A Sea of Yellow

The Portland Timbers entered Sunday night's game against Club America with a ton of momentum. Interim head coach Jack Cassidy was unbeaten in his first 5 games, including two wins against the hated Seattle Sounders. Yet Club America posed a different test entirely. Cassidy's sparkling run as the interim head coach ended with a thud as the Timbers lost 3-1 at home. 

Recap

The first 15 minutes were pretty good!

There is a caveat to that previous statement. The Timbers began the first five minutes on the front foot, including a decent counterattacking attempt in the 4th minute that ended with a crunching Alan Cervantes tackle on Ariel Lassiter. A foul wasn’t given. That will be a recurring theme. However, a foul was given when Lassiter tracked back and put in a challenge of weaker strength on winger Isaias Violante. Referee Walter Lopez awarded a free kick at the top of the box to Club America. Former LAFC winger Brian Rodriguez stepped up and buried a wonderful curling effort past Trey Muse, who had no chance of saving it. The visitors, in front of a home crowd, led 1-0 after the 6th minute.

Las Aguilas had another free kick in the 9th minute. Rodriguez left it for Violante, and the young winger aimed a low strike towards the near post. Muse was able to parry it. But the Timbers were not surrendering their home field so easily. A short corner kick in the 11th minute fell to Cole Bassett, but his shot whistled wide of the far post. Kevin Kelsy got his head on the end of another set-piece delivery in the 14th minute (a free kick from the right wing, swung in by Kristoffer Velde) but his header was aimed directly at goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota. Both of those chances carried more value than Rodriguez’s free kick, but the Timbers couldn’t finish theirs. Rodriguez could.

So the Timbers began their quest to find a chance that they could finish. Kelsy had another chance from a corner kick in the 16th minute, but his near-post header fell outside of the aforementioned near post. Set pieces have been a major source of Portland goals in 2026, so it was disappointing to see three decent chances come from dead balls but have none of them go in the net. That only pushed the Timbers to get more proactive in defense and try to create situations from open play that would give them more prime chances to score. And then, in the 20th minute, their hard work paid off.

Kelsy began the play by pressuring Cota, who played a panicked outlet ball in the direction of wingback Dagoberto Espinoza. But the pass went directly to Velde instead, who carried the ball into the box. Three defenders converged on the Norwegian winger in the box, but a nifty heel-drag turn eliminated two of them (with one falling flat on his face to great comedic effect). But the play still needed to be finished, so Velde squeezed the ball underneath the on-rushing Cota to tie the game for the Timbers.

The positive start wasn’t a fluke. If it wasn’t for the banger of a free kick, the Timbers would be winning. At that point in the game, four major chances had fallen to Portland in Club America’s box. Las Aguilas, on the other hand, failed to create any danger in Portland’s penalty area. The next 20 minutes passed without much incident aside from a pretty clear follow-through from Ramon Juarez on a tackle on Kelsy in the 25th minute. That moment definitely warranted a yellow card, but Juarez would end up being booked 5 minutes later after fouling Velde. This foul begat another free kick, which Velde took in the 31st minute. He decided to aim his free kick towards the frame of the goal, which forced Cota to make a save. However, the 39-year-old goalkeeper dropped the ball, and a scramble ensued. Bassett tried to cut the loose ball back to the penalty area, but it was cleared. Lassiter recovered the clearance and found Velde, who sent a very similar shross towards the near post. Kamal Miller got his leg up but failed to make tangible contact. Cota spilled the ball again, but it went behind for a corner. However, the offside flag was up.

Rodriguez tried another shot from distance in the 33rd minute, but his low drive was fielded by Muse. That chance began a spell of success for Las Aguilas. In the 39th minute, Kevin Alvarez sent an inswinging cross into the box, but Israel Reyes’ header lasered past the near post. Miller upped the tempo by playing a long ball towards Velde in the 43rd minute. This caused Espinoza to slip and put Velde inside the box. But he fired a shot wide of the far post, much to the chagrin of some of his teammates. Reyes put another header (from a corner kick) wide of the post in the 2nd minute of first half stoppage time. Portland’s defending stood out from the opening period, but they’d have to do it again for another half if they wanted to keep their Leagues Cup dream alive.

