Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese
General thoughts on the match…
“Just very proud of the performance of the players. I thought today the team was very smart. We played against a very difficult team that we knew was going to make it problematic in the way they play. They have some good individual players. They have a coach that prepared them well, so we knew it was going to be a tough match. I was very proud of the performance of our guys because I think that we managed the game in a very smart way.”
On how the Timbers were able to neutralize Houston’s attacking players…
“We learned a lot from them in their first match. They showed they are a difficult team to play against. They showed that they have good players. They’re very good in transition. So we tried as much as we can to make sure that they didn’t have that many transitions, that we were always with good numbers to cover. The balance when we went forward I thought was very positive. I think at the beginning, maybe a little bit too conservative, but once we started having a little more players going forward, I think we created chances and overall I think a very good performance from our guys that were able to take away and control the match for the majority of the time. But I think it was crucial for us to make sure that we take out the players that play outside, [Alberth] Elis and [Darwin] Quintero, they’re very dangerous. [Mauro] Manotas, he drops. So I think that association between the two center-backs and our defensive mid were fundamental to make sure Manotas didn’t find too many balls in between and also not too many in behind. They only had that run from Manotas in the first half that was dangerous. Overall I think we played against a very good team and our guys did a great job.”
On Jeremy Ebobisse’s performance and growth with the club…
“The players have to earn their spot. Nothing is going to be given to anybody. He’s earned it. He has earned, he has worked hard, he has shown development every single year. In 2018 when he came in against Colorado, he showed that he wanted to be in Portland. I think that in the finals we spoke and there were things that maybe he could have shown a little bit more, so he showed still that he needed to mature. Last year, a tremendous season. A player that played basically every single game. This year he started with an even higher level, so the competition up top is difficult for me because I think everybody is fighting to be able to play. [Ebobisse] has deserved it and another good goal today that was important for us.”
On how the team maintained focus after the win Monday night…
“It was only a reminder that two months ago we were locked in our houses looking to come and play soccer, looking to a competition like this. We had to remember that. We cannot forget where we were a couple of months ago. For us, it’s important when we step on the field we appreciate every single minute we have on the field. I think the guys understood that from the beginning and they worked very hard to get a very important result against a very good team.”
On clinching a spot in the knockout round with a game left to play…
“First of all, it feels calm. It feels good to be able to win these two matches. First because it put us in a situation right now that we’ve qualified, we’ve clinched, so that’s something that we were looking to do as a first goal in this tournament. Second, we’ve been able to win these two games so that’s six points for us in the season which is very, very important for us as well. Now we have to plan for the next match. We have to go one game at a time. You know, we’re playing LAFC. LAFC is an excellent team. It’s going to be very difficult. Right now we analyze this match that we played today. We see what things we could have done better and then we’ll start planning for the next match.”
On how managing the team is different to the regular MLS season during this tournament...
[Through translator] “It’s not easy because this is a very intense tournament. There are many games and short time to prepare for each match. To recoup is very difficult. This tournament in which you want to continue moving forward and have fresh players. Each round in a sense is a new challenge and it’s not easy really. Rotating the players is very important for us because otherwise it would be very difficult. That’s the reason why, for instance, we had [Pablo] Bonilla because it was very important to have some oxygen on that side of the field. We also have Marvin Loría, we also have Yimmi [Chara], we had Bill Tuiloma, which was more of a necessity we had to do. It’s very important to have players that want to fit in and they want to do their part every time they play. So we have depth, we have a team that competes well and that’s very important because everybody feels they want to contribute.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri
On how it feels to qualify for the next round, after dropping a few points in preseason…
[Through translator] “We didn’t have great results against Minnesota, and Nashville we were able to get the points, but these games in particular in Orlando are a little different. We worked through some of the aspects that have helped the team to play better. We have been very effective, we have managed the games, and we are very happy. This game today was a little difficult because we had a PK that made things a little bit more difficult, but we knew our game. At the end we were happy because we think that Houston didn’t have very many chances. Our last game was a little different, but we made a great effort today. Houston has great players and we are very happy today because we were able to add three more points, now it’s time to enjoy it, to get some rest and get ready for the next game.”
