In the minds of many, an international break in the middle of the MLS Cup Playoffs comes at a terrible time. It breaks up the momentum of fan attention the playoffs have built and it breaks up momentum that teams have built up going into the playoffs. People who think this aren’t wrong. There is a massive loss of momentum for the league, as the energy built up by the conference semi-finals slowly deflates over the two week break. No team that’s on a hot streak, which, by this point if you’re still in the playoffs, you are almost by definition, on a hot streak, wants a two week layoff. That’s two weeks for players to lose form, for players to get mentally distracted, for any number of things to happen.
For the Portland Timbers though, this break may have done just the opposite. Rather than allow players to slip out of a good run of form or get distracted, for three potentially key players, this international break might have just been the boost they needed to take this team to the next level, the MLS Cup final. Instead of losing momentum, it’s likely the Portland Timbers gain confidence from three key international call-ups.
Will Johnson has been struggling all season to get back to his best form, and after recent surgery to remove pins in his leg, had lost his spot in the Timbers squad. The surgery, Johnson’s form, and the Timbers switch from a double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 to a single pivot in a 4-3-3 all meant there was no room for Johnson in the first eleven.
Queue Diego Valeri picking up a yellow card that will see him suspended for Sunday’s game, and Will Johnson putting in probably his two best performances of 2015 while playing for Canada in World Cup Qualifiers. Suddenly, without having had to risk playing him in a game that matters, the Timbers know that Johnson is not only match fit, but in decent form. Playing more of a box-to-box or even attacking role for Canada, Johnson excelled.
With Valeri suspended, there’s a hole in the Timbers lineup that can be filled a couple of different ways. Caleb Porter could bring in Jack Jewsbury to be the holding midfielder, move Diego Chara up alongside Darlington Nagbe, and stick with the 4-3-3 formation that has worked so well. He could bring in Jewsbury, Johnson, or George Fochive, and revert to the double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 which has been much less successful this season. Johnson’s health and form gives him a third option: plug Johnson in for Valeri in a box-to-box role, and give Darlington Nagbe the keys to the attack.
My vote is for box number three. The 4-3-3 has been a revelation for the Timbers as of late. Almost all the problems that plagued the team early in the year seem to have vanished, and they’ve figured out how to score goals. That, and Johnson and Chara have struggled in 2015 to figure out their balance defensively in the 4-2-3-1. Take a look at this clip from Portland’s 2-2 draw with Houston, in which Johnson, seemingly unaware that Chara is so far up field, gets caught much too far forward when Rodney Wallace loses the ball, allowing Houston to break with numbers and take a 2-0 lead.
The 4-3-3, in which Chara has looked better than could have been hoped for as the holding midfielder, gives Portland defensive solidity, while allowing Johnson to play truly box-to-box, a role he has excelled in. It also frees Nagbe to take on even more attacking responsibility, which worked out well the last time he was counted on to be THE guy in the attack.
Speaking of Nagbe, the Timbers midfielder earned his first two caps for the United States over the break, and anyone who saw his smile as he came on for his first cap knows how much the moment meant to Nagabe. Since moving into center midfield with Portland’s switch to a 4-3-3, Nagbe has been sensational, no more so than against the Colorado Rapids on the final day of the regular season. Playing without Diego Valeri, the pressure was on Nagbe to create and he responded with a dominant performance, scoring two goals and an assist. Nagbe provided a constant threat which created space for his teammates all game long.
Getting his first appearances for the USMNT, and playing well, should give Nagbe even more confidence, which he’ll need as he’ll again be asked to drive the Timbers’ attack on Sunday. Plus, as Caleb Porter noted this week, Nagbe played enough minutes for the USMNT to stay match fit, but not enough to be tired.
The other Timber making an appearance for his country was right back Alvas Powell, who made two appearances for Jamaica. After coming on as a substitute in the second half of Jamaica’s 2-0 loss to Panama, Powell started and played quite well in Jamaica’s 1-0 win over Haiti. Hopefully, a solid performance and a return to his national team after some Gold Cup drama saw him leave the team mid-tournament will mean a return to form for Powell.
While Powell hasn’t been terrible over the last month, he also hasn’t been near his best. Going into a matchup against FC Dallas, who have two of the more dangerous wingers in the league in Fabian Castillo and Michael Barrios, Portland will need an in form Powell if they’re going to slow the Dallas attack.
Hopefully, if you’re a Timbers fan, the play of Johnson, Nagbe, and Powell over the break will give each of them a boost. If the Portland Timbers gain confidence from good performances over the break, instead of hurting the momentum the Timbers have built over the last month, it will help them. Perhaps, it will be just the boost in confidence they need to get by what will be a very tough FC Dallas team.
Who knows, maybe Nagbe will even do this again:
