'He can't disappoint': The pressure is on for new Timbers DP Jonathan Rodriguez

Portland's new star has been impressive, just as the Timbers expect him to be.

Photos courtesy of Portland Timbers

BEAVERTON — Two things can be true:

1. The Portland Timbers expect Jonathan Rodriguez to have an instant impact.

The 30-year-old was officially announced as the Timbers’ new Designated Player last Wednesday, joining the club for training that morning and making his Portland debut three days later in the club’s 3-1 loss to Philadelphia.

Rodriguez scored a goal in the defeat — a heat-seeking header in the 80th minute.

“When you sign a DP, you got to grab the team by the scruff of the neck straightaway,” Portland manager Phil Neville said. “I don’t think there is an adaptation period because everybody’s looking at him for that role and he can’t disappoint.”

Rodriguez is the highest-paid player on the roster, the Timbers had to fork out quite the fee to get him from Liga MX Club América and, after scoring 108 goals since 2016, he certainly knows how to put the ball in the back of the net.

However…

2. While Rodriguez’s talent is plug-and-play on a Timbers’ roster depleted by injuries and the offseason departure of Yimmi Chara, there are still things that will take some time.

“I think the only adaptation for him will be the style of play and the language barrier for the first month or two,” Neville said. “He’s not got his family here yet, so that’s another adaptation. But in terms of leadership, leading by example, he might not be able to speak in the language of everybody on the team, but he’s got to be one of the leaders. That’s why we brought him to this football club. He’s not a young player who we say is going to develop. He’s a readymade player that’s got to come in and grab this team by the scruff of the neck and lead.”

Neville spoke with reporters after a relatively chilly training session at the Timbers facility out in Beaverton. As rain poured down on the pitch, Portland spent the final portion of practice on the attack with Rodriguez working in with Evander, Santiago Moreno, Dairon Asprilla and others pelting Portland’s goalkeepers with shots. In his few attempts that didn’t find the back of the net, Rodriguez appeared frustrated with himself. He swatted at the fencing behind the goal after sailing one attempt right, then threw his hands up when his next shot rang off the crossbar.

Then he dialed it in.

“He’s finishing his actions,” Portland keeper Maxime Crepeau said. “He’s ruthless in the box. He does the little details. He does the extra steps. He does the extra finishing. He’s hungry. He drives forward. Every time we have the ball he’s looking to get in behind the defense and to get away to have a touch either from his shoulders to his head to his toe to his knee. The mentality of finishing his actions is there and you can see it in the small positions that we’re doing. His intention is to kill the action right away and finish with a goal.”

Crepeau is back with the club after watching Saturday’s loss from a hotel in Frisco, Texas after leading Canada to a 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago to qualify for the Copa America tournament. It was Portland’s second consecutive defeat, which sets up an early and important Cascadia Cup clash this weekend in Vancouver.

The Whitecaps and Timbers are among six teams tied for third place in the MLS Western Conference with seven points.

“You can lose every game of the season,” Neville said, recalling the advice from a Timbers Army member earlier this year, “but don’t lose to Vancouver or Seattle.”

Neville gets his first opportunity at the rivalry on Saturday. But if the Timbers are going to get another three points on the road, Neville said his club has to be a whole lot better at converting on opportunities than they’ve been.

They do, however, have a guy for that now.

“[Rodriguez] had three really big chances and he scored a brilliant goal last week,” Neville said. “I came out of the game thinking this player, this lad, is going to score a lot of goals in this league because he creates chances for himself and he’s a really good finisher.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor