“Every player in this squad can play in the first XI.”
We’ve heard language like this all season long from Portland Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese, only this time, the words weren't coming from the first-year boss. It was one of his players, defender Larrys Mabiala – the only Timbers player who has played every Major League Soccer minute, this season – while talking about the pressure starters feel from the next level of the roster.
“The fact that we have the pressure of the guys on the bench helps a lot,” he explained, “because we, as the starters, we know that we cannot afford to miss a game.