Sal Zizzo

Zizzo was acquired by the Timbers through a trade with Chivas USA on Feb. 16, 2011, in exchange for allocation money. The attacking midfielder returned to the United States in 2010, joining Chivas USA via a weighted lottery after signing a contract with MLS. He started his profes­sional career in 2007 with Hannover 96 of the German Bundesliga after a two-year collegiate career at UCLA.

2013: Underwent successful surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear in his left knee on March 4 ... Will miss at least four weeks ... Logged 18 minutes as a second-half sub on March 3 against New York.

2012: Tallied his career-high fourth assist of the season Sept. 22 against Real Salt Lake ... Named to the MLS Team of the Week for Week 26 after notching his third assist in as many games Aug. 31 against Colorado ... Named to the MLSsoccer.com MLS Team of the Week for Week 24 following a multiple-assist performance in a loss to New York on Aug. 19 ... It was the first multi-assist outing in his career and the third by a Timbers player this season ... Made his 50th MLS appearance and scored his first MLS goal in a 2-2 draw at Toronto FC Aug. 15 ... His first-half strike against Toronto FC ended the Timbers' seven-match scoreless run on the road at 718 minutes ... Scored his first MLS Reserve League goal of the season in a 4-2 win against Chivas USA on July 29 ... Started and played 71 minutes in an exhibition match against Aston Villa on July 24 ... Appeared in seven straight MLS matches as a second-half sub from May 15-July 3 ... Made his first start of the season on June 30 against Colorado ... Recorded an assist in a MLS Reserve League match June 18 against Chivas USA ... Played 45 minutes as a halftime substitute on May 20 against Chicago ... Made his 2012 season debut on May 15 against Houston, entering the match as a 60th-minute substitute ... Made his first appearance in the available 18 and was an unused sub on May 5 against Columbus ... Started two consecutive MLS Reserve League matches against Seattle (April 10) and Vancouver (April 22) ... Played 23 minutes in a MLS Reserve League game on March 27 at San Jose, his first competitive action since sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament on Oct. 14, 2011.

2011: Ranked among team leaders in games played, with 30 appearances for the Timbers ... Made 10 consecutive starts from Aug. 3 to Sept. 21 ... Came off the bench in 15 of his first 17 appearances of the season ... Earned assists in back-to-back home matches, setting up Eddie Johnson’s goal against Toronto FC on July 30 and an Eric Brunner header on Aug. 3 against the LA Galaxy ... Scored his lone goal of the season in an exhibition win over Argentine side C.A. Independiente on July 26. ... Notched an assist in a friendly loss to EPL side West Bromwich Albion on July 20 ... Started and played 111 minutes in an overtime loss to San Jose in a U.S. Open Cup qualifying match May 3 ... Acquired by Portland in exchange for allocation money in a trade with Chivas USA on Feb. 16, 2011.

2010: Acquired by Chivas USA through a weighted lottery conducted by MLS on July 21, 2010 ... Played in 10 games (1 start) over the second half of the season, totaling 254 minutes and one assist ... His assist came in a 4-1 loss to Chicago on Oct. 23 at The Home Depot Center.

2009-10: Played one match for Hannover 96 ... Also played in seven games for Hannover 96 II, Hannover’s reserve team, and knocked in three goals ... Was sent on loan to German second-division club Fortuna Dusseldorf but returned to Hannover due to illness ... Suffered a season-ending knee injury in October 2009.

2008-09: Played five league matches and one DFB Cup match for Hannover 96 ... Made 17 appearances for Han­nover 96 II, scoring one goal.

2007-08: Was signed by German Bundesliga (first division) club Hannover 96 in July 2007 ... Played two matches for the first team, including his professional debut on May 10, 2008, against Werder Bremen ... Also made 21 appear­ances for Hannover 96 II and scored four goals.

INTERNATIONAL: Represented the United States at the U-18 and U-20 levels ... Participated in the Lisbon International Tournament and the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland with the U-18s in 2005 ... Suited up for the U.S. U-20 National Team in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting all five of the team’s matches in the tournament and helping the team reach the quarterfinals ... Made his senior national team debut Aug. 22, 2007, in a friendly against Sweden.

COLLEGE: Played two collegiate seasons at UCLA from 2005-06 ... Made an immediate impact as a freshman, compiling a goal and five assists in 20 games (16 starts) in 2005 ... Was included on All-Freshman teams by several publications, including Soccer America and College Soccer News ... Named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year ... In 2006, finished second on the team in scoring with seven goals and nine assists in 23 games (all starts) ... Led the Pac-10 in assists as a sophomore ... Among his many accolades, named to the NSCAA All-America second team and the All-Pac-10 first team ... Led the Bruins to the Pac-10 championship in 2005 and back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the 2006 Col­lege Cup finals.

PERSONAL: Pronounced “ZEE-zoh” ... Lists Manches­ter United forward Michael Owen as one of his favorite athletes ... Was also a four-year letterman in baseball at Patrick Henry High School ... Likes all types of music ... Enjoys playing video games ... in the offseason, opened an Italian foodcart, Zizzo’s FC, in downtown Portland.