Street roots., June 09, 2017, Page 9, Image 9

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Street Roots • June 9-15, 2017
News
Page 9
the community - not just soccer - and it has
that passion, that emotion. Their sole
interests are to support the community and
the club. That’s why I am involved. I try to
do what I can. I don’t have all the free time
that I’d like, but I support them every time
that I can.
Argentina because it would be a bit
dangerous to be with a kid who’s eight years
old at most of the stadiums there.
J.B.: Pope Francis, who like you is from
Argentina, is a lifelong soccer fan. In fact, his
favorite club, San Lorenzo, catapulted from
the brink o f relegation to the league title in
2013, sparking speculation o f divine
intervention. B u t beyond soccer he’s a
massively influential figure, and not just
within the Catholic Church. You’ve read his
book, E l Nombre de Dios E s Misericordia (The
Name o f God Is Mercy). Pope Francis has
spoken out on social issues, stating that
“Working for a ju st distribution o f the fruits of
the earth and hum an labor is not mere
philanthropy. It is a moral obligation. ” He has
openly criticized a world where, “A n unfettered
pursuit o f money rules (and) The service o f the
common good is left behind.” You’ve become
very active in Portland in “service o f the
common good. ” Please tell us about the
activities and programs you have been
participating in that you fin d exciting. What
do you think everyday Portlanders can do in
“service o f the common good”?
J.B.: What do you do with the wooden slabs
that Timber Joey gives you for scoring goals?
D.V.: It depends. Most likely, I donate
them. Some to fans, some for an auction for
foster care rooms so they can get some
money to fix them up. Yes, so most of the
time I donate them.
J.B.: Have you kept any for yourself?
D.V.: Only one. The one from the M L S
Cup final.
J.B.: You’re in a locker room with guys from
all over the world with different languages and
nationalities. What do you do as a leader in
the locker room to make sure everyone’s getting
along and feeling included?
D.V.: The first thing is to be yourself and
to be honest with yourself and your
teammates. Always the truth. Regardless of
the result, you maintain the same
relationship. Because sometimes
competition creates a very different feeling
from when you win and when you lose. I try
to always be the same. All the time, every
day. To do your best to be the same guy, in
the good moments and the bad moments -
that comes first, because that transcends
countries and cultures. So, that’s first. And
then, obviously, to be a good professional, to
be a good teammate. That’s very important,
because we spend many hours together.
D.V.: Pope Francis was very focused on
the idea of mercy in our community. But
everyone has a different role, and I don’t
think you have to do a lot of things. But if
everyone did at least one good act per day,
it could help change the people around you
and eventually change your city. Sometimes
we think we need to do something really,
really big and we forget that in doing
something small we can start something
that’s possibly big. If every day everyone did
a good act for someone in need, that would
change a lot. There are a lot of people in
this city, and there are a lot of people in
F need. So, it could be time, it could be
food, it could be a shoulder, or a place
where you can rest, but if everyone did
something we would see real change.
J.B.: Former Timbers player Maximiliano
Urruti, recently said in an interview that you
were not only a good teammate but “a
phenomenal man. ”
J.B.: You’ve been involved in helping foster
kids as well. Can you talk about that?
D.V.: Yes, I was involved through a friend
from Timbers Army. We helped fix up a
room (for family visitations at the Hillsboro
Department of Human Services Child
Welfare Office) for children in the foster
care system. Too many kids are victims in
so many situations, so they need to be
helped. This is something that my family
and I are really focused on. I want to do
more, to be honest. You feel like everything
you do is not enough, because kids need a
lot. But we try to do what we can do.
Sometimes soccer is a very busy life, but I
want to be more involved and I think people
in Portland should know that there are a lot
of kids who really need someone, who need
time and love.
J.B.: B W also been outspoken on issues
around domestic violence and violence against
women.
D.V.: Yeah, because sometimes we think
we should respect women because you have
a sister or mother. But that’s not the way to
understand this problem (of violence
against women). All people need to be
respected and loved. That’s something that
is a right, a human right. That s the way to
think about this cause.
P H O T O B Y D IE G O D IA Z
Diego Valeri goes airborne during competition. Valeri said that win or lose, he strives to be
honest with him self and other teammates on the Timbers. “To do your best to be the same guy,
in the good moments and the bad moments - that comes first, because that transcends
countries and cultures, ” Valeri said.
J.B.: You mentioned hum an rights, which
has been in the news recently in Argentina
where we’ve seen widespread protests over a
Supreme Court ruling that reduced the
sentence o f someone convicted o f crimes
against hum anity during the military
dictatorship period (1976 to 1983). Then, the
Argentinean Congress responded, passing a
bill that disallowed shortening the prison
terms for crimes against humanity. The vote
was almost unanimous, which is extremely
rare in Argentina s polarized political scene.
The ruling could have opened the floodgates
for other human-rights abusers who have
requested sim ilar leniency. You recently
expressed criticism o f this possibility. Why are
memory, truth and justice so important in this
instance?
D.V.: These concepts are very important
because corruption is not something new
from the last couple weeks but corruption
has long been a way to live and that’s why in
Argentina we’re in this position. All this is
about one of the darkest parts of our
history, and so the people spoke out in
Argentina, saying what they needed to say.
People want justice. And that’s something
that is really good because Congress or
presidents or whatever, they have an
authority, but people have the power, too.
Those protests come from the heart of the
people - they want justice and they know it
can happen.
J.B.: Switching gears, you have a special
relationship with the fans of the Portland
Timbers, including Timbers Army. Right now,
in fact, you’re wearing a “No Pity Originals
jacket designed by the group.
D.V.: Yes, I think we have a special
situation here in Portland because of our
crowd. They are very organized and you can
join up with them off the field, which would
be very difficult and rare in the rest of the
world’s clubs. In Argentina, this would be
very difficult to do because of ulterior
interests held by supporter groups. We have
a crowd here in Portland that’s involved in
D.V.: Phenomenal man - that’s too much!
J.B.: He was saying that you and your
family brought him in when he arrived in
Portland and insisted that he stay at your
place rather than a hotel. What was your
thinking there? Same idea?
D.V.: I think there was a bit more to it
because he was Argentinian and he was 21
years old. He was young and he was just
traded from Toronto so he was very shocked
about the situation. And so I wanted him to
feel warm and in a good place as quickly as I
could. So, that was the idea - to make him
feel at home. At our home, everybody’s
waiting for you, you have a room, you have
breakfast when you wake up.
J.B.: Your wife Florencia recently said
about Portland, “This place hasn’t stopped
surprising us since the moment we got here. ”
What’s something that you’ve been happily
surprised by recently in Portland?
D.V.: We were happily surprised about
this (points to copy of Street Roots). Just
the other day my wife first told me about
this newspaper and said, ‘We should support
them.’ We learned about the work that you
do. And it’s amazing - we want to support it.