Street roots., June 09, 2017, Page 8, Image 8

Street Roots • June 9-15, 2017
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Page 8
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BY JULES BOYKOFF
One
for all
Timbers’ midfielder
Diego Valeri is a
phenomenal soccer
player - with a bent
for human rights,
fine literature and
rock ‘n roll
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
l M a estro . E l Rey. St. Valeri. S ince arriv in g in
P o rtlan d in 2013, T im b e rs m id field er D iego Valeri
E
h as accu m u lated an a rra y of ad o rin g n ick n am es.
W ith his o u tsp o k e n love for th e city of P o rtlan d , Valeri
h a s w o rk ed h is w ay into th e h e a rts of T im b e rs d ieh a rd s
an d th e casual fan alike. T h e A rg en tin ean h a s achieved
g re a t on-field su c ce ss, w ith o n e M ajor L eag u e S o c c er
cham p io n sh ip u n d e r his b elt. In 2015 h e w as n am ed
M o st Valuable P lay er in th e M L S Cup final, w h e re h e
sc o re d a key goal e n ro u te to P o rtla n d ’s first leag u e title.
V aleri is on p ace to b e co m e th e T im b e rs all-time le a d e r
in a ssists, and h e could eclip se th e re c o rd for goals as
well. H e plays w ith fierce u rg en cy and su b lim e style, and
is rig h tly ren o w n ed as o n e of th e silkiest, m o st skillful
a ttack in g m id field ers in th e leag u e. V aleri h as also
r e p re s e n te d th e A rg en tin a N ational T eam th re e tim e s in
in te rn a tio n a l co m p etitio n .
B u t beyond all th e so c c e r accolades, V aleri h as an
eth ical m e tric th a t clicks to th e rh y th m of social ju stice.
H e an d h is fam ily - wife F lo ren cia and d au g h ter, C onnie
- d e d icate th e m se lv e s to an a rra y of c au ses, from book
d o n atio n d riv es to a ssista n c e w ith foster-care fam ilies.
Sim ply p u t, V aleri is n o t y o u r av erag e p ro fessio n al
a th le te . T h e 31-year-old b rim s w ith e x tra o rd in a ry off-
field in te re s ts : h e
re a d s th eo lo g ical
te x ts for p lea su re ,
s tru m s h is g u ita r
to relax,
c o n te m p la te s
F re n c h po etry .
W h at’s
im m ed iately
a p p a re n t is th a t
V aleri a d o re s his
th e city ’s gifts an d g ra p p le w ith its co m p lex ities. V aleri
h as su g g e ste d h e ’d like to re tire in P o rtlan d , an d th e
T im b e rs re c e n tly sig n ed h im to a c o n tra c t e x te n sio n
th a t s tre tc h e s th ro u g h 2019.
A t th e r e q u e s t of Valeri, th e in te rv ie w w as c o n d u cted
in E n g lish . (“I have to k e e p going in E n g lish b e c a u se I
have to im p ro v e,” h e in sisted .)
J u les Boykoff: L et’s start o ff with books, since they’re
important to you.
D iego Valeri: F o r su re , b o o k s a re im p o rta n t for m e
and fo r m y family, an d fo r everybody. T h e tim e sp e n t
read in g c re a te s in you m an y p o sitiv e th in g s. I t ’s v ery
im p o rta n t. I love rea d in g th eo lo g y an d philosophy, and I
love St. A u g u stin e an d h is b o o k “T h e City of G od.” I like
to re a d St. T h o m a s A quinas, too. T h e r e ’s also E d u ard o
G aleano an d h is “S o c c e r in S u n an d S hadow ” b u t his
politics w ritin g , too. T h e re a re a co u p le bo o k s by
G aleano th a t I really like: “O p en V eins of L atin A m erica”
and “U p sid e Down: A P r im e r fo r th e Looking-G lass
W orld.” I love th e w ay h e w rite s. A nd I like po etry , for
su re - yes, of c o u rse . I like “F lo re s del M ai” ( “F lo w ers
of E vil” by C h arles B au d elaire). I like L eo n ard o
C astellani, an A rg e n tin e an p o e t w ho alw ays talk ed ab o u t
“F lo re s del M ai.” B u t m o stly I like to re a d th eo lo g y and
philosophy.
J.B.: You don’t hear that sort o f reading list everyday
from a soccer player. A nd you also enjoy music, and you
play guitar. What type o f music do you like?
D.V.: I like ro ck ‘n ’ roll, an d th e b lu es. C h ristia n
m usic, too. M o re aco u stic guitar, b u t to b e h o n e st, I like
rock.
J.B.: You and your family are avid supporters o f the
Portland Thorns. In fact you’ve been called a “Portland
Thorns superfan ” by one soccer magazine. What is it that
you enjoy about the Thorns?
family. They live in
th e P earl D istric t of
P o rtla n d w h e re they
soak up
D.V.: A lo t of th in g s. F irst, to enjoy w ith m y d a u g h te r
th a t sp e c ta c u la r m o m e n t in th e stad iu m . F o r m e it’s
w eird b e c a u se I ’m u se d to b ein g in sid e, on th e field. So
w h en I ’m o u tsid e in th e sta n d s, su p p o rtin g th e te a m and
w atch in g th e m play, looking a ro u n d a t e v ery th in g in
th e crow d, it’s g re a t to sh a re w ith m y d au g h te r. S he
loves it. L oves it. S h e u n d e rs ta n d s th e g am e and s h e ’s
v e ry involved in th e g am e, a n d th a t m ak e s m e feel
|
really good. W atching th e T h o rn s, it’s am azing.
And to b e h o n e st, I d o n ’t th in k I
■ k.
could really do it in
If everyone did at
least one good act
per day, It could bel]
change the people
around you and
eventually change
your city,"
P H O T O BY D IE G O D IA Z
,