The Portland Timbers held practice today at their Beaverton training facility. As has been the case over the last two weeks, practice was completely closed outside the league mandated 15 minutes at the beginning of the day.
Eric Brunner is still concussed. Rodney Wallace's ankle is still hurt. The national team players are still called up. Kris Boyd and Steven Smith are still busy getting married to their respective finances. Danny Mwanga still has that new player scent to him.
Boyd arrives back in town today and will practice tomorrow. Steve Purdy and Lovel Palmer will be back in town on Thursday after playing their final World Cup Qualifying matches tonight and will practice on Friday. Jake Gleeson returns sometime this week, before the weekend, and Futty Danso returns sometime next week, after the weekend.
Quotes from Brent Richards,Troy Perkins, and Diego Chara after the jump.
Quotes
Brent Richards
Coming Soon
Tory Perkins
On if there has been any chance to recharge over the break from MLS play
We have the weekends off. We came in and it was one of those things where [John Spencer] said to us, if you come, you work hard, and it is satisfactory, then we will give you the time off, so we have got to make sure that we do the work.
On what the team is focusing on before thee game against the Galaxy
You know, we really haven't talked too much about it as of yet. For our standpoint, it is just staying focused on what we have been working on: getting guys into the attack, building it up, and playing the way we want to play while staying focused with full concentraition.
On if the team is anxious to get back on the pitch and play a game
Yeah, i think so. From a psychological standpoint it is important for us to get back on the field in a competitive environment. We have been here kicking eachother for the past two weeks and running our butts off so the guys are ready to get the ball out and get back to the season.
Diego Chara
On the long break
It has been good. We are Just working really hard and preparing for what is coming in the season and just getting ready to try to get a good result in LA.
On it he is as anxious to play another game as the Timbers' fans are
Yeah, we too are a little bit anxious to get out there because, as a player, it is really difficult to go week after week just training and training and not actually playing, but we are just looking forward to this weekend and preparing to make sure that we do have a good performance in LA and try to come up with some points.
On his reaction to Jorge Perlaza's trade to the Philadelphia Union
It is very sad at the beginning because he is a friend, but it is a new opportunity for him to be playing out there in Philadelphia, but the main thing here, for me, is that my head is here in Portland. That is my main concern. I just need to make sure that I do what I do here.
On if it is a good thing or a bad thing that he will not get the chance to play against Philadelphia again this season now that Perlaza has joined them
Perhaps, once he is there, he will raise his level of play just like he did here in Portland and when we do get the chance to play against them he is going to try to help out his team and we are going to go out and try to win our game.
On his responsibilities as the senior Colombian player with Perlaza gone
I think it is just like at the beginning when Jorge was here. We both tried to guide [the younger Colombians], we both tried to help them out, and now I need to do that myself: to guide them, teach them, and show them what we need to do, and help them to make the best of this opportunity.