Portland Timbers Report: December 15, 2013

Caleb Porter’s Portland Timbers received a brand-new face to the lineup in midfielder Steve Zakuani on Thursday. The club announced a trade with Chivas USA earlier in the day, acquiring the No. 2 slot in Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Process and midfielder/defender Jorge Villafaña in exchange for the No. 17 selection in Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Process and defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste.

Apr 20, 2013; Commerce City, CO, USA; Seattle Sounders midfielder Steve Zakuani (11) holds the arm of Colorado Rapids midfielder Dillon Powers (8) in the second half at Dick

A longtime member of the Seattle Sounders, Zakuani appeated in 101 matches, winning four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups while helping the team through CONCACAF Champions League runs in 2010 and 2012.

Steve Zakuani
Pronunciation: ZAK-uh-WAH-nee
Position: Midfielder
Height: 6-0
Weight: 160
Born: Feb. 9, 1988, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Hometown: London, England
Last Club: Seattle Sounders FC
College: University of Akron
Citizenship: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Acquired: Selected in Stage 1 of the 2013 MLS Re-Entry Process

“We don’t want to disrupt the group, we don’t want to disrupt the good things and chemistry we have,” Porter told MLSSoccer.com’s Dan Itel. “So we’re methodically enhancing the group in areas where we need to enhance it. Sometimes you can add a bunch of new pieces and you think you’re getting better but you’re getting worse. And that’s what we don’t want to have happen.

“If you’re looking around the league to add a piece that brings width and penetration and a dynamic game-changing ability, for me Steve Zakuani has proven to be one of the better guys in the league.

“We feel like we have a team that’s very close to being the team that we want, a team that’s capable of competing for trophies in the next several years. We don’t need to change a lot. This is not so much bringing pieces in over a certain guy but just bringing certain dimensions to the team.”

Meanwhile, the Timbers got more welcomed news: they will be playing in the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League after the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football made an amendment on Friday regarding the allocation of the four U.S. berths.

As a result of the meeting on Friday, the U.S. berths are now awarded to (1) the MLS Cup champion, (2) MLS Supporters’ Shield winner, (3) the MLS club with the best regular season record in the conference opposite the Supporters’ Shield winner, and (4) the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion.

The qualification method for the third berth listed above replaces the slot previously awarded to the MLS Cup runner-up. With that, Portland joins the New York Red Bulls, D.C. United and Sporting Kansas City at the next CONCACAF Champions League.

• Sporting Kansas City – MLS Cup 2013 champion
• New York Red Bulls – MLS Supporters’ Shield winner in the 2013 regular season
• Portland Timbers – MLS club with best regular-season record in the conference opposite the MLS Supporters’ Shield winner
• D.C. United – Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 2013 champion

“Achievement in the MLS regular season is important,” said MLS Executive Vice President for Competition, Technical and Game Operations, Nelson Rodriguez, to reporters. “Awarding a spot to the points leader from both conferences is a worthy reward and confers greater importance on regular season matches.”

Nov 24, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Timbers fans Gabriel Ughetto and Jose Gamero before the MLS Western Conference Championship soccer game against Real Salt Lake at Jeld-Wen Field. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

Next year’s MLS All-Star Game will be at JELD-WEN Field in Portland, Ore., and Bayern Munich, the defending champions of Europe, will be playing the MLS All-Stars on Aug. 6, 2014. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN2.

“The AT&T MLS All-Star Game is one of the premier soccer events on the North American sports calendar,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber to reporters. “We are pleased that Bayern Munich, one of the most prominent and successful clubs in the world, will be part of our All-Star celebration.

“This will be the first MLS special event in Portland since the Timbers joined the League in 2011. One of the great stories in Major League Soccer over the last number of years has been the enormous fan passion, civic support and stadium atmosphere in Portland. We look forward to showcasing this phenomenon to the rest of the world.”

“The MLS All-Star Game is an important step for us concerning our international strategy. We see the United States as a very important market, and we want to familiarize our existing fans and followers as well as soccer fans in general with our brand, team and philosophy,” said Jöerg Wacker, FC Bayern Munich board member.

“It’s an honor for us to be the first German club to play the MLS All-Star Game. MLS is experiencing great development and we are very much looking forward to compete against the best players of MLS,” added Pep Guardiola, FC Bayern Munich manager.