Urruti makes his mark with a flying boot!

Let's call him "Max" because we want to be friends with him.   Maximiliano Urrutiis the most recent hero to join the "boys in green" and perhaps the most likely to evoke exuberance after his flying, extended foot goal against the Galaxy on a soggy Sunday last weekend.   The link suggests that this goal was not a fluke and that the twenty-two year old player has definite magic.    Be that true or not,  his goal Sunday was stunning.

On a corner kick from the attacking left side,   the crossing ball came in at an awkward height,  too low to easily head and too high to easily trap or flick on.  Urruti ran well past the near post, saw the ball coming and extended his right foot just enough to deflect the ball past a stunned Landon Donovan into the net.   It is difficult enough to deflect a crossing ball from the near post back to anywhere dangerous with one's head much less with an outflung boot while in full forward run.  But Urruti....er...Max did just that.

In the video recap, he continues forward toward the fans and he is clearly exuberant as he should be.   In the stands,  I saw the goal and gasped as did thousands of others because the goal was so unexpected and 'bellissimo'.    Maradona or Messi would have been proud to have owned that touch.

But Max is a player with more than just the rare, spectacular touch in front of goal.  He was a Timbers' wolf hounding the Galaxy keeper through the game and forcing one bad clearing kick after another.   His speed and intensity pressuring the defense were clearly unsettling. And his vision of play and reflexes were on display when at 56 minutes in the game he gave a squirting pass outside to Rodney Wallace who forced the keeper to fly one-handed for the save.

As the season marches inexorably toward the playoffs,   the Timbers give evidence of paring away all the "win resistance" and focusing on the qualities of determination, patience, and creativity to make their point.   Max gave a tutorial on those qualities in the rain on Sunday.
And we march one step closer to our first playoff appearance.

Our blessings to the entire Timbers' crew.  You've given us some great moments this season.  Regardless of how it plays out,  we're proud to be part of a club which can be legendary.
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