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Gavin Wilkinson

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Portland Timbers

Timbers re-sign goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

The Portland Timbers have re-signed goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic.

 

Ivacic, 28, has mostly held a backup role with the Timbers. He made 12 appearances for T2 in 2019 and has only seven first-team appearances (two in 2020, five in 2021).

 

Ivacic joined the club in 2019 — moving from NK Olimpija in his hometown of Ljubljana, Slovenia — for a $240k transfer fee (per Transfermarkt). He had leg surgery upon arriving in Portland, according to a report from Jamie Goldberg at The Oregonian.

Ivacic is expected to compete for the starting goalkeeper role alongside David Bingham following the departure of Steve Clark. Portland still have Jeff Attinella under contract, but he is expected to leave the club. Ivacic made $235k last season, per MLSPA.

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david-bingham
Portland Timbers

Timbers sign goalkeeper David Bingham

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

The Portland Timbers have signed MLS veteran goalkeeper David Bingham.

 

Bingham, 32, is expected to compete for the starting goalkeeper position with Aljaz Ivacic following the departure of Steve Clark. As of Jan. 12, Portland have not re-signed Ivacic and still have Jeff Attinella under contract.

 

Bingham trained with the Timbers throughout 2021 but never saw the pitch. He was listed as earning the Senior Minimum Salary ($81,375) in 2021 via MLSPA.

Bingham spent six seasons with the San Jose Earthquakes (2011-13, 2015-17) before moving to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2018, where he spent three seasons. He has 179 career MLS starts, including a 1.52 goals against per 90 minutes average and a 68.7 save percentage.

Bingham struggled in 2020 (18 starts, 1.94 GA/90, 61.0 save %) following arguably his best season in 2019 (33 starts, 1.67 GA/90, 73.2 save %).

Bingham is the fifth addition of the offseason for the Timbers, joining MLS Homegrown signing Tega Ikoba and three MLS SuperDraft picks.

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Tega Ikoba via Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers

Timbers sign Tega Ikoba to MLS Homegrown contract

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

The Portland Timbers announced the signing of 18-year-old forward Tega Ikoba to an MLS Homegrown contract today. 

Ikoba is Portland’s first signing of 2022.

The club’s Richard Farley hinted at the move on Twitter yesterday.

Ikoba has been training with the Timbers’ first team for a while now, famously racing other players and being crowned “fastest on the team” in an online video. He appeared in preseason games with the first team in March 2021.

Ikoba is 6’4″ and 198 lbs. He will likely be the third striker behind Felipe Mora and Jarosław Niezgoda.

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Portland Timbers

Timbers Rumors: Van Rankin, Mabiala, and a new face?

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

It’s been a relatively quiet week along the Timbers rumor mill thus far. That’ll certainly heat up as the shortest offseason ever gets going.

But for those who’ve been too busy stuffing their faces during the holidays (totally understandable), here’s what you may have missed…

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Portland Timbers

Timbers announce initial roster updates

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

Major League Soccer never stops, even right after the MLS Cup final. The Expansion Draft will take place Tuesday, Dec. 14th and free agency opens Wednesday, Dec. 15th.

The Timbers announced a bevy of roster decisions Monday, including the list of unprotected players for tomorrow’s Expansion Draft.

No matter how you feel about general manager Gavin Wilkinson and owner Merritt Paulson, they have a lot of important decisions to make in the coming weeks.

Who’s gone?

Jorge Gonzalez, Ismaila Jome, Manny Perez, and Renzo Zambrano are all not re-signing. We know they’re gone. Gonzalez and Perez never saw action for the first team and Jome barely did. All four of these guys are unprotected for Charlotte FC’s expansion draft.

Who’s staying?

Portland left 10 of its 21 players on the current roster (so, not including the four names above) unprotected. The 11 protected players which Portland will definitely have next season are:

  • Goalkeepers – Hunter Sulte
  • Defenders – Dario Župarić, Bill Tuiloma, Claudio Bravo
  • Midfielders – Blake Bodily, Diego Chará, Yimmi Chará, Marvin Loría, Santiago Moreno, Cristhian Paredes, Eryk Williamson, Dairon Asprilla
  • Forwards – Felipe Mora, Jarosław Niezgoda

Who’s in limbo?

The ones we don’t know about yet:

  • Goalkeepers – Steve Clark, Jeff Attinella, Aljaz Ivacic
  • Defenders – Larrys Mabiala, Zac McGraw, Josecarlos Van Rankin, Pablo Bonilla
  • Midfielders – Sebastian Blanco, Diego Valeri, Andy Polo, George Fochive
  • Forwards – N/A

The Timbers are looking to re-sign Sebastian Blanco, Steve Clark, Aljaz Ivacic, and Josecarlos Van Rankin. I’d be shocked if Blanco didn’t re-sign. Not so sure about the other three. Briefly, here’s why:

  • Van Rankin was on loan from Chivas Guadalajara this season. There have been rumors of him both re-signing in Portland and re-joining Chivas. I could see this one going either way.
  • Clark is 35. He’s had some great moments for Portland, but he’s certainly more replaceable because of his age.
  • Ivacic has barely played for the Timbers. He conceded 12 goals in four starts this season and is clearly the third-best Portland ‘keeper when healthy. The Timbers also have both Hunter Sulte and Jeff Attinella still under contract. I’d say Ivacic re-signing is unlikely.

