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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Odds and Ends bobbing in the torrent...

This weekend has brought the first big Pacific storm to the city.  We will probably still be experiencing some gusting winds and rain squalls when the Timbers take on the Galaxy this afternoon.   I'm not sure whether there's any advantage either way  but it could add extra uncertainty to the run of the ball in a game that has many uncertainties.

Before I went to bed last night I looked at the MLS feed on Apple TV (a newly added source) which I've only watched on my computer before.   The game highlights look good on the big screen.   I was happy to see Bright Dike,  a guy I've always had good feelings about,  knock home a lovely goal for his new club, Toronto.   By contrast,  I watched Troy Perkins our former keeper get stripped of the ball on a just plain, boneheaded error,  and give up a goal.  And last,  Lovell Palmer, also a former Timber,   came streaking down the right side in his match to put a ball on the foot of his striker to help RSL get the winning goal over the Caps.  
There are definitely a lot of players out in the MLS who've worn our colors and are still considered good enough to play at this level.   I think it's a sign of the franchise envisioning a team that plays at the top of this level and building toward it.   

I like it.   See you all in Section 209!

Don't forget the games in hand.

I'm frustrated by the sports page commentary on the MLS season as we rush toward the playoffs. Articles headline the point totals of our crew against those of other teams as if they were a straightline calculation.   And the articles which follow chew through excess verbiage on which team has how many points.  The truth is the discussion isn't worth having unless it includes recognition of where each team stands in games played.   Without the factor of 'games in hand' or the difference in numbers of games played,  all the talk about points is just jawing.

My take right now on the Western division isn't aligned with what you'd read in the paper. Sounders, coming on strong late in the season are not only atop the Western Division but have two games in hand and 50 points.  With six games left they have a potential 18 more points.  Even if they lost two games,  they'd be at 62 points.  Real Salt Lake has four games left.  Winning all four would give them only 60 points.  The Galaxy,  at best,  can pick up 60 points as well in five games.  Colorado with four games left can pick up a max of 12 points to put them at 59 possible points.   Hard to imagine that Seattle would drop more than two games.   The new alignment of the MLS means they will play all of their remaining games against western competition except for a match against Red Bulls on the 29th.

So that brings me to my own hometown crew. The Timbers have five matches left for a potential capture of 15 points. I rate the odds good that the Timbers can take all three of their home games and at least nail the final match against Chivas.  That would give them 58 points.  Good enough to be in the final four.   However,  it's not a given that 58 points are enough. The table is very very tight.  I'm holding my breath and counting.  No question that we are in a strong position but there's no room for missteps.



(RCTID)

A New Era for Old Boys in Portland

This weekend marked the opening of a new chapter for amateur men's soccer in the  Portland Metro area.   The Greater Portland Soccer District untracked its first ever season including an O58 Men's Division.   One challenging reality for men's soccer in the region has been that the guys who started playing in the 70s or even earlier were finding that the challenge of playing against younger guys,  sometimes twenty years younger,  was not a good equation.   

The men's league has several notable players who are in their 70s.   Lajos Balogh is an excellent example but not the only one.   The league is committed to making it possible for players to participate in the game at levels appropriate to their skills and abilities,  and so the inaugural O58 season is marks a positive note in that era.   

Years ago a similar situation arose when the older teams in the league began feeling the pressure from playing against guys in their thirties.   Under the staunch and reasoned leadership of Ivan Ivanov, the league moved to create an O50s division.   The founding teams back then were Mixed Bag, Royals, Masterbooters, Jimmy O's, Rodders, Old Nicks, and Gresham East.  Sadly,  Ivan suffered serious health issues and was not able to continue as a leader in the league.  

Today, though,  is a day for celebration.   Cities around the country have strong O60s and older divisions playing.  The fact that GPSD is now hosting a division moving in that direction is a great step forward for hundreds of 'ould boys' who don't want to give up the game but also don't want to be crippled from playing against much younger players.

In commemoration of that fact,  here are a small sampling of pics.

 Goalkeepers in the O58 can take it easy....it take a long time to run down that field.

 FC77 Old Nicks played the opening match against Pierres.  Perennial rivals and good friends.

 The Maple Tree Bier Stube has been a very popular feature of Ould Boys soccer in Portland.  Thanks to Workhorse Midfielder and  Bier Meister, Glenn Fithian-Barrett,  the taps always flow.

The second match of opening day featured Masterbooters v Highland Stillhouse old boys.