the state’s Olympic Development
Program (ODP). As part of this partner- Washington, Alaska,
ship, the Timbers have expanded the Idaho, Missouri, Montana
state’s regional training center program and New Mexico. Each
to eight locations, and train locally at camp is centered on
these sites 18-20 times a year. In the age-appropriate exercis-
spring of each year, RTC programs es and activities designed
are brought together to hold training to develop technical
and games. Over the RTC tournament excellence and build a
weekend, Timbers coaching staff love for the game.
members select the best players in the
Homegrown territory to form Timbers For more information on
and Thorns FC ODP teams, otherwise the Timbers and Thorns FC
known as pre-academy or academy youth programs, please visit
reserve teams. The club’s 2000 Timbers www.timbers.com/youth
Boys ODP team won its first regional
ODP championship in January 2017,
competing against all states in the
western United States. In addition,
Idaho Youth Soccer Association runs
three RTC programs.
 3 TR E E S A R E P L A NTE D F O R E V E RY

1
T R E E H A R V E ST E D F O R W O O D P R O D U C TS


 

Pre-game festivities at Providence Park from the Timbers’ inaugural

MLS home opener against the Chicago Fire on April 14, 2011.
 T2 SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Venue Kickoff (PT)

Saturday, March 7 @Phoenix Rising FC Casino Arizona Field 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 14 @El Paso Locomotive FC Southwest University Park 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 22 COLORADO SPRINGS SWITCHBACKS FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 5 p.m.
Saturday, March 28 @Reno 1868 FC Greater Nevada Field 6:15 p.m.
Sunday, April 5 SAN ANTONIO FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 5 p.m.
Sunday, April 12 REAL MONARCHS SLC HILLSBORO STADIUM 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 18 @ OKC Enery FC Taft Stadium 5 p.m.
Sunday, April 26 SAN DIEGO LOYAL SC HILLSBORO STADIUM 12 p.m.
Saturday, May 2 @Tacoma Defiance Cheney Stadium 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 12 @FC Tulsa ONEOK Field 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 10 SACARAMENTO REPUBLIC FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 12 p.m.
Saturday, May 10 TACOMA DEFIANCE HILLSBORO STADIUM 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 23 @Austin Bold FC Bold Stadium 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27 NEW MEXICO UNITED PROVIDENCE PARK 11 a.m.
Tuesday, June 9 LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 13 @Orange County SC Championship Soccer Stadium 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 21 @LA Galaxy II Stubhub Center 3:30 p.m.
Friday, July 3 @San Diego Loyal SC Torero Stadium TBD
Sunday, July 12 RENO 1868 FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 5 p.m.
Friday, July 17 @Tacoma Defiance Cheney Stadium 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 26 PHOENIX RISING FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 12 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 1 @Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Weidner Field 5 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 7 RIO GRANDE VALLEY FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 15 AUSTIN BOLD FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 12 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 22 @Sacramento Republic FC Papa Murphy's Park 8 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 29 FC TULSA HILLSBORO STADIUM 12 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 2 ORANGE COUNTY SC HILLSBORO STADIUM 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 5 @Las Vegas Lights FC Cashman Field 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 12 @San Antonio FC Toyota Field 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 20 EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 12 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 23 @New Mexico United Isotopes Park 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 26 @Real Monarch SLC Zions Bank Stadium 12 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 4 OKC ENERGY FC HILLSBORO STADIUM 5 p.m.
Saturday, Oct.10 LA GALAXY II HILLSBORO STADIUM 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 17 @Rio Grande Valley FC H-E-B Park 5:30 p.m.

*All matches will be streamed

live on the ESPN + app.

36 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

Stand Together is the relationship between the Portland Timbers and our fans
and signifies the commitment we have to being champions both on the field
and in our community.

MISSION
The Stand Together mission is to harness the power of sport to improve the lives
of children and families in the Portland Metro Area through targeted programs,
deep partnerships, and philanthropic giving.

FOCUS
Our outreach aims to better the following areas of focus in the greater Portland area:
• YOUTH ACTIVITY - with an emphasis on the importance of play and embracing
diversity and all ability levels.
• YOUTH EDUCATION - with an emphasis on literacy, STEM programming and
social justice.
• ENVIRONMENT - with an emphasis on engaging local youth and their families to
help us grow the greenbelt and gardens within our city limits.

