What This Particular MLS Cup Represents for Portland, NYCFC

There hasn't necessarily been a linear path to the title match this season, but a reward for endurance and long-term building is in the offing in a unique setting for one of two clubs.

The forecast for Saturday afternoon’s MLS Cup final between the host Portland Timbers and New York City FC pegs the chance of rain at around 90% and anticipates temperatures that could dip below 40. A wind advisory is set to expire shortly before kickoff.

“Será un partido muy lindo,” NYCFC striker Taty Castellanos said a couple of times during Thursday’s prematch press conference.

“It will be a very beautiful game.”

Finals, his manager, Ronny Deila said, “live their own lives.” They’re the culmination of a season, and they’re obviously connected to it. But championship games also stand alone in memory and typically wind up telling their own stories. Saturday’s showdown likely won’t produce a legendary champion. This is no coronation. Only once in MLS’s 26-year history has the title decider featured a lower combination of seeds. Portland and NYCFC each finished fourth in its conference. The Timbers (20-13-4) were below the playoff line in late August. NYCFC (16-11-10) was on the outside looking in as recently as mid-October.

But a legendary moment—the end to an epic story in an unforgettable setting—that’s in the offing at Providence Park. Both finalists have endured significant injuries and setbacks over the past year-plus, yet they willed their way to the playoffs with late-season surges. Then, each ousted the No. 1 seed in its respective conference. Both are backed by juggernauts: the Timbers by a uniquely rabid fan base that’s as committed, colorful, supportive and demanding as almost any in the world; and NYCFC by the ambition, acumen and largesse of City Football Group, the global network financed by Abu Dhabi’s royal family and paced by Premier League champion Manchester City. 

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For as uneven as this particular season has been for both clubs, this still feels like a final that’s been long in the making. NYCFC has been quietly and consistently good for years, finishing in the East’s top three every season from 2016 through '19 while leveraging CFG’s scouting and resources to acquire players like Castellanos, the Argentine who won this season’s MLS Golden Boot, and playmaker Maxi Moralez, a one-time Best XI selection who leads the team with 13 assists. 

Although playoff success proved elusive, consistent contention has a way of weakening those walls. NYCFC finally broke through over the past couple of weeks, outplaying the rusty New England Revolution for much of the Eastern Conference semifinal before advancing on penalties, then overcoming a Philadelphia Union side decimated by the coronavirus in last weekend’s conference final.

“I look at those as learning experiences,” NYCFC and U.S. national team goalkeeper Sean Johnson said of so many prior playoff disappointments. “Going through that adversity, being through those situations, I think we’ve used them for the positive and we’ve gotten ourselves to this point because of those situations.”

Portland, meanwhile, has been punching above its weight for years. The Rose City may not be a top-20 market by population, but its decades of devotion to soccer has created an atmosphere that resembles a big-city crucible. The Timbers and the club’s two-time champion NWSL side, the Thorns, matter there. They’re deeply embedded in civic culture and the pressure is on to perform. And by and large, the Timbers do—especially in knockout situations. Saturday’s final is their third in seven seasons. Throw in last year’s title at the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando and a run to the U.S. Open Cup semis in 2019, and you get a team that’s as experienced and tested in do-or-die scenarios as any in the country.

“I’m very fortunate to have a group of players that have been here before—that they have experience. And a lot of times our talk is to make sure that we are always very balanced emotionally in everything that we do,” said Timbers coach Gio Savarese, who guided them to a silver medal in 2018 and last year’s triumph in the Orlando bubble. “They know how to control these moments in a smart way.”

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And they’ve been waiting to control them on familiar ground, to enjoy the distinctive environment at their ancient but renovated, quirky and cacophonous 25,000-seat home. Both of the Timbers’ previous MLS Cup finals were played away, and it was hard not to wonder what American soccer’s showcase match might look like in that intimate downtown setting, with the tifo and the Tetris and a bit of classic Cascadian weather added for good measure. 

“It is a dream come true,” Savarese said Thursday. “I believe it’s going to be a great event, because of what we’re used to here in this stadium with our fans and the atmosphere that you’re going to encounter.”

The narrative, the noise and the scene, the collision of two teams who’ve been knocking on the door and who approach the sport with contrasting tactics and styles, should produce a game to remember—one that will be beautiful in its own way.

“I feel this game, the final, is going to be special for everybody— the players, the fans, the club,” veteran Timbers midfielder Diego Chará said. “We need to be ready for this opportunity and try to do it.”

Johnson said, “Obviously this is going to be a great atmosphere on Saturday, but I think a big thing for our group is that we’ve embraced all of these moments—all the moments along the way. We don’t look at it as something that’s a negative, but more so that we’ve worked hard. We deserve to be here.”

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While much of this season for both teams has been about who might not be available, Saturday’s final could be decided by who’s coming back. For NYCFC, Castellanos’s return from suspension means everything. The 23-year-old is the focal point of an attack that not only relies on him as a finisher and target but as a striker who makes room for teammates to come forward in waves. He has 21 goals and eight assists this year and scored in both the Eastern Conference quarterfinal and semi. And the Timbers yielded more regular-season goals than just one of the 14 playoff qualifiers.

“He’s fearless, and he’s very physical,” Deila said of Castellanos. “He’s a killer. And that’s something that gives the whole team energy and belief.”

For the hosts, all eyes will be on 33-year-old Argentine playmaker Sebastián Blanco, the attacking architect who tallied seven goals and seven assists after returning from an ACL injury in late June and then found the net twice in the first-round playoff win over Minnesota United. He then suffered a hamstring injury in the second-round upset of top-seeded Colorado and missed last weekend’s win over Real Salt Lake. Portland had more than enough quality to handle upstart RSL. NYCFC presents a far more imposing challenge, and its ability to move and keep the ball makes a player like Blanco, who can be so devastating in transition, all the more valuable.

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“After Colorado I was almost out, so we talk about it that it’s almost a miracle to arrive to this game—to be part of this team, be part of this game is very important to me,” Blanco said Thursday. “So I’m ready. I’m O.K. I feel good. I prepare myself for this game. So I trained with my team today completely. So now of course we still need to have a conversation with Gio, but like I said before, no matter what happens, the important thing is to be ready for the game. He will decide after. But everything is good.”

Championships hinge on those variables—health and timing, fitness and temporary form. In MLS, especially, they’re typically not won over the course of months. They’re won in moments, through the collision of talent, clutch play and a bit of good fortune. Portland and NYCFC have enjoyed some of each over the past few weeks, and the reward is a shot at the big trophy in a setting that should prove indelible. 

“I believe that being here in this stadium, in this city, will show very well for everyone that is going to watch this match,” Savarese said. “And I think for the two teams that are going to be on the field, I think they are two teams that are going to show well. So we’re extremely, extremely excited.”