Raphael Veiga began the noteworthy second half moments with a laser from distance in the 49th minute. Muse easily caught the driven shot. But Las Aguilas found their second breakthrough in the 63rd minute. Rodriguez took a shot from outside the box, and his curling effort slammed off the far post. As Portland’s backline watched the shot fly through the air, Violante calmly walked forward from an onside position and became Johnny-on-the-spot to slam home another big America goal. Bassett tried to respond in the 71st minute with another shot from distance, but it traveled directly to Cota’s waiting gloves. Brandon Bye opted to provide Kelsy with some service in the 75th minute, but the Venezuelan striker couldn’t put his awkward effort on target. However, the game effectively ended in the 88th minute.

The sequence started with a Jimer Fory long throw-in that was headed away by the first man. The Colombian fullback got his own rebound and sent a low cross into the box. It was easily dealt with by an America defender, whose clearance fell to Violante. One touch moved the ball backwards to Juarez, who launched a clearance towards the halfway line. This clearance should have been a clearance, but Finn Surman got his head to the ball and headed it backwards instead of forward. The loose ball was quickly collected by substitute Oscar Perea, who had acres of daylight ahead of him as he streaked towards Portland’s goal. Perea slotted the ball into the goal to Muse’s left-hand side. Providence Park exploded again, and the Timbers were now looking down the barrel of a 3-1 deficit with two minutes plus stoppage time remaining. 

Five Timbers set pieces followed, with the first two Velde deliveries managing to beat the first man but still resulting in no real danger. The final three were cleared by the first man. On their home field, surrounded by a crowd mostly donning yellow shirts, the Portland Timbers lost 3-1 to Club America. With this defeat, their Leagues Cup journey is effectively over.

A Disparity of Chances

If you're looking for a positive to take away from this game, look no further than Portland's defense. Club America generated three big chances tonight. They scored two of them, while the third was represented by Reyes’ missed header. Rodriguez's free kick did not count as one of these chances, and it took a spectacular moment of individual brilliance for Las Aguilas to grab that early lead.

The Timbers pressed Club America in the first half, but not in the true sense of the term. They kept their defensive structure high and waited for opportunities to pounce. These press triggers worked wonders, and it got the Timbers on the scoreboard. Portland's defense continued to hold Las Aguilas at bay, even in the second half. 

I'm sure Marti Cifuentes really enjoyed the defensive effort he saw on the pitch. There's definitely something to build on from a defensive perspective. However, the Timbers still have their work cut out for them on the attacking front.

Velde was responsible for the only three big chances that the Timbers were able to generate in this game. Two of them were found because of defense turning into offense in a second. The third was the aforementioned free kick delivery to Kelsy in the 14th minute. The Timbers have good players, yes, and the rest of the roster is playoff-quality in MLS. Club America is the only team in the region with DP fullbacks. But Cifuentes is going to need to keep working on these attacking patterns. The Timbers squandered a lot of positive field-tilting possession tonight. They did the same thing against Seattle. If the counterattacks aren't working (and they weren't tonight, per Cassidy's own admission) there isn't an Ol’ Reliable to fall back on. That's concerning.

Duels

However, the duel stats might be the least concerning part of the evening. These numbers portray an even game overall, with the Timbers actually winning the ground duel battle against an opponent that likes to get frisky (a rather nice way of putting it). However, they were dominated in the air by a nearly two-to-one margin. Unlike Puebla, Las Aguilas have plenty of height to spare. This is an encouraging set of numbers.

Player Ratings

Trey Muse: 6.8

Having to face the biggest club on the continent in your second first-team start in two and a half years is a humongous test. I thought Muse handled himself well and made all of the saves that he needed to. I don't think he can shoulder any blame for either of Club America's 3 goals. I'd also like to highlight his distribution. He's right-footed, but was hitting some good passes with his left foot. In addition, he was eager to play quickly and roll out the ball to start counters. Even if James Pantemis is healthy, I'd like to see Muse get one more start against Tijuana on Thursday.

Brandon Bye: 6.8

Bye's yellow card was legit. No complaints there. I thought he handled himself very well on the defensive side of the ball; registering a game-leading 6 interceptions. He has to be rotated on Thursday. 

Finn Surman: 6.4

I am going to knock a couple decimal points for a pretty obvious error on Club America's 3rd goal, but it was a rare mistake from the steady Kiwi. He continued to dominate Portland's box, but I would have liked to see more risks being taken with his passing. Add him to the list of players to rest on Thursday.

