BEAVERTON, Ore. – Trying to build on a Landon Donovan MLS MVP-winning campaign is a gargantuan task, but to the extent Diego Valeri thinks about the coming season in those terms, he certainly isn’t dwelling on the 21 goals and 11 assists he posted a year ago.
“No, not at all,” was the MVP’s response when asked if he sets statistical goals. “I don’t believe in that.
“I believe in performing well every game, and to be involved in your role -- to be involved for the team in the way the team needs you. That’s it.”
That’s the extent to which you’ll get the Timbers star to talk about his historic season. That was last year, is the subtext to his approach, so when you ask how a player could possibly build on his 2017’s production, you immediately get a 2018-centric response.
“You try to improve things that you always need to improve for the team,” he says, “and the way the team wants to play now.”
Nothing about goals, assists, record goal-scoring streaks, or any individual product. The team has a new coach, if you hadn’t heard. The squad’s welcomed many new players, and as far as the coming season is concerned, the team has lofty goals. To reach them, there’s a new way of playing that the team must master. That comes first.
Simple put: For Valeri, there’s no room to worry about his individual results. The first, basic steps of the 2018 season are far more important.
“Obviously, we have new guys, so trying to know them better, and to adapt them better into the team,” are the goals he’s defined, for now. “Every season is different. You want to have new goals and give new things to the team.”
If Valeri does have something new in store, it will augment what’s already an imposing legacy in the Rose City. Over five seasons in Portland, the 31-year-old attacking midfielder has accumulated 58 goals and 53 assists, numbers that would be high-end production for even a forward. On three different occasions, Valeri has reached double-digit goals and assists in the same season – a level that has come to define the truly elite all-around attackers in MLS.
Even those numbers, though, are artifacts of the past. In defense of his 2017 MVP award, Valeri remains focused on the now.
“Now, [the goal is] to get confidence in this part of the season, with some results,” he explained. “In order to do that, you need to give your best level physically and be in the best form you can.
“We’ve got a lot of games away, and we need points there. The team needs the best out of everyone.”
