Portland Timbers had a rough start to the season, but since they have been literally unbeatable. New head coach Giovanni Savarese initially sought to install an aggressive pressing system with a high defensive line, but after giving up 12 goals in five games, he stepped back, looked at his roster, and decided that a different strategy was necessary.
That new look is, perhaps unsurprisingly, closer to what Savarese’s predecessor Caleb Porter utilized, and the team’s ability to execute consistently has been impressive. And, as usual, most good things in Portland flow through Diego Valeri. The Argentinian maestro is somewhat quietly putting up numbers similar to Minnesota’s breakout star Darwin Quintero and Houston star man Romell Quioto.