PORTLAND
, Ore. –
Italy’s Juventus Primavera invades Portland on Saturday as they take on the Portland Timbers in a special exhibition match at PGE Park presented by Peroni Italy at 7 p.m. Its stop in the Rose City on Saturday is the second match of a three-game tour through the Northwest.
In preparation for Saturday’s match, Juventus Primavera conducted a training session at PGE Park on Friday. All 21 players on the tour participated in light drills and a small-sided scrimmage.
Juventus Primavera made its first stop on its tour on Thursday in Tukwila, Wash., to face the Seattle Sounders at Starfire Sports Complex. In the starting lineup for Juventus Primavera was goalkeeper
Carlo Pinsoglio
, one of the three U-21 Italian National Team members on the team, who finished the night with three saves on six shots faced. Also in the starting 11 were forwards
Oussama Essabr
and
David Ayub
who combined for six of the team’s nine shots against Seattle.
With several players who have seen time with Juventus’ first team during the 2007-08 season, including Essabr and standout midfielder
Simone Esposito
, Juventus Primavera recently completed its 2007-08 season where it finished among the top teams in the Primavera Championship and advanced deep into the playoffs.
Saturday’s exhibition match against Juventus Primavera isn’t the first Italian club the Timbers have faced. Last season, over 11,000 fans – one of the largest crowds in modern-franchise history – witnessed the Timbers exhibition match against AC Milan Primavera at PGE Park. A first-half goal by Portland midfielder
Tom Taylor
was equalized in the second half after midfielder
Andrew Gregor
was sent off in the 57th minute. The match was decided on penalty kicks, in which the Timbers converted four attempts to steal the win.
Click here to view a special edition of video news with a rep from Juventus.
Tickets to see the Timbers battle Juventus Primavera start at $15, and are available through the PGE Park box office, area Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (503) 224-4400.
Juventus Primavera Roster by Position (23):
Goalkeepers (2):
1 Carlo Pinsoglio – Italian U-21 National Team
12 Marco Bodrito
Defenders (7):
2 Abdoulaye Bamba
3 Federico Mirarchi
5 Davide Borin
6 Andrea De Paola
13 Ivan Mignano
16 Simone Serino
20 Raffaele Alcibiade
Midfielders (7):
4 Luca Marrone
8 Fausto Rossi – Italian U-21 National Team
14 Alessandro Ntanos
15 Domencio Pirrotta
17 Luca Gerbaudo
18 Guiseppe Giovinco
19 David Junior Toukam
Forwards (5):
7 Simone Esposito – Italian U-21 National Team; time with Juventus first team
9 Oussama Essabr – time with Juventus first team
10 Ayub Daud
11 Ciro Immobile
21 Denis Russo
