1. Diego Hernan Valeri was born on 1 May 1986 and is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
51 Facts About Diego Valeri
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From 2013 to 2021, Valeri played for Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers, and is regarded as one of the league's greatest players of all time, as well as the greatest player in Portland Timbers history.
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Diego Valeri was named the MLS Cup Most Valuable Player after he led the Timbers to win MLS Cup 2015.
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Diego Valeri was later presented as the MLS MVP following his career-setting 2017 season.
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The next season, Diego Valeri was loaned out to Spanish club Almeria, where his loan was eventually ended early in December 2010.
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The incident lead to Diego Valeri instructing his agent to pursue a move abroad more aggressively.
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In January 2013, Diego Valeri joined the Portland Timbers on loan for the 2013 season.
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Two seasons later, Diego Valeri registered his best season statistically, posting a career-high 21 goals while recording 11 assists.
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Diego Valeri helped the Timbers top the Western Conference standings and won the MLS Most Valuable Player award.
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Diego Valeri is the all-time leading goalscorer for the Portland Timbers with 100 goals in all competitions.
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Diego Valeri is the 14th all-time top scorer and is 10th all-time in assists in Major League Soccer history.
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Diego Valeri earned three caps for Argentina, all occurring in 2011.
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When Diego Valeri turned nine, through his mother, he participated in a trial with the local football club Club Atletico Lanus.
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Diego Valeri was recruited into the club's youth team and played with the club's youth sides for five years before being promoted into the reserves.
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Diego Valeri made his professional debut on 27 September 2003 against Velez Sarsfield.
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Towards the end of his time at Lanus, Diego Valeri was named club captain.
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On 17 July 2009, Diego Valeri joined Portuguese Primeira Liga club FC Porto on a two-season loan with a purchase option.
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Diego Valeri had a tough time adapting at the club, citing the pressure and demand to perform while playing outside his home country for the first time.
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Diego Valeri made his debut for the club on 13 September 2010 against Real Sociedad.
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On 10 January 2013, Diego Valeri joined Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers on loan for the 2013 season.
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Diego Valeri was signed as one of the Timbers' designated players.
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Diego Valeri spoke with former Lanus teammate Javier Morales, then at Real Salt Lake, before signing with the Timbers.
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Diego Valeri made his debut for the Portland Timbers on 3 March 2013 in the season opener against the New York Red Bulls.
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Diego Valeri would go on to finish his first season with the Portland Timbers with 10 goals and 13 assists, being named as the league's Newcomer of the Year.
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Diego Valeri earned a selection in that seasons MLS Best XI.
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The next season, on 19 July 2014, Diego Valeri was selected to be part of the MLS All-Star team that would play against Bayern Munich.
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Diego Valeri was a starter for the Portland Timbers against the Columbus Crew for MLS Cup 2015.
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Diego Valeri opened the scoring for the club after just 27 seconds, deflecting a clearance from Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark to give the Timbers the very early lead.
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Diego Valeri's goal was the fastest scored in MLS Cup history.
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Diego Valeri's goals count being second among Timbers players and second among midfielders in MLS.
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On 28 July 2016, Diego Valeri was named into his second MLS All-Star squad.
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On 10 August 2016, Diego Valeri signed a three-year contract extension with the Portland Timbers.
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Diego Valeri earned his third All-Star selection and played the second half of the match against Real Madrid.
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The next season in 2019, Diego Valeri recorded a career-best 16 assists, which broke the club record for most assists in a single-season.
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Diego Valeri helped the Portland Timbers qualify for their third-straight MLS Cup playoff appearance.
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On 11 August 2020, Diego Valeri started for the Timbers during the final against Orlando City SC.
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Diego Valeri had been top scorer in four of his nine years with the club and top equal in one, his best being 21 goals in 2017.
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Diego Valeri scored 100 goals for the Timbers across all competitions during his time in Portland.
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Diego Valeri left the team as their regular season leader in goals scored, assists, and points.
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On 20 January 2022, the Timbers and Diego Valeri mutually agreed on his transfer back to Club Atletico Lanus.
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On June 2,2022,36-year old Diego Valeri confirmed he had decided to retire.
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On 16 March 2011, Diego Valeri made his international debut for Argentina at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario in a friendly against Venezuela.
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Diego Valeri would go on to make just two more appearances with Argentina, both in 2011, against Ecuador and Paraguay.
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In June 2011, prior to Copa America, Diego Valeri was included in the provisional squad for Argentina by manager Sergio Batista but was cut from the final 23-man squad.
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Diego Valeri was known to be the creative lynchpin and key to the Portland Timbers attack.
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When former Lanus teammate Sebastian Blanco arrived at the Timbers, both he and Diego Valeri began a partnership that would be key to the Portland offense.
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Diego Valeri continued to play as the central attacking midfielder while Blanco would interchange between playing centrally and going out wide to the wing.
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Diego Valeri is from Lanus and was Valeri's neighbor growing up.
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Diego Valeri had only visited the United States once, in 2004, when he was part of the Lanus side that took on a Japanese club in a pre-season friendly at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles.
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Diego Valeri has developed a deep relationship with the supporters' groups of the Portland Timbers, regularly participating in local football events and matches.
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Diego Valeri has stated that the Thorns serve as a major inspiration for his daughter and her future hopes and dreams.