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Portland Timbers Midfielder Diego Valeri Named Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player

Published on December 12, 2017 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


scored in consecutive games

NEW YORK/PORTLAND, Ore. - Major League Soccer today announced Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri as the 2017 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player. Valeri was presented the award during an event at adidas America headquarters.

Blazing the trail for Portland's finish atop the Western Conference during the regular season, Valeri's breakout season was filled with historic achievements. With 21 goals and 11 assists, Valeri became just the second player in the League's 22-year history to record at least 20 goals and 10 assists in the same season. His 32 combined goals and assists were tied for fifth-most in a single season in league history.

Valeri's unrivaled consistency plagued the opposition this season, scoring in nine consecutive games from July 29-Sept. 24, which set the all-time MLS record for consecutive games with a goal. An MLS Cup MVP and four-time All-Star, Valeri contributed at least a goal or an assist against 19 of 21 MLS teams this season, and was the only player this season to net eight or more goals both at home and on the road.

A three-time selection to the MLS Best XI, Valeri reached the 50-goal, 50-assist plateau for his MLS league career on Aug. 12, the 18th player to reach that milestone - and the third-fastest in league history (in just 139 games, behind only Landon Donovan and Jaime Moreno). Portland's all-time leading scorer with 58 career MLS goals, Valeri has scored in every calendar month of MLS competition dating back to April 2016, and hasn't gone a month without a goal or an assist since March 2014.

Valeri is the first player from the Portland Timbers to be named MLS Most Valuable Player, adding to his selection as the 2015 MLS Cup MVP. He is the seventh South American to be named MLS MVP, the third from Argentina, joining Christian Gómez (2006) and Guillermo Barros Schelotto (2008) on the world-class list of Argentinians who have contributed to MLS.

Since 1996, the MLS MVP award has been presented annually to the individual deemed most valuable to his club by players, management and the media.

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