Football Season Review

The 2017 season was certainly a memorable one for the Portland Timbers. Taking top spot in the Western Conference table, they would earn their first Western Conference championship title since 2013, edging out their closest rivals the Seattle Sounders. The Timbers would also claim yet another Cascadia Cup crown, their first since 2013 once again. There were some record breaking performances on the pitch too. Diego Valeri would put in a sensational season for Portland, scoring an incredible 21 goals from midfield, while additionally supplying 11 assists for his teammates. He would break the record for scoring in the most consecutive MLS games, which can be considered quite an achievement. With the side from Oregon scoring 60 goals during the regular season, they can also boast of having the most potent attack in the entire Western Conference during 2017. While the Timbers looked solid for the majority of the season, they would ultimately crash out of the playoffs in the semi-final stage. Losing over 2 legs to the Houston Dynamo, Portland struggled with a number of injury problems as the season progressed, and were never able to field their strongest side during the playoffs. Fanendo Adi would miss the last few months of the season after suffering from a nasty hamstring issue, while captain Liam Ridgewell would equally suffer from his fair share of problems. With head coach Caleb Porter parting way with the club after five seasons in charge, it was recently confirmed that Giovani Savarese will take his place, in a very interesting appointment. The Venezuelan manager has been leading the New York Cosmos since 2013, and will hope to make an instant impact in charge. With Darlington Nagbe having already been traded to Atlanta United in a very lucrative deal, Savarese will have the tough task of attempting to replace the US international.

Player of the Season: Diego Valeri