Football Season Guide

The Portland Timbers had yet another terrific 2017 regular season campaign, finishing atop of the Western Conference table ahead of their bitter rivals, the Seattle Sounders. While the 2015 MLS champions played well throughout the season, their playoff campaign would however, end on a rather sour note. Eliminated at the semi-final stage by the Houston Dynamo, Portland were disappointed not to progress. The side had unfortunately been plagued with injuries towards the end of the year, and struggled to field their best squad for much of the campaign. The shock resignation of head coach, Caleb Porter, during the off-season was hard to take for many Timbers fans, and is certainly a blow going into 2018. Porter had been at the club since 2013, and in addition to winning the MLS Cup with the side, he also provided some much needed stability. Former New York Cosmos coach, Giovanni Savarese has since been appointed to the position, with the Venezuelan having some big shoes to fill. The transfer of Darlington Nagbe to Atlanta United is certainly a loss for the Timbers, although they appear to have strengthened well in his absence. Midfielders such as Andy Polo, Cristhian Paredes, Bill Tuiloma and Andres Flores all come into the squad. Swedish striker, Samuel Armenteros, also comes into the side following a solid 10 year career spent mostly in Europe. He should help to provide some competition for Fanendo Adi up front. And finally, let’s not forget that the Timbers still have the services of Argentinean midfielder, Diego Valeri. Scoring 21 goals last season and recording 11 assists, the playmaker may be into his thirties, but he is still quite clearly one of the best in the division.