Fresh from the Expansion Draft and a series of trades, the Portland Timbers welcomed four new players to the organization. Eric Brunner, Peter Lowry, Adam Moffat, and Rodney Wallace were all introduced by 95.5 The Game's John Strong and head coach John Spencer to the public at a special press conference inside the new Timbers downtown team store. With fans and press looking on, the four new players talked about getting acclimated to Portland and their excitement at joining a new team.
VIDEO: Press Conference
Defender Brunner spoke about the knowledge of the city's soccer fans, “I knew there was a lot of tradition that takes place in Portland. I know there’s a rich soccer history here. Just the fact knowing that we’re going to sell out stadiums and just the buzz around the city is extremely motivating. It’s nice to have people want you in a city that is craving soccer. That’s what we all want to play for.”
Midfielder Lowry who’s already been tweeting back and forth with fans added, “The response has been great. I got on to [Twitter] recently and am totally hooked. There’s been such a buzz [about the team] through social media. We get out here, we see the billboards, we see all of you here. It’s very exciting for us.”
For Rodney Wallace, today marked a reunion of sorts. New Timbers defender Jeremy Hall who is currently in Spain training with a Generation adidas select team played alongside Wallace in winning an NCAA championship in 2008 with the University of Maryland. Wallace is definitely excited about the prospects of playing together with his old teammate.
“It’s great. We take a lot of pride in being Terps. We take a lot of pride being friends,” said Wallace.
“We’re both really excited to both be here in Portland. It’s going to be a really great thing. We have a really good connection on the field and off the field as well.
Add to this an international homeland connection between Moffat and head coach Spencer who both share Scottish roots. Moffat even followed Spencer’s career while growing up.
“I used to have a—I never told him this—but I don’t know if you have trumps in America? It’s like playing cards of athletes. I used to have one of him.”
With these four players joining some of the other players already signed to the team, the squad is beginning to take shape. Spencer spoke about why he is excited about these players and why he fought so hard to either select them in the draft, or in the case of Wallace, make a trade for them.
“I just think they’re the right fit."
Moreover, it's a group that Spencer is definitely eager to build around, "I’ve been in the league now as a player and as a coach since 2001. I’ve seen Lowry. I’ve seen Brunner. I’ve seen Rodney Wallace play. I’ve seen Adam Moffat play,” said Spencer.
“I know what they can bring to the table. They’re going to be those guys that you can rely on week in, week out to put in consistently good performances."