Kamal Miller: 7.2

Miller was Portland's best defender tonight. He was excellent against and on the ball. I'd like to highlight a 28th minute long ball that Miller played into space for Velde. The pass was great, but Velde lost the duel with Espinoza. Miller has seen a Renaissance under Cassidy. I hope it continues under Cifuentes. 

Jimer Fory: 6.2

After Fory picked up a yellow card in the 59th minute, it was officially time to clench and stress. As the game wore on, it seemed like he was inching ever so close to a second yellow. Thankfully, it never came. He only committed two fouls tonight: a 53rd-minute challenge that didn't deserve a whistle based on the referee's standard and the 59th-minute booking. You have to give him credit for keeping his cool.

However, I'm concerned about his chemistry with Velde on the left wing. It never seems like the two are on the same page, and Fory's crossing is an asset when he has teammates in the box. He had a bad giveaway in the 36th minute when he attempted to play a ground pass to Velde after making a good interception. I was disappointed in his attacking contributions, and he was ball-watching on the second goal. Maybe there is a competition at left back once Ian Smith recovers from his knock.

Diego Chara: 8.2

I want to start with the bad before I dive into the usual worship of Portland's ageless icon. He consistently tries to make one specific pass that invites palpable risk for very little potential reward. I'm talking, of course, about the miniature diagonal. 

In the 85th minute, Chara has the ball at the top of the box with minimal pressure. He chose to loft a pass to the far top corner of the box. It covered a distance of approximately 7 yards. This pass immediately begat an aerial duel for Bassett. Instead of keeping the ball moving on the ground, he gave the covering Club America defender a chance to win the header and play for the second ball. Bassett did get his head on it, but the ball fell calmly in the box for Cota to recover.

This might be the most nit-picky thing I've ever written about. And it seems ludicrous to write about it when Chara was objectively awesome tonight. But I can't get it out of my head. It's something to watch for in future games. He tries that kind of pass quite a bit, and it often ends with Portland losing possession. 

Like Fory, Chara picked up a yellow card, but the captain's scheduled booking occurred in the 39th minute. I thought a substitution for Jose Caicedo was coming in the second half. It never arrived, and Chara put on a clinic for how to play with a yellow card. He's the most practiced player in that scenario in MLS history, after all. Today's statline: 3 tackles, 2 blocks, 2 clearances, 1 interception, and 8 ball recoveries. He's 40 years old. 

Cole Bassett: 6.4

The Timbers are in a bit of a dilemma with their chief offseason acquisition. Did he play well tonight? Maybe? But could you believe that when watching him on the pitch? Not really!

Let's talk about the shots first. Bassett took 4 shots in this game and hit the target with one (a 73rd minute effort that was a can of corn for Cota). The other three were wildly misplaced. Those shot attempts already fell short of expectations, but the defending wasn't good either. Bassett tends to be caught out of position or beaten easily on multiple occasions. He didn't offer enough as a creator either. Not the type of night that you want to see from a box-to-box midfielder. I was surprised that he wasn't substituted.

Getting the best out of Bassett is a big priority for Cifuentes. Is his best spot on the left side of the midfield where Da Costa currently plays? Does he need a more potent running mate on the right wing? He's not a bad player by any means, and his engine was still in top gear as the clock ticked down. Maybe this is an overreaction to a poor performance against one of the continent's best teams, especially after a stellar showing against Puebla. But some of those same weaknesses have been present throughout the season. He should be rested for Tijuana.

David Da Costa: 7

Portuguese Dave was better than you probably thought tonight.

The attacking contributions weren't there, but that can be explained away. Transition moments were hard to come by, and Club America's well-organized defense was keyed in on Da Costa from the start. Rather than be aggressive and try to take on the defenders, Da Costa opted to recycle the ball. I can't really blame him for that.

Would it have pleased you, the viewing audience, to have watched Da Costa get dragged down over and over while not getting the benefit of the whistle? That's what happened to Velde for the majority of this game. Would the Timbers really have been in a better place if their DP midfielder took endless contact from an aggressive and grabby opponent? I don't think so. 

Portuguese Dave, therefore, was left to pick his spots to be aggressive. They rarely came. However, he showed some excellent dribbling to escape pressure throughout this game. That was only part of the equation, because Da Costa probably played his best defensive game as a Timber tonight.

