PORTLAND, Ore. – When the Portland Timbers finished the 2014 season a point shy of the MLS Cup Playoffs, replacing veteran goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts wasn’t necessarily expected by many team observers.
Ricketts, after all, was the very first player head coach Caleb Porter went after when he began rebuilding the team – a signing made before Porter was even officially hired in 2013. And the Jamaican international was even named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in his first season in green and gold.
But, in no slight to Ricketts, Porter had his eye on someone who could allow the Timbers to better employ his high-pressure, attacking style.
Enter Ghanaian international Adam Kwarasey, one of two major offseason additions made to bolster a defense that was one of the league’s worst last year, especially in the season’s early months.
“To be honest, I don’t really know what Ricketts’ style was, but I’m just trying to be myself, and that’s the way I play and that’s what they’re going to get,” Kwarasey said. “That’s part of getting to know the guys, they also need to get to know me and the way I play.”
Kwarasey is as a “sweeper ‘keeper,” somewhat in the mold of Real Salt Lake’s Nick Rimando: willing and able to advance well off his line to play balls with his feet, essentially serving as another member of the backline, freeing up defenders to play a higher line.
With Portland’s center backs – English Premier League veteran Liam Ridgewell and Nat Borchers, the team’s other big offseason signing – both very good on the ball, and outside backs Jorge Villafana and Alvas Powell an integral part of the attack, Kwarasey was the last piece of the puzzle.
“We can play out from the back a little bit more, but when we need to go long he’s a good kicker of the ball,” Ridgewell said. “So it’s very good to have him behind us, and it breeds confidence in me and Nat as well. It works well for us.”
In addition to Kwarasey’s ability to get the attack started, he also has proven to be pretty good in the net as well.
The native of Olso, Norway came up through the Norwegian national team youth ranks before making the switch to the Ghanaian national team. He made one appearance in last summer’s World Cup, starting in the Black Stars’ 2-1 loss to the US in the tournament opener, and also led Ghana to a fourth-place finish in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
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He appears to be mixing well with his new team, allowing just one goal in four preseason games.
“When you come off your line like I do a lot, then the chemistry or the connection has to be perfect because sometimes it can cause situations, maybe some silly situations,” Kwarasey said. “But it will go fast, and I think it’s easy to kind of adjust to the way I play. For the defenders, they can use me whenever they want to; I’m comfortable with my feet.”
At 27 years old, Kwarasey is 10 years Ricketts’ junior, but still carries plenty of big-game experience, both internationally and from his previous club destination at Strømsgodset in Norway’s top flight, where he'd spent his entire career before joining Portland.
Porter said he doesn’t expect much to rattle Kwarasey.
“That’s what we liked in him,” Porter said. “He’s very comfy, and he’s not casual – there’s a difference. You can be comfortable but sometimes casual, and he really looks like a guy who’s played a lot of games and he has. He’s in his prime right now … and I think you see that in his presence, his confidence.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