What should the priorities be?

Priority #1 for Gavin Wilkinson has to be to re-sign Sebastián Blanco. This should be obvious. Getting him on a non-Designated Player deal (like Valeri signed a few years ago) would be ideal, but might not be feasible. Either way, keep him in the club.

Diego Valeri’s future might not affect the team on the field much, but it’s crucial for fan buy-in (which has obviously been waning lately).

Beyond that, decisions on Van Rankin and Clark will be most important. If those two are gone, that’s two starting spots to fill. I doubt Charlotte takes anyone from Portland tomorrow.

Portland are not one of the top-five spenders in MLS, but they are consistently near the top. The front office has showed its willingness to spend in the right places and take full advantage of MLS’ wonky roster rules (using the U-22 initiative to sign Moreno, for example).

We’ll see how they approach a pivotal offseason.

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Portland Timbers

Timbers sign van Rankin: A look at the defensive depth chart

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Portland Timbers have signed Mexican international right-back Josecarlos van Rankin from Chivas Guadalajara to a one-year loan deal with an option to buy.

Van Rankin, 27, has plenty of experience in 250+ Liga MX appearances for big-name clubs, namely Pumas. You can read all about his skillset here, although there’s nothing out of the ordinary.

His arrival comes off the heels of a wild few years of fullback changes, including:

  • Alvas Powell and Zarek Valentin’s departures

  • Team-of-the-Season-Jorge Moreira’s failure to re-sign

  • Jorge Villafaña’s return and re-departure

…and much, much more.

So far this offseason, the Timbers have added Claudio Bravo and van Rankin while subtracting Chris Duvall, Villafaña, and Gresham’s own Marco Farfan. This leaves Pablo Bonilla as Portland’s only returning outside back.

In the center of defense, Julio Cascante is the only departure, while Larrys Mabiala and Zac McGraw had their deals extended. Dario Župarić and Bill Tuiloma are still under contract.

If you’re good at counting, you may realize that totals four defensive departures and just two additions. The front office will surely be adding more depth as the offseason continues…

Gavin Wilkinson’s “Young Designated Player Center Back” signing that was mentioned at the start of the offseason has yet to materialize. Some have speculated the youngin’ may come from Brazil, as the Timbers have reportedly already had an offer declined from there.

Despite a looming lockout, let’s assume MLS matches will be played at some point this season. For the sake of exploration, here’s how the Timbers will probably look in their two-deep this year.


screenshot 2021-02-03 at 1.07.13 PM.png

A couple things to note:

  • Notice how we only have seven guys total. And I promise I’m not missing anyone.

  • I have Bonilla listed ahead of van Rankin solely because Giovanni Savarese has some outstanding fascination with him. Personally, I would start van Rankin. But we’ll see come matchday one.

  • There’s been zero indication that Gio wants to move to a back-three or anything like that. I’d be shocked if we’re not lined up in the same back-four.

So how will we fill out the roster? If that Young DP center back wish comes true, that still leaves the Timbers scarily thin at outside back.

I would hope and assume that Wilkinson & Co. take a similar approach to last year: bring in a guy like Chris Duvall for preseason trials and sign him if he fits. Personally, I liked Duvall a lot, and thought he should have been making some starts over Bonilla when both were healthy last season.

If not an MLS vet, the Timbers will likely use T2 call-ups to fill out the outside back positions. This is how Farfan got into the squad, after all. You can find a list of T2 defenders here. Aedan Stanley, who got all the left-back minutes last year, was signed by Sporting KC II over the offseason.

Again, there’s no way the Timbers will head into the regular season this thin.

Follow @doublepostpod on Twitter for instant reactions—and, as always, Go Timbers!

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Portland Timbers

Claudio Bravo: What to know about Portland’s newest signing

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Portland Timbers have officially signed Argentine left back Claudio Nicolas Bravo from Banfield in Argentina. The transfer was first reported by Leonel Cerrudo back on October 3rd, and rumored again by Jeff Carlisle on December 3rd.


Image via Portland Timbers

Image via Portland Timbers

Transfer Fee

No official transfer fee was released, but the deal was definitely made using Targeted Allocation Money.