5 ball recoveries is the dominant stat, but Portuguese Dave also won 3 out of 4 ground duels. Despite being selective about the times to up the aggression, he still drew 3 fouls. And that performance took place in a game against one of the most aggressive and pestilent squads on the continent.

Despite this long explanation, he still could have provided more in the attack. But a lot of those similar scenarios he rode to great success in Seattle and against Puebla simply weren't open for him. He's going to need a rest against Tijuana as well. The Timbers are really going to need him during the upcoming hell week. 

Ariel Lassiter: 7.1

I wish he stayed on the pitch for a longer period of time.

Leagues Cup Lassiter didn't contribute to the scoresheet, but he was outstanding defensively. His 10 ball recoveries led all players despite getting subbed off in the 66th minute. During his time on the field, he continued to make smart runs and provide a downfield outlet. Is this the time to talk about the corner kicks?

This corner kick strategy fascinated me. It forces the attacking team to make a decision rather than the defending team reacting to the attacking team's setup. You could kind of tell the direction that this match was going to head in based on how the Timbers reacted to Club America's decision to stick 3 free players far away from the box.

Do you weaken your own chances of potentially scoring from the set piece by removing players from the penalty area or do you call their bluff and take the obvious numerical advantage in the box by gambling that you'll make first contact with the delivery? The Timbers decided to be cautious but smart.

This is a pretty smart way to instantly adapt to the situation. It’s a shame that the shot was scuffed, but the process can reign supreme over execution on certain occasions. 

Now we can get back to Lassiter, who has firmly cemented himself as the starting right winger. Because of this newly earned status as a starter, he should be rested for the Tijuana game. 

Kristoffer Velde: The Enigma

There are games where you learn everything about a player within 90 minutes. Velde is not a stranger to Timbers fans, who has almost been a Timber for a full calendar year. This is the type of game that he loves to play in. And his experience tonight was absolutely miserable.

Let’s begin with what he could control. I keep hearkening back to the 43rd-minute chance where he chose to shoot from a tight-ish angle instead of playing the ball to one of his more centered teammates. This is what makes Velde an absolute enigma. When he chooses to spread the ball around and assist his teammates, he becomes one of the top creators in MLS. But the tendency to play hero ball can prove to be a double-edged sword. It can either be used to slice and dice the opponent (the goal, his first in 8 games) or it can turn a big opportunity into a turnover (through a shot blazing wide of the post and directly to the edge of the six-yard box for a goalkick). Cifuentes is getting an excellent soccer player who just needs to refine his decision-making in order to become a “franchise player.” I put that in quotes because saying “DP” for an actual Designated Player is pretty redundant. A “franchise player” is a DP who performs like a DP. However, by scoring a goal tonight, Velde’s goal contribution streak stretched to five consecutive games. The other four games featured assists (three from set pieces). Do you see why he’s an enigma now? 

But the uncontrollables (literally) kicked his ass today. No Timber was involved in more duels (a common occurrence) and no Timber was as unfairly treated by the official. For every one of his battles with Espinoza, Velde would routinely end the play on the ground after enduring a hard challenge that rarely got penalized. He ended the game with 4 fouls drawn, and it should have been doubled at MINIMUM. I asked Velde post-game about those battles with Espinoza on the wing, and how he believed that he handled them. “Bad. Bad. Very bad.” He is correct, but he was also battling against the referee. 

We’ll hear more from Velde later. He should unquestionably be rested for Tijuana. 

Kevin Kelsy: 6.8

The big Venezuelan striker still managed to find some chances, although he missed the biggest one in the 14th minute. Only one of those chances fell to his feet, and it resulted in an awkward shot past the far post. HOWEVER, I really enjoyed watching Kelsy’s soccer brain in this game. He’d often flick the ball towards open, exploitable space only to find none of his teammates were there and a waiting Club America player was ready to scoop up the loose ball. I don’t want to blame him for that. I’ve seen those flicks pay off (most notably at Lumen Field) so I’m willing to say that the team’s attack was somewhat out of sync last night. An 80th minute substitution seemed like the right move. I don’t think he should see the field against Tijuana. 

Antony: 5

The fanbase has already stolen a vast majority of my Antony thoughts for this game (albeit in a much harsher tone). I’m still bewildered that he can’t use his left foot and acted as a turnover machine during his appearance off the bench. Is it confidence-related? Probably. I think he should be the first name on the teamsheet for the Tijuana game. In a dead-rubber match, injecting confidence into Antony seems like it should be a top priority.

