BEAVERTON, Ore. – Jorge Villafaña’s return to Portland last season came too late in the calendar for the Timbers’ two trips to Los Angeles, be they to Carson, California, to play the LA Galaxy or to the city proper to take on first-year Los Angeles FC. That means Sunday, when the Timbers visit Banc of California Stadium to play LAFC (4:30pm PT, FS1), the Anaheim-born fullback will be making his first return for a match to the LA area since coming back to Major League Soccer.
“It does feel like a homecoming,” the U.S. international said, when asked if there was any special meaning to his return. “It’s been a long time since I played there. My family is going to be there. It’s going to be fun. I’m going to enjoy the game in LA.”
According to the database at Soccerway.com, Villafaña’s last competitive game in his hometown was on Oct. 18, 2015, a famous result in Timbers history. The 5-2 victory Portland secured that day against the LA Galaxy is often cited as the spark, if not a main point of validation, in that year’s surge to their MLS Cup victory.
Villafaña’s time away from Los Angeles matches is even more noteworthy considering how his career began. Formerly known as Jorge Flores, “Sueño” earned his nickname by winning a reality show competition that earned him a tryout with Chivas USA, Eventually, Sueño claimed a spot with the now-defunct club’s youth team, providing him with a rapid transition out of Anaheim High School.
From 2007-2013, Villafaña made 86 appearances with the then-StubHub Center tenants before a trade with the Timbers landed him in the Rose City. Over the next two seasons, Villafaña would go on to claim a starting job with the Timbers, eventually helping the team claim its 2015 title before a transfer to Santos Laguna in Mexico.
Since then, Sueño has gone on to become a U.S. international, win a Liga MX title and return to Cascadia, where he resumed his place at left back with the Timbers last summer. When he makes his Los Angeles return on Sunday, his career will inch slightly closer to full circle.
“I’m going to get to go home,” he explained, in Spanish, on Thursday, when asked if he’s looking forward to the return. “I’m going to get visit my family, something that will make this match one to enjoy.”
That enjoyment, though, will come with some challenges, not only from an LAFC team that features the likes of Mexican international Carlos Vela but also from the changing environments which, over the last week, the Timbers have been exposed.
“It makes it a little (difficult),” Villafaña explained. “You see we were playing in snow. You see Portland, you see the rain. Then you look at Los Angeles, and it’s warmer. You have to be able to make changes quickly.”
This weekend, Villafaña will have more motivation to make sure those changes are handled. For the first time in almost four years, the Southern California native will be playing at home.
