PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson was not shying away from the team’s lack of results in the MLS the past few years at Marti Cifuentes’ introductory presser.
“I want to take some culpability myself. The standard has not been up to what it needs to be,” said Paulson, who stated that the last time the Timbers truly were successful came in 2021.
The lack of success is reflected in the club’s actions as the Timbers now have their third new head coach since 2023. Paulson said that this coaching search was different than the last one for Phil Neville in 2024 with the Timbers casting an even more global net.
He also mentioned that the club is now investing in a full-time data analyst.
“We let the data inform the pool of candidates before we even talked to anybody, before we even saw if there was a connection. That’s the biggest difference this time,” said Paulson.
Paulson also reflected on his first conversation with Marti Cifuentes, saying he knew then that the Spaniard had something special.
The owner also stated that Cifuentes did more due diligence on the Timbers in terms of research than many past candidates.
“The main reason was Portland,” said Cifuentes on what drew him to the Timbers. “It’s a soccer city. I felt that that alignment was there. I was watching a lot of games, and I felt that Providence Park, how the atmosphere was, is top level.”
Paulson also piggybacked saying that the notion out there that Portland is now an undesirable coaching gig is not what he experienced during this search.
“This is a big club in MLS. A massive club in MLS. The level of interest we had to come in and take over this club and coach this club was really significant. It’s a city that’s disproportionately punched above its weight in the world of soccer,” said Paulson.
Now all that’s left to do is see how Cifuentes’ coaching philosophy plays out on the pitch.
“I want to attack. I want to score one goal and then the next one and then the next one,” said Cifuentes. “As a little kid, I started to play football because I wanted to have the ball, not just to chase the ball.”
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