BEAVERTON, Ore. – Jeremy Ebobisse doesn’t agree. In fact, he doesn’t think it’s close.
When he’s told that, in the wake of Wednesday’s Western Conference Knockout Round victory in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs, Portland Timbers captain Diego Valeri labeled him “the best player on the field,” the team’s starting striker offers a polite retort.
“I disagree,” he says, his tone making no attempt to hide his disbelief. “I think the back line, the back six was under a lot of pressure, especially after the red card.”
Timbers centerback Larrys Mabiala was dismissed just before the hour mark, with Portland up 1-0 on the home team, FC Dallas. The Timbers would go on to claim another goal, largely through Ebobisse’s efforts, before Dallas pulled back a note on consolation in their 2-1 loss.
“Even in the first half, they had a couple of chances that put us on edge,” Portland’s starting forward recalls. “From the front four’s perspective, it was tough to maybe get up the field, as a team. We knew that every ball had to be fought for, try to be kept. We didn’t always succeed with that, so we had to do a lot of defensive work, as well, as a unit.
“I just think that the back four and (goalkeeper) Jeff (Attinella) did a lot more work than I did.”
He’s probably right. Though Valeri was offering an honest assessment with his post-match praise, even the captain might deserve the greater regard, having scored both of his team’s goals in Frisco.
But the possible motives behind Valeri’s words aren’t hard to decipher. Though Ebobisse is one of the first team’s youngest players, the second-year striker is someone Portland’s elders hold in the highest regard, a regard Valeri revealed last month when talking about the 21-year-old.
“He’s very smart, very humble, very capable,” the Timbers’ midfielder said. “His potential is amazing.”
That kind of regard from players isn’t the result of some profound social influence. In only his second year in Portland, the 2017 MLS SuperDraft No. 4 overall selection's stature is still growing within the squad. But during that time, the level of maturity Ebobisse has shown toward himself and others has won the loyalty of the team’s veteran corps, and although the way that maturity is applied on and off the field are two drastically different things, his perspective of his work as the team’s lone striker is indicative of the way Ebobisse approaches other aspects of his world.
“There’s the glamorous side to being a forward, where you’re scoring goals, going at players, beating players one-v-one all the time, which is obviously what I would be doing in an ideal world,” he explains. “Our team would have control of the game, and I would be able to float wherever I want to get the ball.
“But something I’ve come to realize is that different games bring different things out of a central, lone striker. In a game where we’re playing pretty direct, that means battling for balls. That means trying to hold up as many of them, and at the very least making sure the center backs don’t get a clean header into the path of someone else.
“Even if I just nudge him a little bit and his header goes to one of my guys, then that’s almost like completing the pass myself.”
Ebobisse’s all-around game has been in focus, on this site and elsewhere, since he ascended to the team’s starting striker’s role, and at some point, the topic will be exhausted. But with each new shift the former U.S. youth international provides, more of his impact is revealed, forcing us to reconsider whether his contributions have gotten the attention they deserve.
Valeri’s comments rekindled that conversation. As did Ebobisse’s game-winning assist. As did the overall effort he exerted in Dallas. Left alone up top as the Timbers protected their early lead, Ebobisse eventually had to be brought off in the 85th minute, his energy apparently exhausted after a night battling Matt Hedges and Reto Zeigler. Just as he had 10 days earlier against Real Salt Lake (85 minutes), as well as two weeks earlier at altitude in Utah (77 minutes), the Bethesda, Maryland, product worked until, physically, he could not work anymore.
Such are the realities of the Timbers’ current set up, where Valeri and fellow midfielder Sebastían Blanco carry much of the scoring load. Such is the reality of a team which, having slowly evolved the way they play throughout the season, still needs that outlet up top. In his spot, scoring and setting up goals still matters, a lot (he has two goals, two assists in 534 minutes, this year), but how he’s otherwise facilitating for those around him is proving potentially more important.
This might not be the glamour role that was projected for a player who, as an under-20 international, scored 10 goals in 17 appearances. But it’s a role that Ebobisse has come to embrace; one that’s won him his first regular time at the MLS level.
“It’s definitely not pretty,” he concedes. “It’s not something that I thought I would be doing as much, growing up. But I think that’s also part of the rise of maturity in my game, realizing that sometimes you’re going to have to dig it out.”
That’s the perspective that’s won the Timbers’ respect. It’s the maturity that has the squad’s elders invested in his success, and it’s why, perhaps speaking from his heart, Valeri wanted to tout Ebobisse’s contributions.
“In the second half (against Dallas), I don’t know that I had many completed passes, completed flick ons, even,” Ebobisse recalled, “but the one that mattered was the game-winning assist. I take some comfort in that.”
And now, with Ebobisse established in his role with the Western Conference Semifinal first leg approaching on Sunday against Seattle Sounders FC (2:30pm PT, ESPN | Match presented by Carls Jr.), that comfort is shared throughout Portland’s squad.