Carlisle’s reported “a transfer fee of $1 million with payments spread out over four years for 80% of Bravo’s rights,” but new reports are saying $1.5 million for 50%. This would be a downgrade in value from the initial reports, but still good value for a player that has the second-highest market value at his position in Argentina, according to Transfermarkt ($2.64 million).

Experience

The 23-year-old Bravo has recorded four assists in 56 first-team starts for Banfield over numerous competitions, including the Copa Sudamericana. He has 43 total appearances in Argentina’s Superliga, 41 of which were starts.

Bravo has also made eight appearances for Argentina’s U-23 National Team, six of which were in important CONMEBOL Olympic Qualification matches.

Overall, Bravo certainly has the first-team experience to make an instant impact in Portland.

How he fits in

Portland have already exported Homegrown talent Marco Farfan to LAFC, and are reportedly looking to do the same with veteran starter-incumbent Jorge Villafaña.

General Manager Gavin WIlkinson called his expectations of Bravo “extremely high,” continuing that “we are confident he will be a very effective and dominant left back in our league.”

Head Coach Giovanni Savarese: “His skillset is a very good balance of offense and defense at his position.”

Analytics sites and scouts seem to agree. SofaScore.com lists Bravo’s strengh as “ball control,” while his weaknesses as “discipline, error proneness, and passing.” Similarly, Whoscored.com gives him a “very strong” rating in dribbling, with other strengths in blocking, intercepting, and concentration.

On-field capabilities may remind fans of Jorge Moreira, another attack-minded outside back who was sometimes caught out of position. Bravo, though, seems like a more capable tackler and all-around defender.

There’s not much public tape on Bravo, but this video is a good indicator of his skillset. I expect the Villafaña transfer to happen and Bravo to be the bonafide starter come March.

As a general update, I’m currently constructing a massive offseason evaluation of the club, including player profiles for every incoming, departing, and current player.

P.S. — There are rumblings of the Double Post Pod returning in full. Stay tuned here for updates and follow me on Twitter at @folkestad3 and @doublepostpod!

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Portland Timbers

PTFC Right Backs: One Leaves, One Enters

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda


BARCELONA-LIBERTAD / CC BY SA 2.0

BARCELONA-LIBERTAD / CC BY SA 2.0

On Thursday, June 18th, 2020, the Portland Timbers declined the option to permanently sign defender Jorge Moreira. Despite offering a loan extension and a reduced buyout, General Manager Gavin Wilkinson and Co. couldn’t reach a deal.

The 30-year-old Moreira will re-join River Plate of the Argentina Superliga.

In case you’re not familiar with how these things work, let me briefly explain: In soccer, a player can either be signed to (1) a permanent transfer or (2) a loan, where they play for a year or two and then go back to their old club.

In loan deals, there is almost always an option for the second club to purchase the player permanently or extend the loan at its conclusion, but the price is obviously set by the loaner, not the loanee.

With Moreira, River Plate clearly saw the immense value he brought to Portland’s squad and gave PTFC management a number that was just too high.

Moreira started in 31 of his 32 appearances for the Timbers, tallying a pair of goals and four assists. His first goal for the Timbers was an important one: a laser to finish off Columbus and earn Portland’s first win of 2019.

While Moreira was, in my mind, one of the Timbers’ best players, he was not without his flaws. Longtime readers may remember my repeated lamentation of Moreira’s inconsistencies, most notably his tendency to stay too far forward and leave the rest of the back line exposed.

Moreira is certainly the most dynamic attacking full back in Portland’s history, though, and it’s worth mentioning his intense speed, determination, and crossing skills as incredibly valuable assets to Portland on the field.

Overall, the Timbers are losing their only player that consistently landed on MLS “Team of the Season” lists, so the amount they kept to lose him better be pretty high.

Team of the Week provided by SofaScore LiveScore

Looking Ahead

Despite the loss of Moreira, the Timbers simultaneously promoted 20-year-old Venezuelan right back Pablo Bonilla to the first team from T2. Bonilla was acquired from Deportivo La Guaira in Venezuela.

This seems like the perfect opportunity for Bonilla to seize the starting right back role and grow into his own as a solid MLS player. But there are a couple problems with this.

First off, Portland has seen very little of Bonilla. He made a couple first team appearances in preseason, but he was only able to log one game with T2 before the COVID outbreak. (Side note: Bonilla recorded an assist in that debut, but T2 fell 6-1 to Phoenix Rising FC.)

The second problem with Bonilla starting immediately is that Portland won’t have the long stretches of summer matches that we’re all used to. The MLS is Back Tournament is coming in hot, and Giovanni Savarese will probably elect to start MLS veteran Chris Duvall over the youthful yet inexperienced Bonilla. Duvall was acquired at the start of the season and started Portland’s last match against Nashville in March.

This brings me to my final point: Bonilla might receive playing time anyway in Orlando, and even that might still be a bad thing. With the high temperatures and higher stakes of the MLS is Back Tournament, it would not be surprising to see Duvall need some rest. It’s then Bonilla’s time to shine, but the original problem is still there: We don’t know if he’s good enough to compete at this level yet.

