The CONCACAF Gold Cup: How it affects the Portland Timbers

by Ryan Gates on May 23, 2011 10:11 PM PDT

Today was the day the CONCACAF nations participating in the regional championship had to have their final 23 man roster submitted. There are quite a few MLS players on these rosters, including our own Steve Purdy who could be gone as long as one month. So the question how does this affect the Portland Timbers?

Well it affects us directly in our depth of our back line. Purdy is the back-up left/right back and if anything happens to Jeremy Hall or Rodney Wallace. While Purdy is away the Timbers might be in some trouble. However the biggest affect might be in how different a team might look when we play them.

More after the Jump

First lets take a look at the Fixture list for the Gold Cup:

Group Stage: June 5th through June 14th.

Quarterfinals: June 18th and 19th

Semifinals: June 22nd

Final: June 25th

Next what are the Portland Fixtures during this time frame, including the 1 week before and after.

Sun., May 29	Portland Timbers	D.C. United
Sat., Jun. 4	Chivas USA	Portland Timbers
Sat., Jun. 11	Portland Timbers	Colorado Rapids
Sun., Jun. 19	Portland Timbers	New York Red Bulls
Sat., Jun. 25	FC Dallas	Portland Timbers
Sat., Jul. 2	Portland Timbers	Sporting Kansas City

Since El Salvador has not made it out of the group stage since 1980 something (This might be an exaggeration) we most likely will only be missing Purdy for the Chivas USA game and the Colorado Rapids Game.

Now lets take a look at the opponents(the game against DC United will not be affected by any of the call-ups):

Chivas USA: No players were called up
Colorado Rapids: Again none
New York Red Bulls: Rafael Marquez (Mexico), Dwayne De Rosario (Canada), Tim Ream (USA) and Jaun Agudelo (USA)
FC Dallas: None
Sporting Kansas City: Roger Espinoza (Honduras)

So in reality it won't be any different in 4 out of the 5 opponents the Timbers play. However the jack-pot is the fact that the Red Bulls will most likely be in town without two of their starting backs and without one of the better forwards, of course they still have to contend with Thierry Henry. If Mexico or the US does not make it to the Quarterfinals it would be considered a monumental failure. Canada has a chance at making the Quarterfinals so it is also possible the Timbers would not see DeRo again either.

What do you think? Does this increase the chance Portland continues their home winning streak with the Redbulls missing some of their top talent?

Tweet Comment 3 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Still too early

to think that the winning streak will still be going when the Timbers get to the Redbulls. Focus on beating DC United and then the Rapids first. While I don’t think that they will overlook the Rapids (especially after the thrashing they gave the Timbers in the opener) it can always happen when you have a much hyped team on the horizon.

by Bails on May 23, 2011 11:47 PM PDT reply actions

Didn't know that...

About New York.

On one hand this would be fantastic for the team as not playing against the likes of Marquez and Ream would be a huge benefit.

On the other hand, however, I wouldn’t mind seeing our our guys stack up against a fully loaded New York team. It would be fun and exciting in my opinion.

RCTID - Stumptown Footy
Moderator of /r/MLS

by Geoff Gibson on May 24, 2011 7:37 AM PDT reply actions

If you want to be the best you have to beat the best

I want a full strength NYRB side, but as bails said, let’s worry about DC and Colorado first.

by pdb on May 24, 2011 8:22 AM PDT up reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

Soccer terms/acronyms

Use this handy legend should you come across any word you're not familiar with.

Terms:

Kit - Team jersey, commonly used for the entire uniform.
Footy - Soccer
Pitch - Field
Keeper - Goalie/Goalkeeper
Header - Act of hitting the ball with your head.
Assist - Act of assisting the goal scorer.
Flounders - Seattle Sounders

Acronyms:

RCTID - Rose City 'Til I Die
TA - Timbers Army
PTFC - Portland Timbers Football Club

Am I missing something? Don't hesitate to email me to ask and I'll update the list.

Network Bar

Stumptown Footy -

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.