Timbers try to keep up in the variety department

"To stay competitive and try to win,' Wilkinson adds a few foreign-born players

By Steve Brandon

The Portland Tribune, May 30, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Victor Palkanínec / COURTESY OF MIAMI FC

Miami FC forward Sean Barrett, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, battles Portland Timbers defender Justin Thompson, from North Vancouver, British Columbia, in a recent game. Many players from outside the United States compete on the teams that play in Portland's league.

The arrival last week of Solomon Islands striker Benjamin Totori puts the Portland Timbers closer to the level of international flavor found on other teams in their league.

The Timbers aren’t quite there yet, compared with the squads they’ve just played, Miami and Puerto Rico, or the clubs they’ll face this weekend, Montreal and Rochester.

Portland coach and General Manager Gavin Wilkinson, a New Zealand native, has used his connections, rather than the club’s travel budget, to get players from Oceania.

Before the season, Wilkinson wanted to find a midfielder capable of playing wide left, so he asked other coaches in New Zealand who there could fit the bill; Little was the name recommended. Little, born in Scotland, came to Portland immediately after finishing a season in New Zealand.

Totori, who also has been playing in New Zealand, had never met Wilkinson until the 22-year-old arrived a few days ago.

Why has Wilkinson added a few more international players this year?

“To stay competitive,” he says, bluntly, “and to try to win. It’s a matter of trying to keep up with the other teams.”

It’s also a deliberate attempt on his part to get a mix of talent.

“You try to bring in a blend of hard-working and technically gifted players,” he says. “It’s a matter of finding a balance.”

The Timbers now have nine players born outside the United States. The club had five foreign-born players last season, and four of them returned.

The 2008 additions are Totori, Little, Takayuki Suzuki (Japan), Oka (Ivory Coast) and Vardan Adzemian (Armenia).

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