Many doubted before the 2025 season at the Portland Timbers. MLS experts Bradley Wright-Phillips (11th) and Sacha Kljestan (12th) predicted that they would miss the play-offs, while Kaylyn Kyle let them sneak in in eighth place.
Now that Portland is close to conquering a second place in a row under head coach Phil Neville, the Englishman laughs last.
“I have a message ready when we get the play-offs:” Apple TV, change your damn experts, because they are useless, “Neville joked on This is MLS. “I get it, guys. I forgive you.”
‘Play the game, not the opportunity’
Looking back on his fifteen years at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, Neville said that his philosophy focuses on character and not on tactics.
“We didn’t do tactics. We only trained character, “Marcel explained. “Coaches nowadays hide behind tactics … But the personality and character of the player are what you are overwhelmed.”
The Timbers visit the Seattle Sounders FC On Saturday in a crucial Cascadia Cup competition (10.30 pm et | MLS Season Pass). A victory could seal their place in the play-offs, while they want to take revenge on last season’s 5-0 wild card defeat against Vancouver WhiteCaps FC.
Neville believes that success now depends on resilience:
“The best players in the MLS at the moment are those who fight. The best teams are those who can compete … That is the key to us to enter the play-offs.”
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