BEAVERTON, Ore. – “In the locker room after that game,” Diego Valeri remembers. “That’s probably the best memory; at least, with the team.”
The Portland Timbers’ icon is being asked about one of his favorite teammates from seasons’ past, one whose friendship is summed up in those last five words: “at least, with the team.” The relationship Valeri had with former Timbers forward Maxi Urruti extended well beyond the field during the Argentines’ time together in Portland and persists to this day, but when asked for on-field highlights, the Nov. 29, 2015, evening in Frisco, Texas, stands out.
“I was very emotional, after the game,” Valeri remembers. “It was our first real honor, for the club: being Western Conference champions; going to the MLS Cup final. In Dallas, it was a hard game, and after the final whistle, we hugged each other. We couldn’t believe it.”
Urruti now plays for FC Dallas and makes another Rose City return on Saturday, when Western Conference-leading FCD visits Providence Park (7:30pm PT, FOX 12 PLUS). For those on the field, three crucial points will be at stake as each side positions itself for the postseason. For those in the stands, though, as well as players like Valeri who shared a locker room with Urruti, it will be a chance to remember one of the team’s most beloved departures.
“Every moment he was on the field, he gave everything,” Valeri said, explaining why a player who spent two-and-a-half years in Goose Hollow made such a lasting impression. “He fought as hard as he could for this club.
“A lot of times, he was on the bench and not getting a lot of minutes, but he always put the club first. It was everything to him, showing that on the field. And then, helping give us a star above the crest, our only star.”
Valeri as much anybody can speak to Urruti’s impact, having arrived the same season as his Argentine counterpart, albeit a few months earlier.
“He was the first Argentinian after me,” Valeri remembers, evoking the early period of a pipeline which has served the Timbers well. “He came here very unsure about things, because this environment still wasn’t normal, to us. He arrived right after a game, and he didn’t know about [the atmosphere], so he was very shocked.”
That shock quickly gave way to somebody who became integral to Timbers culture, an influence general manager Gavin Wilkinson evoked by name when Portland added forward depth with Samuel Armenteros this winter.
Roster depth, though, might be the least-notable part of Urruti’s contributions, an impact that leaves Valeri calling him “my brother.”
“Aw, he was so funny. A great teammate, a great person. I really liked him,” Valeri said, pausing as if to emphasize his words aren’t doing his “brother” justice. “And outside the field, he is a great guy. He brought so much energy to the locker room.”
He also crafted one of the lasting memories of the Timbers’ 2015 title run. Though many remember the first step of that run – the “double post” Knockout Round game against Sporting Kansas City – for the 11-round shootout that decided it, penalty kicks would not have happened were it not for Urruti’s 118th-minute heroics to tie the game and force penalties.
“The most-clear memory of [Urruti’s] play was the goal against Kansas,” Valeri said, “because he hadn’t been on the field for long in that game, but he was very hungry to score that goal and help give us the opportunity to play in the finals.”
Urruti also buried a penalty in the ensuing shootout, appeared in four of the five games that followed, but, that offseason, because one of the sacrifices Portland had to make in managing MLS’ salary cap, left the Rose City. Starting left back Jorge Villafaña and left wing Rodney Wallace said goodbye, too, departures Valeri understood as part of the sport.
“We really wanted Maxi to be with us, because we had CONCACAF (Champions League) coming, and we wanted a big roster,” Valeri remembered. “But the club couldn’t keep him, and that’s normal. It hurt us, because we really liked him here, but sometimes, for a soccer player, it’s good to have movement in your career, to grow up. We understood that it was probably good for him.”
During his three years in Dallas, Urruti has scored 28 times in 90 league games, adding 18 assists during the most productive stretch of his career. He’s established himself as a bonafide starter in MLS, somebody who has been Dallas’ most consistent attacking presence since his winter 2016 arrival.
In Portland, though, Urruti will always hold a special place. And among Valeri’s ex-teammates, the Dallas forward remains more special than most.