Vincent Janssen: Debut!

The stat sheet says that Janssen (nicknamed “Vinny”) only touched the ball three times. However, I am very encouraged by one moment in particular. In the 83rd minute, the Timbers won a free kick. Janssen immediately made a sideways run into the left channel but didn’t receive a pass. Instead, Velde sent a lofted ball into the box that Cota punched away. Immediately, I was in favor of how Janssen thinks. He noticed that a quick opportunity was on, but the ball didn’t find him. That’s pretty cool! I don’t necessarily want him starting against Tijuana, but he does deserve at least 30 minutes off the bench. 

Coach Rating: 7.5

The coaching staff probably deserves a higher rating, but I’m a little flummoxed at the substitution choices. You’re telling me that Omir Fernandez, whose family supports Club America except when the Bronx Messi is on the opposing side, didn’t deserve at least a brief cameo? Especially with Bassett being relatively ineffective? The Timbers didn’t have the same level of game-changing talent on the bench that Las Aguilas did, but even a couple of curveballs could have paid some dividends.

“I think if you’re gonna lose a game, that’s how you lose it,” Jack Cassidy said in the post-game press conference. This sentence has a similar energy to Dario Zuparic’s classic “dying like heroes” quote after a similarly hard-fought loss against Tigres back in 2023. At the end of the day, the superstar team executed like a superstar team with the few chances that they got and the Timbers simply couldn’t execute to the same extent on their end of the pitch.

Cassidy’s time as the interim is over. He’ll return to T2 and help the youthful squad continue their push towards the MLS NEXTPRO title. In his 6 games as the interim, the Timbers went 4-1-1 with a goal differential of +7, including two wins against Seattle. Cassidy provided some excellent building blocks that Marti Cifuentes will have to turn into a legitimate house. He properly laid a strong foundation, and the players are grateful for that. The summer fling is over. Now the next era of Timbers soccer is set to commence. 

Table Time

This new era will almost certainly not feature a 4th game in Leagues Cup. The Timbers had to win tonight to keep pace with the rest of the other MLS sides. Instead, they’ll head into the final matchday against Tijuana with hope that one of Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dallas, LAFC, or RSL can drop points. That is an extremely unlikely scenario, although Dallas is pretty much guaranteed to lose in Toluca. Austin has to face Club America next, and they’ll get to do it at home like Portland did. A lot of Club America fans made the trip to smelly and sweaty central Texas last year. And, in theory, it should give Las Aguilas another

home game.

eah, I know, the structure of this tournament stinks. It always has, regardless of the new changes and scheduling that MLS tries to impose on its dedicated apparatus for collecting money from Mexican soccer fans. The Timbers would be in 6th place in this table. 9 Liga MX teams have lost two games, while the Vancouver Whitecaps are the only MLS team to face consecutive Leagues Cup defeats. I’ll be cheering for these Mexican teams for the rest of the tournament because I do not like it when other MLS teams get to have fun. 

Final Whistle

Yeah, I’ll root for Club America against Austin next Thursday. That shouldn’t be a controversial opinion. After all, part of me is happy that Club America fans who can’t see their team in Mexico got the opportunity to watch their team win somewhat close to home.

However, I can’t tolerate the behavior of grown men who throw their jerseys onto the field for players to sign. It would be inexcusable even if it was Lionel Messi, Neymar, or Kylian Mbappe on the field. Even more embarrassing to be begging for a signature from “Israel Reyes.” But unlike last year’s game in Austin, the Club America fans who traveled to Portland at least tried to keep things civil and focused on the soccer game. That’s not praise, just an acknowledgement of meeting the most baseline expectations. I’m not handing out praise to a fanbase who covered the majority of Providence Park in yellow.

But is it the fault of those yellow-clad fans that they were able to enjoy this game while significantly outnumbering the supporters of the team who actually calls Providence Park home? No, I don’t think it is. Las Aguilas attracted fans from all over the West Coast to come to Portland, Oregon and watch their team play a game. Those people would have traveled to any city within reason to see this team. It just happened to be Portland tonight. But tonight’s complete rarity of a crowd (full of fans desperate to see the away team) a good thing? Can an (admittedly) awesome atmosphere exist without a serious question about whether or not a phenomenon like this should even be celebrated?