The MLS is Back Tournament will be a tough test for every team, but the unfortunate departure of Moreira leaves the Timbers with an added chip on their shoulder.

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Portland Timbers

Takeaways from Timbers Media Day

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
timbers-media-day-2020.jpg

Today was Media Day for the Timbers, and while I’m still 2,000 miles away, there were a few things I was very interested in from today—most notably from Gavin Wilkinson and Giovanni Savarese‘s joint press conference. We’ll start with that and work our way through the rest.

Sebastian Blanco and Diego Valeri got individual interviews, while the Chará brothers got a joint one.

The link to the full 10+ minute interview can be found here.

Expect at least 2 more signings

…specifically at right back. Both Gavin and Gio mentioned this number and specific position as an area in which they’re seeking transfers. The Timbers already have Jorge Moreira for at least another six months, but depth will be a problem with the departure of Zarek Valentin.

Gavin also mentioned maybe signing an attacker…lo and behold, a few hours later, multiple sources reported that the Timbers were interested in Jorge Carrascal, a Colombian attacking midfielder currently at River Plate. Those of you with good reading comprehension skills will recognize that he is not a right back, and some are questioning if Portland has the kind of money to splurge on another attacking piece of his caliber right now, especially if the highly likely Jaroslaw Niezgoda signing goes through as a Designated Player.

https://twitter.com/ChrisRifer/status/1220158593669840896?s=20

Still pretty exciting, though!

Valeri’s back, and he really wanted to be

It looks even more like Diego Valeri’s contract dispute was between him being a Designated Player or not. When asked about the importance of Valeri resigning, Wilkinson emphasized how Valeri was “looking at what’s right for the club from a contract perspective…and when MLS release their salary cap numbers, etc. you’ll start to see that he is fully committed…” It sure doesn’t sound like the Timbers broke the bank to retain El Maestro.

Gavin even used the words “fully appreciative” to describe his attitude towards Diego’s new contract. All of this implies that Valeri did the Timbers some sort of favor by keeping a Designated Player slot open (which he did), and it’s now clear that the club thinks that way as well. 

In his interview, Valeri highlighted his love for the club and city. He also noted how much easier it was to get into the groove of the season knowing the team wouldn’t have to hit the road to start the year. The longer offseason was another point of emphasis.

Valeri and Blanco both noted how they wanted to go farther in the playoffs than last year. It’s good to hear ambition coming from the leaders of the team on the first day back.

Dario Zuparic will make an instant impact

When asked about what Dario Zuparic can bring to the squad, Gavin seemed to hint at Larrys Mabiala and Zuparic being the two starters. Both Gavin and Gio emphasized how they have four capable players (Zuparic, Mabiala, Bill Tuiloma, and Julio Cascante) at center back. Gio mentioned possibly playing three at the back at some point, also alluding to Tuiloma’s ability to play “in the middle”—by this he could mean the midfield or the center fo defense, both roles he has occupied for the Timbers in the past. He also added a fun anecdote about receiving encouraging texts after signing Zuparic.

Andrés Flores is out

…for 4-6 weeks. Although this was put out as a press release, it happened on the same day, so it pretty much counts as media day news. Flores suffered a torn meniscus with the El Salvadorian National Team and will be unavailable for a month or so after surgery.

This depletes Portland’s depth for the time being, but it’s not a crucial loss to the midfield. We wish Flores the best for a safe and speedy recovery.

Hair News

As always, Craig Mitchelldyer took some fabulous photos.

For me, the highlights are as follows:

  • Yimmi giving Diego a yellow card
  • Valeri’s man bun
  • Mabiala’s golden dome
  • Gio’s beard—which he also mentioned in the presser

It’s pronounced “Jimmy”

Both Blanco and Valeri talked about how similar Diego and Yimmi Chará were, in personality and on the field.

Diego Chará gave some insight into his brother’s attacking ability, but his descriptions of being a “very quick” and “attacking player” were not as nice as the reassurance that “he will score goals.”

Diego said he loved “everything about Portland” and reiterated countless times that he was very excited to be able to play with his brother again.

Yimmi, who doesn’t speak English but communicated through a translator, said Diego played a key role in the Timbers signing him. The younger Chará by five years, Yimmi was a little more soft-spoken than Diego, but he still said he was impressed by the overall organization and was training separately to get his fitness up before joining the first team.

The final question asked if the brothers would perform a Colombian dance if one of them scored. Diego seemed pretty reluctant, citing that Yimmi would probably have to do the scoring, but Yimmi said they would come up with one and practice it.

The full interview is linked here.

Needless to say, this pairing comes with plenty of storylines, even if the season doesn’t pan out on the pitch for whatever reason.

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