PORTLAND — When the Portland Timbers open their 50th season, one of the club’s most impactful players will celebrate his own milestone.
Midfielder Diego Chara could make his 400th career MLS appearance with the Timbers on Sunday against the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps.
“I think most players, you spend between three and five years with a team, so for me this is going to be really special,” said the 38-year-old Colombian who first played for Portland in 2011, the team’s inaugural Major League Soccer season.
Chara already set the MLS record for matches played with a single club last season when he surpassed Chris Wondolowski’s record of 376, set with the San Jose Earthquakes.
Embarking on his 15th season with the Timbers, Chara is a fixture in Portland, known for his broad smile and a vast collection of yellow cards. He holds the ongoing league record for most fouls with 894 in 399 matches.
Only four active players have appeared in 400 games: Chara, the Columbus Crew’s Darlington Nagbe , Seattle’s Stefan Frei , and Toronto’s Sean Johnson . Only 13 players in MLS history have reached the milestone.
Chara has played for a single team the longest among current MLS players. New England Revolution defender Andrew Farrell is starting his 13th season with the club as a player/coach. Jonathan Osorio is also starting his 13th season with Toronto FC.
“He’s got the respect of everybody within the dressing room, outside of the dressing room, outside of this football club,” Portland coach Phil Neville said. “Everyone in this league, I think, respects him and holds him in the highest regard. Every single day I see him train, I see him behave. He literally inspires me every day.”
During his time with the team, the Timbers have won the 2015 MLS championship, three Western Conference titles and the MLS is Back tournament in 2020. They’ve been MLS Cup runners up twice, in 2018 and 2021.
Chara has a new challenge this season: Helping Portland regain its past success. The Timbers failed to make the postseason in 2022 and 2023, and then were routed 5-0 in a wild-card game against the Whitecaps last season.
Which makes Sunday’s season opener against Vancouver all the more intriguing.
“I think we’re really motivated for for this game. Obviously, now it’s different, but at the same time I think the team knows what happened in the past and we have a great opportunity,” Chara said.
Portland faced some recent upheaval when it cut ties with Brazilian playmaker Evander, who was dealt to FC Cincinnati in a $12 million player-for-cash trade last week. Evander, who had 15 goals and 19 assists last season, had expressed his unhappiness in Portland on social media.
The Timbers in turn added young Portuguese midfielder David Da Costa as a designated player. He comes to MLS after four seasons in France’s top league with RC Lens.
The loss of their top scorer dampened the start of the the team’s celebratory 50th season. The Timbers trace their roots back to 1975 and the NASL.
The match against the Whitecaps is also significant because it is a Cascadia Cup rivalry match. Fans of the Timbers, Whitecaps and Sounders have had an ongoing competition, based on points in matches involving the three teams, that predates their play in MLS.
“Right now I think the team is really comfortable. The new players are adjusting to the system,” Chara said. “I think we did a good job in the preseason.”
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