Kristoffer Velde is back in Miami for portland vs inter miami, and the Portland Timbers winger is treating it like a homecoming after spending part of his childhood there. Portland visits Inter Miami CF on Sunday Night Soccer at 6 pm ET, with the matchup set against Lionel Messi’s team and Velde’s own past.
Velde’s Miami memory
“My dad and my mother, they both worked for Royal Caribbean. So we were actually living in Miami when I was younger,” Velde said in a one-on-one conversation this week. He added, “When I was 3, 4, my dad worked there; my mother moved to Norway after she met my dad … and they will attend the game on Sunday as well. So it will be nice.”
That trip gives the game a personal layer, but the soccer stakes are clear. Velde called it a “Huge game,” and said, “We will play against the best soccer player throughout the history of the game.”
Messi and Portland’s test
Inter Miami enters as the defending MLS Cup champion, which is why Portland gets a measuring-stick match rather than a routine road trip. Velde described the setting this way: “It will be an interesting game, in their home stadium, new stadium, nice atmosphere.”
For Portland, the timing is just as important as the opponent. The Timbers arrived in 12th place in the Western Conference with 14 points and a 4W-6L-2D record, and they had not won consecutive matches this season.
Portland’s Velde bet
Portland signed Velde from Olympiacos last August for a reported $5 million, and the production has followed. Since joining the club, he has 6 goals and 5 assists, with the same number of yellow cards as goals.
He also described Portland’s mood as steady despite the results, saying, “The team in general, even though we had some tough results and bad moments during this season so far, I think the mood has always been good. We have a good morale in the team, and we keep fighting and we keep working on it.”
Sunday’s game gives Portland a chance to reset its form against the league’s benchmark and lets Velde do it in the city where his family once lived. His parents will be in the stands, and the return to Miami will carry a different kind of weight if Portland turns the visit into points against Messi’s side.
