- Neville was fired from Inter Miami midway through last season due to poor results
- Portland has missed the playoffs two seasons in a row after the 2021 Cup Final
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The Portland Timbers have announced that Englishman Phil Neville will take over as manager of the club for the 2024 season.
Portland let go of manager Giovanni Savarese midway through last season after 216 games in charge.
Neville’s last managerial job was at Inter Miami CF from 2021 to 2023, when he was fired after starting the season 5-0-10.
In a statement announcing the appointment, Timbers general manager Ned Grabavoy said: ‘We are pleased to welcome Phil Neville as the new head coach of the Portland Timbers, and we look forward to Phil and his family making themselves at home make it feel in Portland.
“Phil’s character makes him the right person to lead this team forward as we continue to reshape the group with the aim of returning to sustainable success.
Phil Neville has been named manager of Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers
“His leadership qualities, varied coaching experience and ambition to evolve made him an excellent fit for us in Portland.”
Neville said: “I am hugely excited about the challenge ahead and from the very first moment I met the staff I knew this was the right opportunity for me, the right club for me and the right city for me.
“The fans are the most important part of this football club with their intensity and support, and I think this journey will be something special.
“I have great memories of visiting Portland, which reminds me of my hometown of Manchester, and I can’t wait for my family to get to know this beautiful city.”
Portland has missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, finishing 10th in the Western Conference in 2023. Last season they finished 8th in the conference.
Those back-to-back misses come after Portland lost the 2021 MLS Cup final to New York City FC on their home turf.
Neville took over Inter Miami before the start of the 2021 season, managing 90 games and posting a 35-13-42 record in that time.
Neville replaces Giovanni Savarese, who was sacked in August last season
Neville had his ups and downs with Miami this year, going 5-0-10 in the league
His last game was a 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls at the end of May
Miami won their first two games of the season against Montreal and Philadelphia, but then lost their next six games.
They broke their duck with a 2-1 win over Columbus in late April, followed by wins over Atlanta United and the New England Revolution.
But the next four league games proved disastrous: losses to Nashville, Orlando City, Montreal and the struggling New York Red Bulls.
That last match, a 1-0 defeat, proved to be the last straw for Marcel and he was fired by the club.
He would later become assistant coach of the Canadian men’s national team under John Herdman for Les Rouges’ unsuccessful CONCACAF Nations League and CONCACAF Gold Cup campaigns.