It’s a strange time in Seattle soccer, which means, for a club like the Portland Timbers – one that hasn’t won a regular-season game there since moving into the first division – there may be no time like the present, especially with one of Liga MX’s most prolific scorers about to join their northern rivals.
The Timbers have won in Seattle, before, doing so during the 2013 postseason. It was one of the most memorable victories of the MLS era, but in some ways, it wasn’t a victory at all. It was merely a halftime lead in a 180-minute Western Conference semifinal. There was still work to do. The team couldn’t celebrate. There was no time to consider whether the win represented history or not.
If the Timbers win on Saturday, though, there’ll be no doubt (1:30pm PT, FOX). The time from 2011 on says as much. But in the context of the current season, it will also just be another stop along the road. Just as the loss to the Red Bulls was, and the victory over New York City FC, as well as the draw on Sunday in Atlanta. Three points at Seattle would be the latest response to the latest challenge.
Zero points, though, may feel especially harsh. Such is the double-edged sword of Seattle’s current reality. With 12 points in 14 games, the Sounders look, on the surface, like the next offering in the unbeaten run. In that light, another loss at CenturyLink Field would sting more than most.
Here is our weekly KeyBank Scouting Report - three areas of focus as the Timbers return to Seattle.
1. “What’s with all the formations?”
Ah, the question of the week around these Timbers parts. It was a focus in Tuesday’s press conference. It was a theme throughout some recent, national coverage. For as much attention as the Timbers are getting for their unbeaten run, they seem to be getting more for their new, flexible tactical approach.
Those two things may go hand-in-hand, though: Savarese’s tactics, and the slow embrace those outside of Portland seem to have toward the Timbers’ success. The standings are a big part, too – the Timbers are still mid-table-ish in the West, with a near-even goal difference – but it’s much easier to tout a team’s virtues when you know what they are. For those not ensconced in that RCTID life, the Timbers’ flexibility may make the team harder to figure out.
Which … Giovanni Savarese probably doesn’t care about. The longer the Timbers can fly under the radar, the better. It will keep people guessing as to why Portland changes their look so often. It will keep people from digging deeper into why the Timbers have been so successful.
“We have an identity,” Savarese explained, when asked about his approach in his Tuesday press conference. “We have a philosophy, and a mentality. Within that, there can be adjustments.
“We have kept our principles. If we put an extra player in the back, our principles don’t change ... Even though we put an extra player, we changed something, the mentality and the basics of who we are are the same.”
None of which explains which formation the Timbers are likely to use next. If that means nobody is quite sure how Portland will approach Seattle, the Timbers could be better off for it.
2. The logjam in the middle
Now, if you were a betting person and looking for some advice – and you could actually find places that allowed you to wager on which formations Savarese would choose – I’d offer one little tip: This team has only started with three central defenders one time this season. And it was on the road, against the most talented attack in Major League Soccer. I could be wrong, but I doubt we’ll see five at the back again this weekend in Seattle.
If the team does switch back to a four-man defense, consider the logjam in the middle. Diego Chara’s almost assured of starting (he’s started every game he’s been healthy and eligible for, this season). Cristhian Paredes has been a consistent starter, as has Andrés Flores, since Andy Polo left for the World Cup.
But Lawrence Olum has now started four games in a row (two in MLS, two in U.S. Open Cup). Sebastián Blanco was in a central role in the defensive phase, last week, while Bill Tuiloma was put in the No. 6’s spot when he came off the bench. At some point soon, too, Polo and David Guzmán are going to return.
Even before then, Savarese's depth chart is stocked. It’s just the newest part of the Timbers that will be difficult for opponents to figure out.
3. Mr. Alvas Powell
Part of the virtue of last week’s approach was freeing up Powell to get as far forward as possible, as often as possible. Frequently, he was the third person into the attack, just behind the team’s two forwards, creating two early chances from his final place in the right side of Atlanta’s penalty box.
Having shaken most of the knocks that dogged his spring, Alvas Powell is having another prolonged moment. We’ve seen them before during his time in Portland, those times when he can go for weeks and months matching the play of every fullback in Major League Soccer. It’s a hard standard to maintain, but it’s a standard he has in him, part of the reason he was brought to the Rose City as an 18-year-old.
If Powell can continue to be so domineering going forward, it will be a long day for Victor Rodriguez; or, perhaps Nicolas Lodeiro, depending on who Brian Schmetzer puts at left wing. Behind him, though, is a left back Powell had trouble beating one-on-one when the teams met in Portland seven weeks ago. That day, Cameroonian fullback Nouhou Tolo had Powell’s number.
Saturday could be Powell’s chance for redemption and, in that chance, provide proof that this moment can be longer than his last. Always on the cusp of being one of the league’s best, Powell is again reminding us of his untapped potential. Now, it’s time to remind Seattle.
