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For other uses, see Portland Timbers.
Portland Timbers is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 2001, the team plays in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at PGE Park, where they have played since 2003. The team's colors are green and white. Their current head coach is New Zealander Gavin Wilkinson. The team has a development team, Portland Timbers U23's, which plays in the USL Premier Development League. On March 20, 2009, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber announced that an expansion team had been granted to the Portland area to begin play in 2011 and that the team would retain the Timbers name.[1]
[edit] HistoryThis incarnation of the Timbers is the third in US soccer history. They took the name of the local franchise which was an entry in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1982. [edit] Timbers I: North American Soccer LeagueFor more information, see Portland Timbers (NASL). In 1974, the North American Soccer League awarded an expansion franchise to Portland, Oregon. The new team, named the Timbers, began play in the 1975 season. In their inaugural season, the Timbers went to the championship game Soccer Bowl but lost to the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-0. It was during this magical season that the Timbers endeared themselves to the City and Portland became known as "Soccer City USA". While the Timbers boasted some of the league's best fan support, they sometimes struggled on the field. Despite going to the championship game in their first season, they missed the play offs in 1976 and 1977. In 1978, they went to the Conference Finals before falling to the New York Cosmos. The team folded at the end of the 1982 season as player salaries outpaced team revenue. These Timbers established soccer as a sport in the greater Portland area. Their legacy lives on in the current Timbers following and the many thousands who continue to play and follow the game. Many of these Timbers continued to live in the area after their playing careers and helped establish the soccer as a vital local sport. [edit] Timbers II: WSA/APSLFor more information, see F.C. Portland. In 1985, a local amateur Portland club, F.C. Portland, became a charter member of the Western Soccer Alliance (WSA). In 1989, the team adopted the name Portland Timbers, becoming the second Timbers team and the WSA became the Western Soccer League (WSL). This time the Timbers lasted only two years, 1989 and 1990, before folding. However, in 1990, the WSL merged with the American Soccer League to form the American Professional Soccer League the predecessor of the A-League. While this iteration of the Timbers lasted only two years, it had five significant players, national team goalkeeper and University of Portland alumnus, Kasey Keller; former NASL Timbers player John Bain, who also coached the team; Scott Benedetti who would return as a star of the A-League/USL Timbers; future MLS player Shawn Medved; and finally Peter Hattrup who is best known as a member of the Seattle Sounders. [edit] Timbers III: United Soccer Leagues Through the 2003 season, the Timbers compiled an inconsistent record, qualifying for league playoffs two out of the three years. They have, however, established themselves as one of the best-drawing teams in the A-league, averaging attendance above 5,000 in each of their four years of existence. In the 2004 season, the Timbers finished first in the Western Conference, with a record of 18 wins, 7 losses, and 3 draws (57 points). However, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by their long-standing rival, the Seattle Sounders. 2005 proved to be a bittersweet year for the Portland Timbers. A sweet end of the year playoff run ended by a bitter playoff loss once again to arch-rival Seattle Sounders. However, many exciting moments went along with the 2005 season, including a 6-1 thumping of the Atlanta Silverbacks on September 8, 2005; Portland being the only team to give the Montreal Impact a home loss, and Timbers players Scot Thompson, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, and Dan Antoniuk winning league awards. 2006 was a very disappointing season for many reasons for the Portland Timbers, and their fans. The team finishing tied for last in the table with a franchise worst 7-15-6 (27 points) record, the Offensive production was last in the league as the club only netted 25 goals, and the Timbers lost their derby with heated rival Seattle Sounders. 2007 had many moments for the Timbers. Portland finished second in the league, with first going to rival Seattle Sounders. They enjoyed successful friendlies against Preston North End (2-1), Club Necaxa (1-0) and Toronto FC (4-1) whilst drawing even with the AC Milan Primavera squad (1-1) and winning on penalties, and went unbeaten at home during the regular season. 2008 was a disappointing year to most Timbers' fans for many reasons, although this was offset by the record high season attendances. The team finished dead last with a 7-13-10 record, scored a league worst 26 goals, while conceding 33. However, the 2008 Portland Timbers attendance grew 25.5% averaging 8,567 fans (second in the USL-1 behind Montreal Impact), and Cameron Knowles won an All-League Second Team spot. 2009 was a record setting season for the Timbers. They went unbeaten for a USL-1 record 24 matches in a row, which started following a 1-0 loss to Vancouver in the first game of the season[2], and ended with a Sept 3 defeat to Rochester Rhinos at PGE Park[3]. They finished their season at the top of the table (16-4-10 58 points) winning The Commissioner's Cup and a first round bye in the playoffs. With their 3-1 victory over the Miami FC Blues, the Timbers also were the first team to clinch a playoff spot in the 2009 season[4]. The Timbers were eliminated from the playoffs in their first two games (1-2, 3-3) on goal aggregate to Cascadia rival Vancouver Whitecaps. [edit] Players[edit] Current rosteras of October 22, 2009[5]
[edit] Notable former players
[edit] Year by Year
[edit] Honors
[edit] Head coaches
[edit] Stadium
[edit] Club culture[edit] FansThe Timbers Army is the center of fan support, and the Timbers with a number of rousing choruses. There are many other groups that occupy the North End (Woodshed) of PGE Park, some who are a part of the Timbers Army, and some who are not. The team mascot is currently Timber Joey, the replacement for Timber Jim who retired in 2008, a cheerleader who wields a live chainsaw around the field, cutting off a slab of a log each time the team scores. [edit] Club rivalriesThe Portland Timbers have rivalries with their Pacific Northwest opponents Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps. All three teams traditionally compete in the three way Cascadia Cup derby, although in 2009 Seattle Sounders moved to the MLS, so for two years (2009-2010) the Cascadia Cup will be a two team derby. The three way rivalry will be resumed in 2011, when Vancouver and Portland join Seattle in the MLS. [edit] MascotThe team's mascot was a grizzled lumberjack named Timber Jim (aka: Jim Serrill).[3]. On January 24, 2008, Jim announced his retirement. His final farewell was a game played against the Puerto Rico Islanders on April 17, 2008, the Timbers home opener, which was won 1-0.[6] . Having served as the unofficial mascot every game starting the second home game of the season, on June 14, 2008, Timber Joey was inaugurated as the new official mascot at an exhibition game vs Juventus Primavera[7], a game the Timbers won 1-0[4]. [edit] Kit Sponsors
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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