Team
On a day of lots of comings and goings with the Portland Timbers, new midfielder Will Johnson was pretty excited about his new home:
Thank you to the Portland Timbers for allowing me to come to the team of my choice. I will repay your investment handsomely and can't wait!!
— William Johnson (@WillJohnson08) December 3, 2012
The first time I played in Portland I dreamed of playing there. My dream is now reality and my family and I are extremely grateful! #excited
— William Johnson (@WillJohnson08) December 3, 2012
As Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson put it in today's announcement, "his attitude is infectious."
The holiday season is in full swing at JELD-WEN Field at the adidas Timbers Team Store!
The 12 Days of Giving
Throughout December, shop.portlandtimbers.com and the adidas Timbers Team Store will be promoting different Timbers items on certain days for purchase, such as outerwear and “stocking stuffers.” Check back often for great deals leading up to the holidays!
For updates on holiday sales and featured items, sign up for the adidas Timbers Team Store mailing list.
Rockin’ around the Timbers Tree
It’s better to give and to receive this holiday season with the Timbers. Beginning Tuesday, December 4th, spend $25 at the adidas Timbers Team Store and you will be eligible to choose a gift from underneath the Timbers Tree! Gifts can range from Timbers novelties and gift certificates to autographed memorabilia and gifts donated by Timbers local corporate sponsors – stop in to see what surprises are under the tree!
The holiday season is also about giving back. The adidas Timbers Team Store is partnering with Stand Together in December. Customers that donate at least $1 to the Stand Together Community Fund at the register will receive an ornament to write his or her name on and place on the Timbers Tree!
adidas Timbers Team Store Holiday Hours
Monday-Saturday: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, December 23: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Christmas Eve, December 24: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
December 25 – January 1, 2013: CLOSED*
*The adidas Timbers Team Store will gladly handle all holiday returns and exchanges upon reopening January 2 at regular hours of 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Photo via Ohio.com
Now that Caleb Porter's time at the University of Akron is drawing to a close, Marla Ridenour, a sports columnist with the Akron Beacon Journal, sat down with soon-to-be new Portland Timbers head coach to ask him about his time with the Zips, his plans for Portland, and why he made the big move west.
In short, he was looking for a new rush.
The turning point came when he coached the US U-23s national team last spring.
“It gave me a taste of that rush and it’s unlike anything else,” Porter said Wednesday during a half-hour interview in his UA office. “There’s more pressure, but there’s more reward, too. I like that. I like a challenge. I’m not afraid of pressure.
“Even the rush of having to finesse the players, the management. I need that. I need to wake up every day feeling nervous, almost like I’ve got to be at my best, otherwise I get bored. It was very different the way I was feeling; it was like when I came here seven years ago.”
It's an excellent read to learn more into the insight of the new Timbers coach and what makes him tick as well as what his hopes for the future are.
“I try to be the best I can be. I try not to give a day away. I try not to slip,” he said. “In some ways it’s a madness, but that’s the way that I live. I don’t want to look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day and think, ‘I wasn’t good today.’ I try to instill that in my players.
“I’m very uncomfortable being comfortable. I want to grow, I want to get better, I want to push myself, I want to be challenged, I want to feel pressure, I want to wake up every day knowing I have to be at my best. That’s what makes me tick.”
Go read the whole thing at Ohio.com and check out the photo album of Porter in his UA of Akron office as well.
Dunseth (broadcasting) & Charles (NASL era)
You may recognize the voice of Brian Dunseth as it has become fairly ubiquitous across the American soccer spectrum. A soccer analyst on NBC Sports, Fox Soccer—often paired with our very own John Strong—as well as on Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas games, Dunseth has become a keen observer of Major League Soccer which should come as little surprise given his long playing career in MLS.
The first ever signing to the Project 40 initiative in 1997—now more commonly known as Generation adidas—Dunseth went on to play for the New England Revolution, Miami Fusion, Columbus Crew, Dallas Burn, and Real Salt Lake. After his playing career ended, Dunseth got into broadcasting but also teamed up with his old college teammate from Cal State Fullerton, Ben Hooper, to start a clothing company called Bumpy Pitch that bridges soccer, culture, history, and style. That same theme led their foray into an online “magazine” of sorts called The Original Winger that collects stories about soccer, shoes, watches, fashion, movies, music, and more.
But Dunseth also has a unique affinity to Portland. In 2000, he was the captain of a loaded US Olympic U-23s team that featured the likes of Frankie Hejduk, Ben Olsen, Conor Casey, Danny Califf and Landon Donovan as well as Timbers Alumni Ambassador Adin Brown. The head coach of that team was none other than Timbers legend Clive Charles who had a defining impact on Dunseth as a player and as a person.
In this episode of the Backcut, we talk about soccer in Portland, the influence of Charles both on a personal level and on American soccer, and much more. It’s an illuminating and emotional conversation.
The Backcut Podcast sits at the intersection of Timbers, soccer & culture to explore the unique elements of the beautiful game. You can subscribe to The Backcut on iTunes in the same feed as the Talk Timbers podcast.
