PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Timbers announced Tuesday that former Rapids striker John Spencer will be their head coach when the team debuts in Major League Soccer next year.
Spencer, 39, played soccer professionally for 18 seasons and has spent the past five years as an assistant coach with the Houston Dynamo.
Spencer, a native of Scotland, joined the Rapids in 2001, collecting 37 goals in 88 games before his retirement in 2004. He was a finalist for the league’s MVP in 2003 and was an all-star in 2001 and 2003. Spencer held the Rapids’ record for goals in a season, scoring 14 in 2001 and 2003, before Denver South High graduate Conor Casey tallied 16 in 2009.
The Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps join MLS in 2011.
Class of 2010 inducted
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — With the U.S. Hall of Fame building in upstate New York shuttered, Bruce Arena, Kyle Rote Jr., Thomas Dooley and Preki Radosavljevic were inducted during a ceremony in a stadium club at the New Meadowlands before the U.S. exhibition against Brazil.
Arena coached Virginia to five NCAA titles in 18 seasons and D.C. United to two MLS Cup championships and one U.S. Open Cup win before taking over as national team coach in 1998.
Rote Jr., the North American Soccer League’s 1973 rookie of the year, was a forward for Dallas (1972-78) and Houston (1979). Dooley was the 1993 U.S. Soccer athlete of the year and had seven goals in 81 international appearances.
Preki, current coach of Toronto FC, was the only player to start the first eight MLS all-star games and was the league’s career points leader when he retired.
U.S. falls 2-0 to Brazil
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Neymar scored in his national team debut, Alexandre Pato added a goal late in the first half and Brazil rolled over the United States 2-0 in the first match for both nations since the World Cup.
Neymar, 18, had just switched with Robinho and moved from the left flank to the center. Andre Santos came down the left side and crossed, and Neymar beat Jonathan Bornstein and sent a header inside Tim Howard’s left post in the 29th minute.
Pato doubled the lead in first-half injury time when Ramires’ through ball split Bornstein and Carlos Boca- negra, and the forward came in alone on Howard for the goal.
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