Timbers vs Los Angeles Aztecs (Colin Jose Edition)
While the OG MLS (and not-Chivas-USA-adjacent) LA-based team is in town, we're going to pay our respects to Colin Jose and go the NASL Beat-LA route.
We’re here, and we’re going to live tweet/X this game. If you have Twitter/X, follow us at @greenitcolor. We’ll see what we can do in a thread there as we cover this game and some history.
If you don’t have Twitter/X, no problem: we’ll update this story here with all of those.
Click the above to read Canada Soccer’s tribute to Colin Jose.
Starting Lineups:
13’ | 0 - 0
Dario Župarić is booked and will miss the next match.
Jose's book on the NASL is THE record book to have.
16' | 0 - 0
The 1974 expansion LA Aztecs won the NASL, beating Miami.
18' | 1 - 0
GOAL Jonathan Rodríguez. (Evander)
23’ | 1 - 0
In 1975, Jose’s book has the Timbers and Aztecs lining up like this:
25' | 1 - 0
Their first 1975 meeting went to the Timbers, behind Peter Withe's brace.
26' | 1 - 0
The second meeting: 4 - 1 Timbers, as the expansion side from Oregon moves into first.
29' | 1 - 0
In the last meeting, the 1975 regular season finale, LA finally beat Western Division champion Portland, 0 - 1.
33’ | 1 - 0
1976 brought in a new era for both the Timbers and Aztecs. Notably LA signed George Best. And Portland had turnover from players not being re-loaned to the NASL.
37' | 1 - 0
With Portland not getting players on loan, the 1976 Timbers struggled to keep pace and would end up posting their lowest win total ever (8). Part of the challenge was that they would not buy players.
39' | 2 - 0
GOAL Evander. (Moreno)
42' | 2 - 0
LA beat Portland in the first matchup of the season behind a George Best goal. Here what it looked like in The Oregonian.
Here’s what it looked like coming to Portland via UPI wire:
45' +3 | 2 - 1
2024: With the last kick of the half, Pec gets one back for the guests.
1976: The other meeting between Portland and LA that season saw the Aztecs win in Portland, the Timbers' fans boo the home team, and puns a plenty covering the St. Paul Rodeo.
It’s halftime, which is the perfect time to talk about one of my personal favorites: the 1977 NASL season and its introduction of the 35-yard shootout. Here’s what Jose has for the ‘77 season sides:
The first meetup between the Timbers and Aztecs when to shootout, where Tony Betts scored the first ever Timbers' 35-yard in-season shootout goal.
The scoresheet for that historic moment, from the 1977 NASL Timbers’ press binder, lists the shootouts in the bottom, right corner.
The other 1977 matchup was won by Portland's "Wee mon" Paul Hendrie.
And, we’re back for the second half! 1978 happened for both teams. Portland made the playoffs, eventually losing to the Cosmos (no shame). LA was about to go Dutch in ‘79.
51' | 3 - 1
GOAL Evander. (Rodríguez)
56' | 3 - 1
In the two times Portland and LA met in 1978, Portland took both.
Ugh. Goal LA Galaxy. It’s 3 - 2 with a half hour left. Plenty of soccer and plenty of time to talk about 1979.
66' | 3 - 2
The first time these teams met in 1979, LA hammered the Timbers 1 - 5 as totaalvoetbal was in the NASL, with LA coached by Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff (et al.) on the Aztecs' roster.
69' | 3 - 2
The second meeting in '79 between the two wasn't really great. Portland lost, 1 - 3 and looked to be facing an existential crisis. (Narrator: Louisiana Pacific bought them before the 1980 season.)
75’ | 3 - 2
In that last match of ‘79, captains Jimmy Conway and Johan Cruyff meet before the match.
79’ | 3 - 2
This is how Portland lined up for that last match:
80’ | 4 - 2
GOAL Felipe Mora. (Antony / Moreno)
84’ | 4 - 2
The real fun in that last match of ‘79 is in the Kick magazine for that match.
85’ | 4 - 2
There’s the requisite Cruyff piece:
And sports photographers rightly get recognized:
89’ | 4 - 2
The teams’ lineups:
8 minutes stoppage
Then Kick gives us Shep Messing’s chicken parmesan recipe on one page…
…and his snoose recommendations on another.
Halfway through stoppage.
Advertisements were just…different, looking back to 1979 with 2024 eyes. (I’m not getting in that car.)
FINAL | 4 - 2 Timbers win!
The game is over, but we’ll see this NASL era out properly.
1980 was interesting for the Timbers. The teams started the season this way (Note the Timbers’ coach listed):
The first time the teams played, the Timbers were coached by Don Megson:
Then, things happened, as illustrated by this schedule from the 1980 Timbers’ press notebook. You can read about this process (and all Timbers’ mid-season manager changes) here:
And that is why the 1980 season finale (which ended with this ad—amid some solid buffet and roller skating offers ) was coached by the NASL Timbers first and last coach, Vic Crowe.
A lot to process in that, but not to be forgotten is that Brian Gant came back from a fractured larynx to not only play but score the game-winning 35-yard shootout goal. Hear about that and Gant’s journey in Podcast Episode 9:
The penultimate NASL season these two teams would meet was the indoor 1980-81 NASL season.
I covered the first indoor meeting between these two teams—which was the first ever professional indoor game in Portland—on November 16, 1980, in a previous Match Day*:
On January 5, 1981, the NASL announced realignment of its divisions. 1981 would be the last season for the Aztecs.
Colin Jose’s book, once again, sets the scene.
The first meeting between LA and Portland alleges an attendance of “3,306 (est.).” The photograph for the article covering the match in The Oregonian crops out 3,305 of those fans (est.).
And in the last-ever meeting between the two, it was one-time Aztec Bernie Fagan getting the match-winning assist on a John Bain goal with under 5 minutes to play.
RIP LA Aztecs (1974-1981)
I would've liked to known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
#RCTID