According to my local paper, right back Andi Dober is transferring from Hartberg (last place in the Austrian second division) to the Timbers. He used to play for my club Rapid and was considered a promising prospect at one time (three caps for Austria). He never really lived up to his promise though. Rapid decided not to renew his contract and Red Bull's team in Leipzig (4th division in Germany) also decided not to offer him a contract. He's an okay player. One thing that used to drive me nuts was that Rapid had the best free kick specialist in the league (Steffen Hofmann), but they used to "mix it up" by letting Dober try one of his patented line-drives (he has a hard shot). I don't think he ever scored on a single one! Don't be surprised to see these free kick attempts in Portland in the near future. He was a very loyal player for Rapid though... a fan of the club since he was young, and didn't want to leave until they turfed him out. So I would be happy to see him succeed elsewhere. The article (in German): http://kurier.at/sport/fussball/4491891-dober-zieht-es-in-die-usa.php
Sounds like a bad move for PTFC based on reader comments like: "Wieveil muss er dem Verein zahlen, dass er dort spielen darf ?" (how much is he paying the team to play there?) "Der Dober war, ist und bleibt eine Lachnummer!" (Dober was and will always be a punchline) "Für amerikanische Verhältnisse ist er ein Edeltechniker." (By American standards, he is a skilled technician) Apparently this guy sucks for the second division in the 73rd ranked association.
Well, the thing is that according to Dober it has always been his dream to live in the States. In addition to that this will probably be his last chance to build up a reputation. Therefore I think he will put a lot of effort into this opportunity. He is definitely not as weak as people in several forums write. His only problem is his lack of motivation. Besides he won't be expensive at all.
Sounds like he had a promising early career (according to wikipedia, looking at the fact that he played with every level of National setup in Austria) but is currently on mid table in the 2nd division in Austria--and he has yet to play a match for them since joining in 2011. But, on the other hand, he was on a solid team in the top flight in Austria for 7 years, and averaged 20 games played per season for them. Nonetheless, doesn't seem like a gem of a find like Songo'o was. Doesn't seem worth the international roster spot, but maybe plans are for poor Eddie Johnson to get cut from the team due to his unfortunate series of concussions.
A few of our international players were supposed to be getting their green cards either before the season started or as the season progressed. If this is the case then that gives us a lot more flexibility.
Dober has already played a couple of games for Hartberg. Here you can see a free kick goal he scored: http://www.laola1.tv/de/at/fussball...rtberg-1-1-dober-76/video/264-1639-79244.html
Hope this works out for Dober and the team. The Timbers desperately need a right back. Good luck Andi!
Would rather work through our current options before going out and finding someone else. Purdy looked alright there but is now injured? Give Braun a chance and we have Taylor and Kawulok as well.