I’m here to tell you that the Portland Timbers themselves do not matter in this answer. As a club with a significant history (relative to soccer in the United States), they exist as an exception to all of the expansion MLS clubs that have popped up like wildfire across the country over the past decade. Those clubs do not have legacy, or several generations of fans who grew up going to games and took their children to games. Club America does. It also happens to be the most popular club in North America, with fans spanning the entire globe as well. No MLS club can even hold a candle to the enormous legacy of Las Aguilas. People don’t show up to Inter Miami games across the country because they have to see the Herons in particular, it’s all because of Messi. When Messi leaves, so does the entirety of the Inter Miami spectacle. Club America is rooted in something other than spectacle and glitter. They’re as eternal as the Portland Timbers, just on a much bigger scale.

However, when those eternals clash, the widespread fanbase of the foreign superteam who are desperate to see their team play will always take precedence over the localized fanbase who have much fewer barriers to seeing their team at their home stadium. Timbers fans who hold season tickets were not given this game as part of their renewal package. Instead, they had to “opt in” for Leagues Cup and purchase these tickets separately. Some of these STHs opted out immediately for several different reasons. They already had plans during this weekend, or they think Leagues Cup is stupid, or they were disappointed to see these “opt in” emails clogging their inbox during the early months of the season when the team was objectively bad. For some of those who wanted the tickets, they paid the price and immediately turned around to sell the tickets to recoup some costs. This action would have been traitorous 8 years ago, but the world is a vastly different place now. Getting a payday in an age when costs for basic necessities are out of control and the baseline cost for an average day at the stadium (food, parking, match ticket, drinks) continues to balloon as well. Some Timbers fans looked at today’s date, noticed two other home games days before and days after, and decided that more money in their pocket wasn’t a bad decision. Because it wasn’t.

These Timbers fans who opted to sell their tickets share none of the blame for tonight’s transformation of Providence Park into a fortress for the opposing team. Those tickets weren’t just sold to a few native Portlanders. Club America fans made trips across multiple states spanning hundreds and thousands of miles to be here. Entire vacations were planned around this game. Utah, California, Arizona, Colorado, you name it. I wish that someone (in a non-weird way) was able to poll the audience of Club America fans to see which state they made the trip from. I’m sure that it would be a wide pool of responses. For those fans, it was a summer-defining experience. For Timbers fans, it was just another game on a summer night in a tournament that delegitimizes itself with a ticket that can be flipped for a small profit. If we’re talking about things that the European mind cannot comprehend, this phenomenon should be added to the list.

Speaking of the European mind, Kristoffer Velde entered the mixed zone with a gaggle of Club America fans pushing up against the railing and constant shouting for signatures from the away team. He did not look too happy to be there, especially with adversary Israel Reyes occupying the zone before Velde got his turn. This Club America team had just beaten, battered, showboated, overcelebrated, and disrespected his team and his teammates in his home stadium. In case you thought I was praising Club America before, this next part is a reminder that I’m just stating facts. 

Those highest up on the pyramid (or food chain, pick your own metaphor) desperately want to be victimized. They want to be seen as the tortured soul, or the unfairly accused, or the broken and misfortuned. Club America fans had the audacity to believe that tonight’s referee was biased against them. Their players on the pitch believed the same thing, otherwise they wouldn’t surround him after every whistle that didn’t go their direction. New York Yankees fans (I do not belong to this vocal majority), New England Patriots fans, Golden State Warriors fans for the time that they were actually generational and not a franchise who could only hang their hat on getting an 8v1 upset in the playoffs, and every single incarnation of Real Madrid fan share this trait. The Dallas Cowboys could apply, but they don’t have the recent success to back up this victim mentality. This phenomenon doesn’t just apply to sports. The highest levels of the government are currently occupied by privileged and spoiled assholes who have to feel persecuted despite getting away with LITERALLY EVERYTHING. The richest man in the world cannot be content with his obscene wealth; he must make sure that everyone likes him despite being one of the most unlikeable and uncharismatic humans to ever walk the planet. Club America hasn’t committed crimes on the level of those unnamed but still recognized individuals, but their sins fall somewhere between the Oklahoma City Thunder’s constant foul-baiting and the average Twitter history of a 25-year-old Boston sports fan. When Velde sees those same players who behaved outside the boundaries of the widely accepted rules now turn around and try to shake his hand, of course he’s going to feel disgusted. He doesn’t want anything to do with them. 