Rubio Rubin (Photo via USsoccer.com)
With eight goals since June 25 for the US U-17 squad--including scoring in four straight matches--not to mention being mentioned as TopDrawerSoccer.com's #1 U.S. player in the Class of 2014, it's save to say that Timbers U-16 Academy player Rubio Rubin has been on a bit of a tear.
After training at the US Under-17 Residency Program since the 2011 Fall Semester, Rubin has traveled with the team to Spain and most recently to the Four-Nations Cup in Argentina where he tallied three goals in four matches.
USsoccer.com sat down with the Beaverton native to talk about playing so far from home and how his development has been coming along.
ussoccer.com: You’re a long way from home in Oregon being across the country in Florida at the Under-17 Residency Program. Do you ever get homesick?
It's a great interview about a promising Timbers Academy product. Read the whole piece over at USsoccer.com.
As the 2012 Timbers season comes to a close as well as the #SoccerKicksCancer Breast Cancer Awarness campaign for October, we have on our hands a pair of Nagbe's Golden Boots. No, not those golden boots (FF to 1:00 mark).
These Golden Boots F-50 adiZeros from adidas:
Notice the special autograph. Nagbe was one of only five MLS players invited by adidas to utilize their miadidas custom shoe tool to design a special pair of boots to help promote Breast Cancer Awareness month for MLS.
And now you can enter for a chance to get your hands on them. All you have to do is follow @PTStandTogether on Twitter and re-Tweet this message to enter. One randomly chosen RT will win a pair. Click here for full contest rules.
Want to make your own pair? Watch this video of Nagbe putting his together then visit miadidas.
Erik Hurtado (left) & Steven Evans (right)
With the San Jose Earthquakes coming north to Portland on Saturday afternoon to take on the Timbers, their home field of Buck Shaw Stadium will hardly be quiet.
Timbers U-23s teammates Steven Evans and Erik Hurtado will find themselves on the opposite ends of that pitch as Evans' University of Portland Pilots travel south to battle the Santa Clara Broncos on the NSCAA Game of the Week on Fox Soccer at 7pm PT Friday night.
Evans has been having an excellent season in his junior campaign with two WCC Player of the Week Awards, 11 goals (a real stunner here) and two assists. The senior Hurtado has also been on fire with 11 goals and four assists for the Broncos as they look to win the WCC title and vie for an NCAA Conference berth.
Check out the Pilots preview of the match while the Broncos give their notes as well then be sure to watch what should be a cracking game.
Chris Seitz with the Timbers in 2009 - Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer
What would you do if your name came up as a probable bone marrow donor for a person you've never met and who desperately needs it to save their life?
If you're FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz, you put your career on hold and say, "Yes."
In 2009, Seitz--then a member of Real Salt Lake--registered himself as a potential bone marrow donor as a show of solidarity with teammate Andy Williams. Williams' wife that season had been diagnosed with leukemia and many teammates went through the process of getting swabbed to put their names into a national database of donors. Three years later, now a member of FC Dallas, Seitz gets an email in the middle of the 2012 season saying he could be a match. Does he stay with the team? Does he put everything on hold? ESPN.com tells the story:
"I would look back at it and shoot myself in the foot if I didn't do it," Seitz said. "I'd always have questions about myself, about who I am. It just would have bothered me. If someone had the chance to do it to help me or [my wife] Kate, I'd beg them to do it. And it had just happened in my family. I saw it as my chance to give something back."
USL Timbers fans may remember Seitz donning the Timbers crest for two games during that 2009 season. After injuries knocked out the team's 'keepers, Seitz came on loan from RSL for two games against the Carolina Railhawks. He posted a win and a draw with two shutouts during his brief spell here.
Read the article and watch the incredibly personal video diary, then learn more about how you can be a donor at GetSwabbed.org or Be The Match. FCDallas.com also has a story about how he continues to work in his rehab from the bone marrow harvesting procedure and how he hopes to someday meet the bone marrow recipient.
Rubio Rubin
Leading college and youth soccer website TopDrawerSoccer.com recently ranked the Top 150 players from the class of 2014. Number One on the list? Timbers U-16 Academy forward Rubio Rubin.
The Beaverton native is currently playing with the U.S. U-17 National Team and most recently helped the side to a 3-1 win over Uruguay in a friendly in Buenos Aires on Sunday. Rubin has scored in three of his last six appearances with the U.S. U-17s and was selected to a 20-man roster to compete in the Four-Nations Cup in Buenos Aires this week. The match against Uruguay was one of two friendlies bookending the tournament.
For the first year of the Timbers Academy, this is promising development.
Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer
Known for his breakneck pace as he flies down the wings like a rocket, Sal Zizzo has emerged this season as a true attacking threat. With a goal and four assists--both career MLS highs--Zizzo's path here was anything but direct.
Soccer By Ives' Thomas Floyd gives the MLS Spotlight treament for Zizzo's journey from UCLA to the US U-20 World Cup to Hannover 96 in Germany to Chivas USA and now Portland.
“I would still do everything the same,” Zizzo said. “You maybe only have that chance once in your career. I wouldn’t change it. The experience that I got, the relationships, the people, and just learning the German side of soccer and just their mentality, day in, day out at training, is invaluable.”
It's a good read that goes into more detail about his German experience and his rise in Portland.
