Portland Timbers- standing on solid ground

With last night's defeat of Chivas in LA,  the Portland Timbers are Western Division champions and the team which has ticked off many achievements as this season unfolded.  They have the fewest losses by a substantial margin at five.   They have the broadest crew of 'gunslingers'  as five players have seven or more goals. They have a goalkeeper in Mr. D Ricketts who has been like a shapeshifter ---regularly materializing in front of shots despite the laws of physics.    They have a defense which is centered in The Gambia but also has had heroic work early on from young players like Andrew Jean Baptiste and experienced players like Mikael Silvestre.  ("The Gambia" is so Oregon. Just like The Dalles).  Outside defense was a source of troubles a year ago.  This year Harrington and Jewsbury have given up very little and have created much.  They have a midfield which is intelligent,  skillful,  and unrelenting.    Will Johnson and Diego Chara are the Engines of Disruption and Cohesion both.   Like the two-faced gods in ancient cultural lore,  they both destroy opponents' attacks and seek the unfolding 'moment of joy' in which a pass arrives in the sweet spot of danger-to the opponent.    With the addition of Diego Valeri who epitomizes the ideal game,   the increasingly herculean contributions from Darlington Nagbe,  the physically hardened but joyful style of Kalif, and the insertions of Zizzo and Zemanski at the right moments,  the team has eaten up hours of time while plotting its next attack.   And there  is more praise to offer--Monsieur Fred,  Valencia, Kocic and the mercurial Urruti have all been contributors to a magic season earned with grit and hard work but also with a vision.  Porter's vision made real.   "We play as a team."  

The press coverage of the team has been massively improved since the early years when any mention of futbol was likely to be a truncated 4pt text addition to a page of 'really important sports'.  At the same time as this pic shows, the coverage has a long way to go.   Would a story on the Ducks football team misidentify a key player in a caption when the team was winning a Division Championship.   I think not.   And Diego deserves to be recognized--he works too hard not to be.