Soccer <\/p>\n
Incongruous as it may seem for a Norwegian currently living in Oregon, the Portland Timbers<\/a>\u2019 Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire visit to Inter Miami CF<\/a> is a homecoming of sorts for Kristoffer Velde<\/a> (6 pm ET | Apple TV<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Despite spending most of his life in Europe before arriving in the Rose City as a showpiece Designated Player signing last August, Velde has roots in Vice City, and it\u2019s a very American tale.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad and my mother, they both worked for Royal Caribbean. So we were actually living in Miami when I was younger,\u201d Velde explained in a one-on-one conversation with MLSsoccer.com this week.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was 3, 4, my dad worked there; my mother moved to Norway after she met my dad \u2026 and they will attend the game on Sunday as well. So it will be nice.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) May 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Sunday night time slot offers one of the league\u2019s brighter spotlights. So does just about any fixture involving that\u00a0Lionel Messi<\/a>-led squad that wears that cruise ship line\u2019s logo on their chests. The defending champs serve as a measuring stick for the rest of MLS, particularly for a Portland side struggling for consistency, hovering in 12th place in the Western Conference (14 points, 4W-6L-2D) and yet to win consecutive matches this season.<\/p>\n \u201cHuge game,\u201d Velde added. \u201cWe will play against the best soccer player throughout the history of the game. So it will be an interesting game, in their home stadium, new stadium, nice atmosphere.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n These are the sort of occasions Velde lives for \u2013 and for which Portland paid a reported $5 million to Greek powerhouse Olympiacos, eager to acquire not only his substantial attacking skill set, but also the fiery personality that made him, upon arrival, quite possibly the biggest character in the locker room.<\/p>\n With a high work rate, raging intensity and an eye for the final pass and long-range bangers alike, Velde\u2019s style is explosive, with a spirit to match. Committed, creative and cantankerous, he\u2019s notched 6g\/5a since joining the club and has matched his goal total with the same number of yellow cards, reflective of a red-line sort of approach to the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have different types of personalities in this team. I think I’m probably the most loud one,\u201d Velde deadpanned. \u201cI don’t know. You always need a clown. You always need a guy which does some stupid s–t sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s a game of head tennis at practice, ping-pong in the training facility or a round of golf with teammates Brandon Bye<\/a>, Sawyer Jura<\/a> and Cole Bassett<\/a>, Velde goes full throttle any time there\u2019s a score to be kept and trash to be talked.<\/p>\n \u201cI always want to win, and I always use dirty tricks to win \u2013 or, I do whatever it takes to win,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that’s the part of me which probably took me that far. Because if you’re not competitive, you will need to find something else to do.\u00a0Everybody needs that competitiveness in themselves to reach something and do something great.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n Maniacal competitor<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n