To those watching closely, Portland’s 2-1 victory over Montreal on Saturday provided more than just three valuable points and the return of Diego Valeri to the starting lineup – it offered clarity as to what this team is, and what the team still needs for the Timbers to reach the next level. Valeri’s wonderful goal in the 70th minute was a picture-perfect example of what he brings to Caleb Porter’s side and exactly what the Timbers had been missing during his eight-game absence. While Valeri was still rusty and is still not in 100% game shape, his 72 minutes on the field produced some of the most dangerous and creative attacks Portland has seen all season. All who follow Major League Soccer know what Valeri is capable of bringing to the Timbers, and it was a sight for sore eyes to finally see it on the field. But as wonderful as Valeri was and as dramatic an impact as he can have, whether Portland becomes a championship-caliber team in 2015 will be determined not by him, but by a pair of his teammates – Darlington Nagbe and Fanendo Adi.
Let’s be clear – this is not a slight in any way on Valeri or the Timbers’ other returning all-star, Will Johnson. But Portland essentially knows what it will have in Valeri when he reaches full fitness. Same goes for Johnson, whose return to the first team should be coming within the next couple of weeks. These are all-star players that Portland has sorely missed. But in Nagbe and Adi, Coach Porter has two potentially game-changing players whose on-field production does not yet match their prodigious talent.
Since his entry into the league in 2011 as the Timbers’ first ever draft choice, a lot of ink has been spilled asking when Darlington Nagbe will finally “get it,” “make the leap” or “realize how talented he is.” He’s teased and flashed moments and skill that few MLS players possess, but far too often has largely disappeared in Portland matches over the past four years. But, in an ironic twist, missing his captain and most talented teammate for the first two months of the season might end up being the best thing that has ever happened to Nagbe. Caleb Porter had nowhere else to turn to key the offense, and Nagbe had no one else to defer to. Maybe for the first time in his professional career, Nagbe realized that if the Timbers were going to score goals, it was going to be because he was breaking down the defense, creating lanes, and taking charge.
Because of this added responsibility, we have seen a different Darlington Nagbe to begin the 2015 season. He’s been consistently aggressive. He made sure he was touching the ball, even dropping deep into the defensive zone to take it when needed. He dribbled with purpose, broke down defenses, and created opportunities for teammates. In short, he has shown signs he is becoming the player the Timbers and their fans have always hoped he could be. Nagbe’s challenge is not necessarily in reaching a new level or utilizing talent that he has yet to realize. His challenge is to keep the aggression and keep the belief that, for the Timbers to succeed, he needs to be consistently involved, even with Valeri returning. Nagbe and Valeri have the talent and complementary skill sets to play beautifully together. Both can make runs off the ball while seeing lanes and passes that are missed by most players. As minor a difference as it sounds, for long term success, the Timbers desperately need Valeri and Nagbe to be attacking options 1A and 1B – not option 1 and then option 2.
With that being said, all the attacking creativity and skill in the world won’t matter if no one can put the ball in the back of the net. Fanendo Adi has been maddeningly inconsistent since his arrival last May. He has 34 appearances in a Timbers uniform, and has five multi-goal games; a rate any player would happily take. But in the remaining 29 games, he has scored a total of two goals, an absolutely abysmal rate for any regular starting striker in MLS, much less as one of Portland’s three Designated Players alongside Valeri and defensive stalwart Liam Ridgewell. Designated Players are meant to be the difference makers for a team, bringing skills and talents to the table that don’t exist anywhere else on the roster; instead, in key back-to-back games against Cascadia rivals Seattle and Vancouver, Adi was supplanted in the starting lineup by Maxi Uruti.
Adi has all the physical tools you could want in a striker – He’s 6’4” with a build that allows him to play a physical, bruising style that takes a toll on the defense. His height makes him a terror in the air, as he can win headers in both corner kick situations as well as long balls passed from the back. Adi also has deceptive speed for a man his size, and can dribble past central defenders if they relax on him even for a moment. But all the physical tools in the world won’t matter if he continues to struggle with a striker’s most fundamental job – putting the ball in the net.
After this week, Adi will have been with the Timbers for over a year. As a Designated Player, he was expected to come and make an immediate impact; as a striker, that impact has to come through scoring goals, and that simply has not been the case thus far. Adi’s finishing must improve if the Timbers are going to push towards the top of MLS; if it doesn’t, Caleb Porter and Portland GM Gavin Wilkinson must be willing to admit failure and go seek a striker who will consistently finish the opportunities that Valeri and Nagbe provide.
With Valeri and Johnson, this Timbers team will finally be fully healthy. The defensive back line, with the additions of veteran defender Nat Borchers and goalie Adam Larsen-Kwarasey, has proven to be exactly what the Timbers hoped for before the season began. There is a lot of season left to play, and plenty of games for the Timbers to make their mark. But if this season is going to turn into a special one for the Rose City faithful, it will be because Nagbe and Adi took their games to the next level.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
