TORONTO -- Maximiliano Urruti is the latest prospective saviour for Toronto FC.
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the media Friday, ending a months-long quest to lure the talented Argentine from
Newells Old Boys in his native country to Major League Soccer. "Finally, it all
came together. The news is great news for everyone," Urruti told reporters
before leaving with his new teammates for a flight to Columbus and a game
against the Crew on Saturday night. "Now its time to get to work." While terms
of the deal between Toronto and the Argentine club were not disclosed, and
neither the player nor TFC management would discuss details of what broke the
logjam between the two sides, team president Kevin Payne said the youngster is
signed through 2015 with club options after that. "We hope that hes a player
that can be an important player here for years to come and part of the young
group that were really trying to build around and make the nucleus of Toronto
FC," Payne said of Urruti, who he and chief scout Pat Onstad first became aware
of while still working for D.C. United. Urruti will not be the clubs third
designated player alongside Dutch striker Danny Koevermans and fellow Argentine
Matias Laba, a midfielder signed earlier this season. Payne called Urruti "a
very clean and sharp forward" who moves well, has decent size, is good on the
ball and can take people on whether he plays up top of the formation or
underneath. "Hes shown, when he has the opportunities, that he knows where the
net is," Payne said of Urruti, who scored 14 goals in 56 matches for Newells Old
Boys. "Itll take Maxi a little bit of time to get accustomed to the league and
get fully fit but were excited about it." Urruti began training with TFC on
Wednesday and pronounced himself fit and ready to go if called upon Saturday in
Columbus. But head coach Ryan Nelsen suggested that role, if any, would be small
early on. "He hasnt done much in quite a bit of time so were going to ease him
in," Nelsen said. "But, you never know." Urruti joins a club that has had
revolving door in the locker-room over its seven-year history. The tremendous
turnover has seen most of those expected to have a huge impact and a long stay
at TFC sent packing, including Dwayne DeRosario, Julian de Guzman, Pablo Vitti
and Luis Silva. Urruti, who said a phone conversation with Laba made him feel
very comfortable about signing with Toronto, is "well aware" of TFCs past and
current struggles but is excited to play and have an impact. "Im ready and
willing to go, score goals and do what Ive got to do to get the team ahead," he
said. Both Nelsen and Payne went out of their way to temper expectations on
Urruti coming in and filling nets around MLS, noting achieving game fitness and
adjusting to the league will take some time. But its clear the Reds (4-11-8) can
use some scoring touch. With 21 goals in 23 matches, Toronto has the third
fewest in the 19-team league, ahead of only D.C. United at 13 and the 20 scored
by Chivas USA. A goalless drought of 423 minutes snapped last month is the
leagues second-longest in 2013. "Weve been defending well but we need to be
finishing," said midfielder Bobby Convey. Columbus (7-11-5) comes in off a 2-0
home win over the New York Red Bulls last week, which snapped a three-game
losing streak. The Crew will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss at BMO Field last
month in which Toronto scored two late goals to capture its first win at their
home stadium in more than a year. Last weeks 2-1 home loss to the Seattle
Sounders typified the season in many respects. The Reds carried the play against
one of the leagues better teams but two sloppy plays defensively and an
inability to capitalize on chances created at the offensive end spelled the
difference in the match. Despite the defeat, Toronto has played its best soccer
of the season in recent weeks. The Reds have earned seven points from their past
four matches, including the first two-game win streak in more than a year. Along
the way they have looked stronger at the back and posted a pair of shutouts.
"Were improving all the time and its about keeping on doing that," said Robert
Earnshaw, TFCs leading scorer with six goals. Earnshaw came on last week as a
second-half substitute after missing three games with a hamstring injury and hit
the post with what would have been the equalizing goal.
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with a go-ahead layup with 24 seconds left in overtime, with the basket giving
the San Antonio Spurs a much-needed 95-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
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close, while USA Today cited an unidentified person directly involved with the
negotiations as saying the pact is for two years.San Diego, CA - The Los Angeles
Dodgers continued to wheel and deal on Wednesday at Major League Baseballs
Winter Meetings, as they reportedly made two more significant moves. First, Los
Angeles shipped infielder Dee Gordon and veteran right-hander Dan Haren to the
Miami Marlins for a four-player package that included prized pitching prospect
Andrew Heaney. But Heaney was only a Dodger for hours before he was sent across
town to the Angels in a straight swap for second baseman Howie Kendrick. This
deal comes on the heels of the Dodgers apparently picking up shortstop Jimmy
Rollins from the Philadelphia Phillies. Gordon is coming off a solid season that
saw him hit .289 over 148 games while leading the majors with 64 stolen bases
and 12 triples. However, he posted a miserable 47/4 K/BB ratio with a .648 OPS
during
