By Wilson Florez
Sep 28, 2024, 1:56 PM EDT
United States soccer has managed to snatch several stars from Liga MX. One of those players was Diego Valeri. The Argentine explained the reasons why He rejected Mexican soccer and leaned toward Major League Soccer.
Diego Valeri was playing in Lanús when the offer of Major League Soccer came in 2013. Portland Timbers opted for the South American midfielder. However, two Liga MX clubs were also in the fight to obtain his services.
“When I was about to come to the United States, there were also Mexican clubs; Cruz Azul, America who made me an offer. But it was a family decision,” Valeri said in an interview with the newspaper AS.
However, despite the approaches of Cruz Azul and América, Diego Valeri remained firm with his choice to play in the United States. The Argentine considers that in those years he wanted to live new experiences and the United States offered these requirements.
“We wanted to go experience and learn a different language, a different lifestyle, and we dared to do it and we came here. Portland became our second home, I say that as a family unit; We don’t think about it so much because of the race,” he explained.
Neither Cruz Azul, nor América
Although the Águilas del América and La Maquina tried to hire Diego Valeri, the former Lanús player would have preferred the call of another Mexican team that marked him in his life: the Tuzos of Pachuca.
“One of my first international matches was against Pachuca in the Copa Sudamericana. That Pachuca from Calero, ‘Chaco’ Giménez, from Caballero, had a great team. They beat us, they beat us in Lanús and We went to play in Pachuca and I had a beautiful experience, I loved it. It broke my mind how they played and how they were in infrastructure“he recalled.
Diego Valeri had a very good career in professional football. The player trained in Lanús had the opportunity to play in the Porto, Almería and Portland Timbers. However, Valeri recognizes that he missed playing in Aztec football.
“I would have loved to have played Mexican footballbut sometimes in the life of a footballer you can’t choose as much as you think,” he concluded.
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