BEAVERTON, Ore. – The central defense of the Portland Timbers is now about as "Portlandia" as you can get.
Joining newly signed center back Nat Borchers – and his impressive beard – for the first time this preseason Wednesday was Liam Ridgewell, sporting an offseason’s worth of facial-hair growth as well. Ridgewell re-joined his club following a brief loan stint with Wigan Athletic that cost him the first few weeks of preseason camp with Portland.
But it’s not their Pacific Northwest style that head coach Caleb Porter was most pleased to see. He - and the rest of Portland, for that matter - is hoping the combination of Ridgewell and Borchers is the answer to the defensive problems that plagued the club last year.
“I think everyone is full of confidence especially coming off the back end of last season,” Ridgewell told the gathered media after a full-sided scrimmage at the team facility. “And everyone is feeling really good, so hopefully that continues.”
Ridgewell’s late-season signing, on a rare-for-a-defender Designated Player contract, certainly was one step toward transforming a defense that ranked near the bottom of MLS for most of last season. In 15 games with Ridgewell in the lineup, paired mostly with Norberto Paparatto - who remains with the Timbers - Portland recorded six clean sheets, including three straight to end the season.
And neither Porter nor Ridgewell expects the defender's several-week absence from early preseason preparation to affect that chemistry – even with the addition of Borchers and goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey.
“It’s similar to when he came in the summer, we pretty much just plugged him in,” Porter said. “The best thing is he’s probably more fit than anybody on our team because he’s played 90-minute games, and he’s obviously played at a high level – the Championship is a tough league – so he’s played games under massive pressure at a high level. So he’s going to be ready to go.”
Porter said if Ridgewell had to play a game tomorrow, he’d be ready to go. And he’ll likely be called upon to start next to Borchers in the opener of the Timbers’ Simple Invitational preseason tournament Sunday against the Vancouver Whitecaps, when Porter is expected to trot out his first-choice lineup.
- Get more Portland Timbers news at Timbers.com
“It was good,” Ridgewell said of pairing with Borchers with the starters in Wednesday’s scrimmage. “He’s nice and vocal as well, so it’s nice to be alongside him. And hopefully it works out this season.”
Ridgewell got into six games, all starts, for Wigan as they battled relegation in England’s second-tier. He said the loan was nothing more than a desire to get back in action as the long-time Premier League player wasn’t used to such a long offseason.
He also said it afforded him more time with his family and two young children, who live full-time in London.
“Normally we get about five or six weeks, and obviously we have a little bit longer,” Ridgewell said. “And I needed to do something as well, so I just needed to get back training and playing games. So hopefully it benefits me coming back into the season to have a few games under my belt.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
