PORTLAND, Ore. – In its simplest terms, every signing in the sports world can be explained with two facts: why the team wanted the player; and why the player wanted to join the team.
For the Portland Timbers, their interest in Jorge Moreira was easy to explain. The 17-time Paraguayan international was a regular starter for Buenos Aires’ titans River Plate prior to a knee injury in October 2017. He worked his way back into the first team last year, eventually featuring for Los Millionairios in last winter’s Club World Cup. But the emergence of 22-year-old Gonzalo Montiel in Moreira’s absence meant River had depth at the position.