In mid-October, the Portland Timbers announced that they had signed Academy and T2 product Marco Farfan to a Homegrown Player contract.
Farfan, a left back who appeared in 18 matches for T2 this past USL season and saw nearly 1,500 minutes of action, became the first Homegrown Player signing in franchise history to come directly through the club's Academy program.
“We are extremely pleased to announce Marco as the first Homegrown Player signing from our academy system,” said general manager Gavin Wilkinson at the time of the signing. “His quality and hard work are being recognized, and this signing is an indication of things to come from the Timbers Academy.”
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Since its inception during the team's inaugural MLS season in 2011, the Portland Timbers Academy has grown steadily. This past USL season, current and former academy players like Farfan, Blake Bodily, and Terrell Lowe combined to play nearly 3,000 minutes for T2, with midfielder Bodily even scoring four goals and an assist in his 871 minutes of play.
“If the player's good enough at the academy level, we'll test him in T2,” Wilkinson told the media after the signing. “And that's the need for T2. I think you'll start to see more and more homegrown players start to take up minutes in T2 and I think you'll start to see more players coming out of the T2 program.”
Farfan himself is thrilled to have the opportunity to train and play with the Timbers first team, a dream come true for the Gresham, Ore. native.
“This is my city I grew up in so it's very exciting to be here,” Farfan said after his first official training session as a Timbers player.
In the context of Major League Soccer player development, bringing in a player like Farfan marks a huge turning point for the Timbers organization. It means that the pathway the team has developed for young Portland-area players – from regional affiliate clubs to the Timbers Academy to T2 to the first team – has begun to bear real fruit.
“This bodes well for the future of our young players and reinforces that our development pathway is on the right track,” said Timbers head coach Caleb Porter at the time of the signing. “Ultimately, it will be up to Marco but he has the potential to eventually see a role in the first team and we look forward to giving him every opportunity to succeed."
Farfan will get the first of what the team hopes will be many opportunities early next season.
