Portland Timbers (2001–2010)
The Portland Timbers are a former American football franchise from Oregon. The Timbers were founded founded in 2001 and played in various leagues in the United States. Recently the team played in the USSF Division 2 Professional League.
On 20 March 2009, Major League Soccer announced that Portland gets an expansion team for the MLS and these will take the game operation from 2011. The name Portland Timbers will continue doing.
To put the Timbers their gaming operations at the end of the 2010 season.
History
This franchise has become the third in the U.S. Soccer history, which dates back to Portland. Today's club took the name of the former NASL team, which played from 1975 to 1982.
The Portland Timbers were founded in 2001. The club was a member of the A-League from the 2005 USL First Division emerged. Even if it sporty not doing so well in the early years, the club has always had a relatively high average attendance. 2004 Timbers won the Western Conference, but ended up in the first playoff round arch-rival Seattle Sounders defeated. A year later, in the quarterfinals was the last stop. The 2006 season included the Timbers from last but one.
In subsequent seasons the club from Oregon in 2007 reached the semi-finals of the play-offs, which succeeded in 2009. This year, the team was able to win the regular season.
Stadium
The Timbers wore their home games at PGE Park. The stadium today after a conversion capacity of 19,566 seats.
Mascots and Fans
The mascot of the Timbers had until April 2008 a lumberjack named "Timber Jim ", which has now been replaced by " Timber Joe ". Every time the Timbers score a goal, the woodcutter brings a chainsaw and cuts off a piece of a tree.
The largest fan club is the " Timbers Army".
Rivalries
The Timbers have two arch rivals in the league, the Seattle Sounders and the Vancouver Whitecaps. The three clubs play each year by the " Cascadia Cup". The rivalry between the Timbers and the Sounders was already in the seventies. By including all three clubs in the MLS this rivalry will exist from 2011 there.
Known player
- Trinidad and Tobago Brent Sancho (2001-2002)
- Japan Takayuki Suzuki ( 2008 -)
- New Zealand Gavin Wilkinson (2001-2006)
- United States Ian Joy (2010 -)