But seeing the sea of yellow rubbed him the wrong way too, and for good reason. He didn’t even let Amy Norris of ProstAmerika finish asking her question. He didn’t need to hear anything else beyond the word “atmosphere.” “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Look at it, all the yellow people in our home. I’ve never seen this before in my life, and I don’t know how it’s possible.”

Now we can finally get to who’s fault it really is. MLS’ contempt for their own fanbases that provide the SUPERMAJORITY of their marketing never fails to amaze me. Make this selectively tolerable mid-summer tournament with an absolutely BONKERS structure an instant part of the season ticket package? Why would they when there’s more money to grab? As kickoff approached, the get-in price for tonight’s game hovered around $100. AND THAT’S NOT EVEN INCLUDING FEES! The sole purpose of Leagues Cup is to increase a revenue stream for fans who do not buy into MLS’ own product. They have no intent on attending a MLS game for their local club, but they’ll pony up the dollars when a Gigante comes to town. As such, the wider MLS fanbase and player pool has to stomach scenes where a stadium notorious for a home-field advantage gets completely taken over by a foreign club for a competitive match. That’s how this tournament was designed, and that’s how it will always continue to work. Nights like this are celebrated by upper management. Even with the visuals of Portland's 100-year-old cathedral turned into a fortress for the visiting team. The result on the field does matter, but it pales in comparison to the flow of money generated by the event itself. A victory is just a bonus when the final figures are tallied. I hate having to rationalize this tournament for the competitive aspect of getting a berth in CONCACAF Champions’ Cup when the inherent slime can never be cleansed from the stupid-looking trophy. The players care about games like this. But when they’re at home, they play for the fans. Even if those fans are completely outnumbered by a sea of yellow.

So what can the Portland Timbers actually learn from tonight’s game? I think there are a couple of big-picture lessons on the table. First and foremost, the players can take some pride from the way that they kept the game competitive. They didn’t accomplish it by matching every goal in a shootout, instead they largely matched Club America in the area of the pitch where the financial disparity between the two clubs is most largely pronounced: defense. That’s absolutely something to build on. 

They got another lesson in the inherent advantages Liga MX teams will have in competitive matches. Rules for thee, but not for me: the remix. Two different officiating standards is something that the Portland Timbers are already aware of. In some MLS games it is much more pronounced than it was tonight. But the crowding of the referee without any form of punishment was an especially bitter pill to swallow. In the 55th minute, Rodriguez and the referee had a lengthy argument about the spot of a free kick. If that happened in a MLS game, it would be an instant yellow card. No such luck for Las Aguilas, the perennial victims who are the bearers of misfortune and woe. 

The final lesson is another check on the ambitions of this club. Playing these high-level competitive games against the continent’s elite provides more and more lessons with each passing match. The Timbers only face these Gigantes in Leagues Cup. They don’t qualify for CCC anymore, but that can always change if all the circumstances just fall into place. There is no path for sustained success because it has never existed. The players held all the keys to the cup runs and the two major trophies. The Timbers still have a long way to go if they want to be a big-boy club again. CCC qualification, by any means necessary, should always be a goal to strive for every season. “Making the playoffs” has become the new standard. That’s too low. It’s time to aim higher.

This game really couldn’t have come at a better time. Going into the Cifuentes era without a loss would have provided an unsustainable platform of success and immediately caused overreactions when the Timbers dropped their first game under their new head coach. That god-awful Apertura isn’t too far back in the past. The vast majority of those same players who suffered and struggled during the first few months of the season are still wearing Timbers jerseys. An instant turnaround was never going to happen, but a new foundation has been laid for Cifuentes to take over. And his first game will be right after a hard-fought loss against a team that is constantly expected to compete for trophies; a place where Timbers fans desperately want to see their own team. It’s a perfect time to reset expectations for what this club can and should be. Cifuentes is here. Cassidy remains within the organization. The Portland Timbers are 99% likely to end Leagues Cup without qualifying for the knockout stage. That’s perfectly fine. They have a MLS season to play. And if they want to continue rising up the table, they’ll learn from what tonight’s loss amidst a sea of yellow taught them. A dead-rubber game against Tijuana awaits, and then it’s time to jump right back into the deep end. Chicago away, San Diego home, LAFC away: a playoff team, a recent humiliator, and a fiercely competitive rival. Time to fire up the boat again. The climb continues.