As Evander looms, Portland Timbers reload with a pair of 'men'
Don't cheer him, Phil Neville asks.
EUGENE – Had the Portland Timbers front office not pulled its weight, this could have been a pretty miserable week for Phil Neville.
To start: The Timbers are coming off a 2-0 loss to Dallas, a game they played without Santiago Moreno after the forward failed to appear for the team’s previous match against Club America.
The Timbers returned home from Dallas to 100-degree temperatures in Portland — a climate that felt even hotter considering who is returning on Saturday with Cincinnati, and the fact that the AC unit in Neville’s home blew out during the heat wave.
But Neville couldn’t hide his smile on Thursday. Yes, the Timbers are in the middle of their toughest part of the schedule. Yes, Evander, who scored 15 goals for Portland in 2024, is coming back to Providence Park with another 15 already under his belt in 2025. And yes, Moreno is now a member of Fluminense in Brazil.
Neville didn’t seem to care — not with the pair of designated players the Timbers signed in the last week: forward Kristopher Velde, 25, and midfielder Felipe Carballo, 28.
“The first thing that strikes you about them both is their experience,” Neville said. “They’re men in a team of relatively young players — kids who are just learning how to be professional football players. We’ve got two players that have come in that are men who don’t need telling too much.”
Both players joined the squad for training this week, with Neville giving them blunt instructions about their roles. With nine games left on the schedule and Portland sixth in the Western Conference, the Timbers brought the pair in to do their thing — immediately.
“We brought them here to start,” Neville said.
The addition of Velde is the headliner. For a team that’s been saying for months it needed an assertive scoring forward, Portland identified the Norwegian winger as the player who can pick up the slack after losing DP Jonathan Rodriguez earlier in the season. Velde, who came to Portland in a reported $5 million transfer from Olympiacos FC, has 62 goals and 39 assists in 250 career club appearances.
“I just need to adapt as soon as possible and get to their level. I know I have the qualities to do good things,” Velde said. “Just the fitness needs to take another step. But I will get there as soon as possible.”
With Carballo, the Timbers finally have a dynamic partner for David Ayala in the midfield. Following Moreno’s departure, the Uruguayan was signed as a designated player — giving the Timbers a full three DPs as the club shifted from the 2 DP/4 U22 model to the 3 DP/3 U22 initiative. In other words, the Timbers are going for it.
“I said to them this morning that their adaptation period is in January, not in August,” Neville said. “We’ve got (nine) games left. There’s no adaptation period. It’s get out there and play, get out there and perform, get out there and win us games.”
There may be no tougher game than Saturday — one that Velde and Carballo have yet to be confirmed for as they work through their International Transfer Certificates and P-1 visas. It’s not just the Eastern Conference’s second-best team coming to Providence Park. It’s also Evander, an all-star with Portland who forced his way out following last season. While Neville said player and club have both moved on, he did have one request for the Timbers supporters when the two teams take the pitch.
“I don’t want them to cheer him — maybe at the end of the game,” Neville said. “I want my players to not show him much respect. We’ve got to treat him the same way as we always do… he’s a DP player. He’s a major, major threat for them… We played a big part in his journey in terms of his growth in MLS, but Saturday, he is the enemy.”
– Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor
I love the attitude by phil. But if Evsnder does what he did last year, there may be some disgruntled fans. Me included. 😂