The MLS Cup champion Portland Timbers pulled off a major academy move on Tuesday, when they hired former Chicago Fire academy director Larry Sunderland as their youth technical director.
Sunderland, 51, will lead Portland’s academy, developing curriculum guidelines, monitoring academy player and staff development and overseeing coaching and all soccer-specific aspects of the Timbers’ player development system.
Interestingly, the announcement comes just one day after reports surfaced claiming that the Fire are a leading candidate to land Timbers midfielder Will Johnson, who told media after MLS Cup that he wouldn’t be returning to Portland in 2016.
“The Timbers Academy has to be a focal point of the club and the expectation is to develop homegrown players that can help the first team,” Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson said in a club statement. "Our club is putting a lot of emphasis on the academy and making the necessary investments to continue its growth. Hiring a quality coach with a proven track record of success like Larry to work alongside academy sporting director Mike Smith to run the academy and youth programs is exciting and shows our level of commitment to the youth players within our homegrown territories.”
Sunderland served as the Fire’s academy chief since 2007, helping the club win US Soccer Development Academy championships at the U-16 level in 2010 and at the U-18 level in 2015. Six Homegrown players graduated to the first team during his tenure, including promising youngster Harry Shipp.
Sunderland also served as technical director of the Fire’s USL PDL side, which had a record 11 players chosen in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft.
“The Portland Timbers have an unparalleled passion for excellence on and off the field and I look forward to bringing my passion for player development to the Timbers Academy and becoming a part of this championship organization,” Sunderland said in the statement. “The opportunity to work with quality people in a high performance environment is rare. Couple that with an incredible soccer environment in Portland and you have a winning mix that I am very excited to be a part of.”
