Everything comes to an end and according to various reports both from the United States and Argentina, Diego Valeri’s time with the Portland Timbers is at its end. Valeri, 35, leaves behind a legacy not only in Portland but all of MLS.
Valeri arrived to the league in 2013, after a successful career in Argentina and not so successful stints in Europe.MLS would provide a new ground for the Argentine, one that became familiar thanks to Guillermo Barros Schelotto helping expose the league back home. Valeri was a new wave of MLS foreign import: younger, better, more expensive, and gambles on names you may not have heard of.
The Valeri experiment worked like a charm, and the Argentine would go on to hold some of the most impressive numbers of any player both foreign and domestic in league history: 262 games with 91 assists and 86 goals. The word legend is an understatement. Diego Valeri is simply the greatest import from Argentina ever in MLS and frankly one of the best players signed in MLS history.
What does Diego Valeri leave behind?
In regard to soccer, Valeri leaves behind elevating the Portland Timbers from in the basement expansion team to contender, becoming a club idol and being the rock the team was built around for so many years. Valeri in his 9 seasons would lead the Timbers to 1 MLS Cup in 2015, 1 MLS is Back tournament in 2020, and would also play in 2 MLS Cup losses to Atlanta United and NYCFC. On a personal note Valeri is among the most accomplished players in league history: 2013 Newcomer of the Year, 2015 MLS Cup Most Valuable Player, 2017 Landon Donovan MVP Award, MLS Best XI: 2013, 2014, 2017, MLS All-Star: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018.
In all aspects of his MLS career Valeri was a cut above the rest, his becoming ingrained in the city of Portland, giving 20-minute interviews in English, and his charity work be it with his family or with the club is everything a MLS executive, club, and supporters want out of their big signings. For Diego Valeri, it was never about a photo opportunity, it was just who he is, a giving person. A man who made no bones about the importance of his faith, Valeri frequently gave interviews in English and Spanish on how much his faith played a role in his professional and personal life.
One of the most visible levels of support was him and his daughter attending Portland Thorns, the sister club of the Timbers, games in support of Women’s soccer. Valeri, back in Argentina, gave an interview to DEPORTV talking about how sexist the game of soccer could be from within, especially in Argentina, and going to games with his daughter and supporting the women’s game is a step forward in breaking down old walls.
Diego Valeri, when his move to Lanus becomes official, will be heavily missed, a player who on the field provided quality that the league badly needed and off the field was a quality person, that at times in sports is few and far between.