Portland Timbers goalkeeper Jeff Attinella has traveled to Tucson, Arizona for preseason training camp every February for the last six years. At this point, he said he probably knows Tucson just as well as he knows Portland or his hometown of Tampa, Florida.

He was ready for a change to the preseason routine.

The Timbers announced in early January that they would be doing something different for preseason this year. The club will fly to San Jose, Costa Rica Wednesday and spend 11 days training in Central America before making a shortened trip to Tucson in late February.

“It will be different,” Attinella said. “It’s a fun experience. That’s a cool part of the job that you get to see other parts of the world and experience different things that you normally wouldn’t from a normal job... It will be fun to see somewhere else and then to end preseason is somewhere familiar will be good.”

The Timbers are expected to fly to Costa Rica with close to their full roster.

Slovenian goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic, who has yet to train with the club, was supposed to join the Timbers in Portland ahead of Wednesday’s flight to Costa Rica. Midfielder Renzo Zambrano, who has yet to join the team for preseason, is expected to meet the club in Costa Rica as well. David Guzman, Marvin Loria and Jeremy Ebobisse will join the Timbers in Costa Rica after Saturday’s friendly between the U.S. Men’s National Team and Costa Rica National Team.

The Timbers will play two preseason friendlies while in Costa Rica. Portland will take on Deportivo Saprissa on Monday, Feb. 4 before facing C.S. Herediano on Thursday, Feb. 7. It is not yet clear whether either of the two games will be streamed. The club will travel to Tucson on Sunday, Feb. 10.

“The goal heading into Costa Rica is to play two good games against two teams that I think are going to bring a different challenge,” Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. “Change of scenery a little bit is also a good thing for the players, to go somewhere different. That way the mind and brain are thinking differently and adapting to another situation... I think this trip to Costa Rica is going to be very beneficial for us.”

While the preseason trip to Costa Rica will provide a change of scenery for most of Portland’s players, it will give Costa Ricans Julio Cascante, Guzman and Loria a chance to return home and see family one more time before the season gets going. All three players competed for Saprissa before joining the Timbers.

“It’s a good country," Cascante said. "I think the weather is perfect. It’s going to be fun because maybe I can see my family again... I’m going to try to show the guys what Costa Rica is about -- la pura vida.”

The Timbers will spend almost a month on the road as they train in Costa Rica and then Tucson. They will return to Portland for a final week of training prior to their season opener against the Colorado Rapids on the road on March 2. The club will then spend three months zigzagging the country as they play their first 12 games of the season on the road due to construction at Providence Park.

The travel schedule won’t be easy, but the Timbers will have to find a way to stay afloat over the first three months of the season if they hope to earn another berth to the MLS Cup Playoffs and make another serious run at the MLS Cup title this year.

Portland’s preparation in preseason training camp over the next month will be crucial as the club aims to start the season off on the right foot in March.

“The players came in with a great mentality,” Savarese said. “The mentality, the approach, the spirit has been great from day one. We’re very pleased to see the guys working right away from the beginning with a good mentality.”

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg