Martí Cifuentes arrives in Portland, will take over Timbers next week
The Jack Cassidy era of the Portland Timbers is finally coming to a close.
The Jack Cassidy era of the Portland Timbers is finally coming to a close.
Portland’s interim manager will coach tonight’s match against Puebla and Sunday against Club América before returning to T2.
Then the Martí Cifuentes era begins.
According to a source close to the Timbers, the club’s new manager has received his visa, arrived in Portland and toured Providence Park on Wednesday.
After Cassidy coaches Portland in Sunday’s Leagues Cup match, Cifuentes will take over and make his sideline debut for the Timbers on Thursday against Club Tijuana, more than three weeks after his July hiring.
That will give Cifuentes one Leagues Cup match with the club before MLS play resumes Aug. 16 at Chicago.
Cifuentes, 44, is from Spain and most recently coached Leicester City in the EFL Championship and joins the Timbers on a three-year contract through the 2028-29 season.
He takes over a red-hot Portland club that went 3-0-1 in four MLS matches under Cassidy, climbing from 13th in the Western Conference to eighth with 16 matches remaining.
— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor