Kristoffer Velde is heading back to a place he barely remembers, and the Portland Timbers are heading into one of their hardest tests of the season. Portland visit Inter Miami CF on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire at 6 pm ET on Apple TV, with Velde saying he lived in Miami when he was 3 or 4 years old and that both of his parents will be in the stands.
"My dad and my mother, they both worked for Royal Caribbean. So we were actually living in Miami when I was younger," Velde said. He added that his parents will attend the game on Sunday and called it "nice" to have them there for what he described as a "huge game."
Portland need the kind of performance that has been hard to find for much of this season. They are 12th in the Western Conference with 14 points from 4 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws, and they have not won consecutive matches this year. Velde said the Timbers are still carrying belief inside the locker room despite the uneven results, saying the mood has remained good and that the group keeps fighting and working.
The matchup carries extra weight because Inter Miami are being treated as the standard-bearer for the league, and Lionel Messi is the reason. Velde did not hide that he knows the size of the challenge, saying Portland will face "the best soccer player throughout the history of the game" in a "new stadium" and a "nice atmosphere." For a Portland side trying to build momentum, it is the sort of night that can expose every flaw or sharpen a team that has been looking for consistency.
Velde has become one of the more noticeable figures in the Portland dressing room since arriving from Olympiacos last August in a reported $5 million deal. He has produced 6 goals and 5 assists, but he has also collected 6 yellow cards, the same number as his goals, a reminder of how much edge he brings to his game. That edge has followed him off the field too. Phil Neville recently joked, "Kristoffer Velde's gotta new hairstyle." Velde laughed about his own reputation in the squad, saying he is probably the loudest one and that every team needs "a clown" and someone who will do "some stupid s--t sometimes."
He also made clear how he views Sunday’s assignment. "I always want to win," he said, adding that he will do whatever it takes. That mentality is part of why Portland spent real money to bring him in, and part of why this trip to Miami feels bigger than a routine regular-season game. If the Timbers can take something from it, it would be a statement that they can stand up to the league’s best on the biggest stage they have seen so far this year.