OFFICIAL 2020 STAND TOGETHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS:

LEARN MORE AT PTStandTogether.com

@PTSTANDTOGETHER
50% TO YOU

50% TO OUR
COMMUNITY
Your raffle ticket is helping us make a difference.
Stand Together is committed to building new futsal courts
through Fields for All and Special Olympics Oregon
provides sport training and athletic competition for those
living with intellectual disabilities.
 MOST
NONSTOPS
FROM
PORTLAND
 TIMBERS BROADCAST
Jake Zivin
Television Announcer
Jake Zivin serves as the
lead play-by-play announc-
er for the Timbers regional
television broadcasts and
co-hosts the post-match
show with Timbers
television analyst Ross
Smith. Part of the television
broadcast team in 2015,
Zivin was also the radio
play-by-play announcer
during the 2014 and 2015
campaigns. In addition,
Zivin was the web stream
play-by-play broadcaster
for all T2 home matches
during their inaugural USL
season in 2015.
KeithBleyer
Keith Bleyer
Radio
RadioAnnouncer
Announcer
The 2020 season marks
Keith Bleyer’s ninth
season as part of the
Timbers broadcast team,
having worked with both
the radio and television
broadcast teams during
his tenure. A television
and radio broadcaster
with nearly four decades
of experience, Bleyer has
been involved in Major
League Soccer broadcast-
ing since the late 1990s.
42 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com
Ross Smith
Television Analyst
Former Timbers defender
Ross Smith serves as the
analyst on the Timbers
regional television
broadcasts. The 2020
season marks Smith’s
10th on the broadcast
side as he started off as a
radio analyst in Portland’s
inaugural MLS season in
2011, moving over to the
television broadcast in
2012. Additionally, Smith
co-hosts the postgame
show with Zivin.
Fletcher Johnson
Radio Host
Fletcher Johnson returns
for his 10th season as part
of the Timbers broadcast
team in 2020. As host of
the Timbers radio pregame,
halftime and postgame
shows, Johnson, who has
extensive experience in
local radio, first joined the
club for their inaugural MLS
season in 2011.
Nat Borchers
On-Field Analyst
Former Timbers defender
Nat Borchers enters his
fourth season on the
broadcast team, serving
as the club’s field analyst
during the Timbers’
games on ROOT SPORTS
and FOX 12 OREGON.
Borchers enjoyed a
14-year professional
playing career, including 12
seasons in Major League
Soccer, where he played
for the Colorado Rapids
(2003-05), Real Salt Lake
(2008-14), and the Portland
Timbers (2015-16). Borch-
ers is a two-time MLS Cup
champion, first capturing
a title with Real Salt Lake
in 2009, before helping
Portland capture its first
MLS Cup title in 2015.
Joe Sleven
Radio Analyst
Joe Sleven enters his
third season with the
Timbers broadcast team.
A Portland native, Joe
played in midfield at the
University of Portland. Since
graduating, he's served as
an analyst for the University
of Portland on TV, radio and
internet broadcasts.
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 TIMBERS 2020

Dairon Asprilla 27 Jeff Attinella 1 Sebastián Blanco 10 Blake Bodily 98

Julio Cascante 18 Diego Chara 21 Yimmi Chara 23 Steve Clark 12 Tomás Conechny 19

Chris Duvall 15 Jeremy Ebobisse 17 Marco Farfan 32 Andrés Flores 14 Aljaz Ivacic 31

Marvin Loría 44 Larrys Mabiala 33 Felipe Mora 9 Jorge Moreira 2 Jaroslaw Niezgoda 11

Cristhian Paredes 22 Andy Polo 7 Bill Tuiloma 25 Diego Valeri 8 Jorge Villafaña 4

Eryk Williamson 30 Renzo Zambrano 40 Zambrano 13

RenzoZuparic
Dario 40

44 GREEN & WHITE MAGAZINE / 2020 / timbers.com

That’s why Providence Health & Services
provided more than $549 million in 2018
to serve those in need in our communities.

Join us in creating health for a better world.

Visit ProvidenceOregon.org