Portland Timbers accumulation of allocation money continued this morning with the trade of Eric Alexander to New York Red Bulls.
“Eric is a young midfielder who has earned a large amount of experience during his three years in Major League Soccer,” said Red Bulls Sporting Director Andy Roxburgh.
“He can play a number of roles for us and we are pleased that he has joined the Red Bulls.”
Timbers GM was known to be a big fan of the player’s abilities but the move shows fairly clearly that this is now Caleb Porter’s team.
“We would like to thank Eric for his service to the club, he was first class both on the field and in the community,” said Gavin Wilkinson, Timbers general manager.
“He was a tremendous part of the club during his two seasons in Portland, and we wish him well.”
Alexander, 24, played in 24 matches (14 starts) for the Timbers last season, recording a career-high six assists and receiving the club’s Unsung Hero award. He first joined the Timbers in a trade with FC Dallas on Aug. 19, 2011, and, in total, appeared in 30 games over his two seasons with Portland. A veteran of three MLS seasons, Alexander has played 69 matches, recording two goals and nine assists overall with FC Dallas (2010-11) and Portland (2011-12).
In his rookie campaign in 2010, Alexander was part of the FC Dallas squad that made it to the MLS Cup Final. That season, Alexander featured in 17 games, scoring two goals and three assists. Alexander’s efforts were noticed and he was called-up to the U.S. Men’s National Team in January 2011. He earned his first international cap against Chile on Jan. 22, 2011.
Alexander was drafted in the third round (44th overall) in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Indiana.
February 11, 2013 at 10:08 am
Is Caleb Porter starting a soccer revolution in this country?
Direct, counter-attacking soccer is altogether too pervasive in American soccer. It may provide results, but it doesn’t nourish the soul.
February 11, 2013 at 10:45 am
Oddly enough Zack, in the times I have seen Eric Alexander play, he embodies that type of play. He picks up the ball somewhere in his own half and charges down the middle, panicking defenders used to a more nuanced approach.
My hunch is that the Timbers are accumulating allocation money, even at the expense of offloading their fairly promising players. There may be something in the works for which Alexander had to be sacrificed.