PORTLAND, Ore. - By his own reckoning, Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell hasn't enjoyed a Christmas holiday at home with his family in nearly sixteen years.
This past offseason, his wish for a family Christmas finally came true, and after a hectic 2014 in which Ridgewell switched clubs and moved halfway across the globe, it couldn't have come soon enough.
"I got to spend a lot of [the offseason] with friends and family and the kids on Christmas," Ridgewell said. "It was really nice."
But it wasn't all just relaxation this offseason.
Ridgewell recently returned from a six-week loan with English Championship side Wigan Athletic F.C. The loan, Ridgewell explained, came at just the right time for him.
"I had a long time off, so I was looking to try and get back into a little bit of training and get a few games under my belt before I came back,” said Ridgewell. "I knew the assistant manager at Wigan. I got a call to go there and train and play games which was really good."
The English central defender appeared six times for Wigan—all starts—even helping the struggling Latics to a shutout draw against fourth-place Ipswich Town late last month.
Fit and relaxed from the offseason, Ridgewell returned to Portland Monday to begin preparations with the Timbers for the upcoming Simple Invitational preseason tournament (Feb. 22-28, TICKETS). It's an opportunity, he says, to begin recapturing some of the form that brought the Timbers within striking distance of the playoffs at the end of last season.
"We left last season doing very well," he said. "We won a lot of games and got a lot of clean sheets at the back end of the season, so we'll be looking to try and get back into that and start doing that again."
After Ridgewell's arrival in Portland in July las season, the Timbers went 8-3-4 in the final stretch. In fact, the team were unbeaten in seven of their last eight matches (4-1-3) and closed out the schedule with three consecutive shutouts including four in the last six.
Clearly, the veteran defender adapted quickly to the Timbers and life in Portland. After Will Johnson went down with a leg injury late in the season, Ridgewell often wore the captain’s armband in the midfielder's absence.
"I've captained before in the Premier League and it's a real reward to captain a side," he said. "To come in in the short space of time that I did, and be able to captain the boys and the team is a real honor and something that I'll cherish for the rest of my life to be honest.”
In Ridgewell's estimation, though, leadership is more of a team effort.
"Everyone out there has got responsibility," he explained. "With the armband, people may be looking to you to show a bit of leadership and show something else on the day, but everyone else on the team does their part. It's not just me talking."
With the 2015 season only weeks away, Ridgewell and his Timbers teammates have set their sights firmly on the MLS Cup playoffs.
"This year we want to make the playoffs and perform very well and see how far we can take it in the playoffs," he said. "It'd be nice to win a little silverware and make it a real good season."