On controlling tonight’s game versus the game against the Galaxy...
[Through translator] “We had a lot more clarity today, we generated a lot of chances. We played a good role with and without the ball, and we have improved a lot. The first goal, Jebo’s [Jeremy Ebobisse], gave us ease and then even without the ball we tried to control. The second goal gave us even more time and better pacing. The penalty kick didn't really help us. In the last game, the Galaxy had more chances. They even scored a goal, and they had a few goals that were called off. But today, I think we improved a lot.”
On what stood out about Jeremy Ebobisse’s performance...
“It's always nice to see Jebo play there, actually sometimes he played really hard against the two central backs alone, and allowed us to be more in the middle, and he holds that position. So it's been amazing in this tournament. I'm very happy about the striker scoring goals. The goal today was a different level and allowed us as a team to manage the game, which is to win it, which is the most important. So I'm very happy about his improvement, he's a very mature guy and I'm sure that he is going to give us a lot of happiness to our team.”
Portland Timbers forward Jeremy Ebobisse
On if he expected the team to position themselves this well, qualifying for the next round, and preparing for LAFC...
“You don't come to this kind of tournament unless you expect to be in a top position coming out of the group, adding points to the regular season tally and then pushing on into the knockout round, so I think it's been acknowledged that we didn't have a perfect start to the season, with one win and one loss and maybe not playing as well as we could have. But this past quarantine break everyone's been real serious, and we've regrouped and I think that that's shown in the first two games. Obviously, we still have a challenging game against LAFC, and who knows how we're going to approach it and, you know, whoever whatever plays. We need to make sure we get three points again to keep that momentum going into the knockout rounds because we want to make a good run.”
On if there was a plan to bypass Houston’s midfield and get the ball to the wingers...
“I think going into each game, first and foremost we focus on ourselves. We understand that Houston presented several challenges. Defensively, we know that they're aggressive and that they're disciplined especially at the beginning of the game so we wanted to make sure that we kept control, even when moments were difficult, especially at the beginning. Ultimately that's what we did. We were able to weather some advanced positions on their part, and in turn, create some difficult situations for them to handle by playing through their lines, switching the ball and switch from a point of attack and then getting runs in behind. So ultimately, I think it was a well-executed game plan. Unfortunately the PK as Diego [Valeri] said gave them a little bit of life, but that's how the game goes sometimes and our teammates handled that really well.”
Notes:
- Jeremy Ebobisse scored for a second consecutive match. It is the second time in Ebobisse’s career that he has scored in consecutive MLS matches (April 20-27, 2019).
- Ebobisse’s 16 league goals move him into a tie for 15th-most goals by a Timbers player in the club’s all-era history.
- Diego Valeri scored his third goal of the 2020 season and his first of the MLS is Back Tournament.
- Valeri has scored 79 regular-season goals for Portland, which moves him into the top 20 for most goals scored in MLS history.
- Sebastián Blanco delivered an assist for a second consecutive match. Blanco now has 32 assist for his Timbers career.
- Saturday’s match marked the sixth time in Blanco’s career with the Timbers he has had consecutive matches with an assist.
- Pablo Bonilla made his Timbers debut in the match, starting and playing 82minutes. He is the 116th player to play in an MLS match for the Timbers and the second Venezuelan player to feature for Portland.
- Eryk Williamson notched the first MLS assist of his Timbers career.
- Larrys Mabiala registered his first assist of the 2020 season and the second of his career with Portland.
- Yimmi Chara and Bill Tuiloma made their first starts in tournament play. It was Tuiloma’s first start of the 2020 campaign.
- Valeri made his 250th career appearance across all competition for Portland in Saturday’s match. In all competitions for Portland, Valeri has tallied 91 goals and 102 assists.
- With the win, the Timbers have won three of their first four league matches of the season for the second time (2017) in MLS.
- Portland won two matches away from home in a span of six days or less for the first time since Oct. 14-18, 2015, when the club won at Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy.
