PORTLAND, Ore. – It should come as no surprise that, once again, Diego Valeri was the most important player in a Portland Timbers game.
But the Argentinean maestro’s performance in his team’s energetic rally for a 3-3 draw Sunday against the San Jose Earthquakes was exceptionally good, even by Valeri’s standards. He assisted on all three Timbers goals, seemingly willing his team forward after the team first fell behind 2-0 and then a late, 3-2 deficit.
Valeri matched his single-game assists record, and it was the seventh multi-assist performance in his not-quite two-full MLS seasons, giving him 12 on the season to go along with his seven goals. He has now reached the 10-assist mark in each of his two seasons with Portland.
“He’s had a tremendous year,” Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said after the match. “He’s been good all year. He’s carried us at times, and I thought he was a man among boys.”
That’s no joke.
Not only was Valeri creating goals, but he also could have easily had two or three for himself. He set the Timbers single-season records for shots (nine) and shots on goal (five). And for good measure, he set a club record with 14 corner kicks as Portland set another club record with 32 total shots taken – the third highest shot total in MLS history.
His 12 chances created on Sunday is the most in a single match in MLS this season, giving him, according to Opta, a league-leading 83 chances created in 2014.
Unfortunately for Valeri, he was unable to enjoy the performance in a fitting way due to the fact that Portland weren’t able to secure full points at home.
“I’m feeling sad because I think we did well enough to win, but we missed a lot of chances,” he said. “I’m sad because I think I have to score. We create a lot, but it’s just one point and that’s disappointing.”
What’s even more impressive is that two of the goals he created were finished by defenders.
The first goal, with Portland trailing 2-0, came in the 54th minute when a perfect Valeri chip released right back Alvas Powell down the right wing. Powell did the rest, brushing off two defenders to convert past Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch.
In the 75th minute, Valeri sent a dangerous cross across the goalmouth that was finished at the far post by center back Liam Ridgewell to tie the game at 2-2.
And then with the Timbers trailing again, 3-2 in the 86th minute, Valeri played a deep ball into Powell, who crossed back to second-half substitute Kalif Alhassan for the deciding goal.
Valeri said he embraces the role of oftentimes shouldering the bulk of the offensive load.
“Yes, of course, I’m that type of player, a creative player,” Valeri said. “I think today it was strange. We create and we shot 30 times. … It’s disappointing because we create. That’s hard. In professional soccer it’s hard to create chances. It’s maybe the hardest thing to do.”
After a season in which he was a MVP finalist and won the Newcomer of the Year award, Valeri is right back in the mix for another season of postseason honors. And with four goals and four assists since mid-July, the fact that Valeri is hitting his stride as the Timbers attempt to hold onto the final playoff spot in the West should make fans sleep just a bit easier.
“The positive thing is we have to play San Jose two more times,” Valeri said. “I think if we play the same way we will win. That’s soccer. [Mistakes] can happen. We have to correct that.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
