Portland Timbers against the Chicago Fire

Diego Chara

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

In 2010, Portland Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson found himself in Tolima, Colombia, scouting a match between Deportes Tolima and Millonarios Fútbol Club, two of that country's top teams.

Wilkinson was building a roster for the Timbers’ first MLS season and as he watched the two teams battle in a close and tense match, his focus turned to a hardworking and consistent defensive midfielder competing for Tolima.

From that moment on, Wilkinson made it his priority to bring Diego Chara to Portland.

“We kept going back to Colombia to watch him play,” Wilkinson said. “And we fell in love with him more and more.”

When Wilkinson first asked Deportes Tolima officials if Chara would be available, they balked. Later, Tolima asked for an impossibly steep transfer fee. Finally, in 2011, after Tolima had been eliminated from the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious soccer competition in South America, the Timbers shelled out $2 million between the transfer fee, contract and total compensation to bring Chara to Portland as their first designated player.

It’s a move they’ve never regretted.

Since arriving in 2011, Chara has developed into a mainstay in the Timbers lineup. The midfielder has appeared in 92 matches, starting 91 of those on the way to compiling 8,061 minutes.

But the 28-year-old’s value doesn’t always show up in the statistics. His energetic presence, professional approach and fearlessness have fueled the Timbers over the last three years.

"I think if you're looking at a list of the most underrated guys in MLS, he's got to be up there," Timbers coach Caleb Porter said. "When he's in there, we don't lose very much."

• • •

As soon as Diego could walk, he started spending his afternoons in the street outside his home in Cali, Colombia, a barefoot child kicking a soccer ball back and forth with his father, Jesús, and his two brothers, Yimmy and Luis Felipe.

“My dad was a football player, not a professional, but he was the one who started us in the game,” Chara said through an interpreter. “He taught us to love football.”

By the time Chara was 4, he and his brothers were attending a developmental soccer school called “Las Ceibas.” From there, Chara started playing for Boca Juniors de Cali and then joined the youth ranks of Deportes Quindio, a club that plays in Colombia’s top league.

At 18, Chara started competing for the senior club. He would make 124 appearances with Deportes Quindio over four years, drawing the attention of some of the top clubs in Colombia in the process.

“We really didn’t know that we were going to become professional soccer players,” Chara said. “The one thing that we knew is we loved the game. It’s what I’ve always felt I could do best.”

Chara’s brothers also rose through the pro soccer ranks. Luis Felipe competed for a number of Colombian teams before heading to Venezuela to play for Aragua Fútbol Club. Yimmy played in Colombia’s second division before moving on to play with Diego, who by then was competing for Deportes Tolima.

And on that fateful day in 2010, Wilkinson watched the skilled and fearless 24-year-old dart around the field with confidence and offered him a chance to leave Colombia for the United States.

“I hadn’t really thought about going to the United States and MLS, but it was an opportunity that came up,” Chara said. “When I started thinking about it, I thought it was just going to be a good decision for my future — for my career, my life and my family.”

• • •

Leaving Colombia was not an easy decision for Diego Chara.

He would be uprooting his wife, Sindy Lenis, and their infant daughter, Mariajose, leaving behind his parents, brothers and cousins in the only country he had ever known, and heading more than 4,000 miles north to an alien city, a new franchise and a developing league.

But a few months earlier, Chara’s childhood friend had joined the Timbers.

Colombian players Jorge Perlaza and Diego Chara hold a sign that says, âWe are Timbersâ in Spanish in 2011.

Chara met Jorge Perlaza in 1999 when both were competing for the Boca Juniors de Cali school academy. Chara was 12; Perlaza was 14.

Perlaza was immediately impressed with Chara’s skills on the field and the two boys became close.

“He always excelled because he would put in a great deal of effort into reaching his goals,” Perlaza said through an interpreter. “He was a very skilled player. He quickly adapts to what the coaches ask of him. He is a quick thinker and always wants to win.”

The two friends’ paths seemed intertwined. They went on to play together for Deportes Quindio and then reunited a few years later on Deportes Tolima.

And when Chara began to seriously consider coming to Portland, he called Perlaza. Over the phone, Perlaza told Chara that Portland was a beautiful city and the Timbers were a united team with great fans.

Perlaza's advice was all the convincing Chara needed.

“He talked to me and told me things about the team and it helped,” Chara said. “Jorge was the first Colombian with the Portland Timbers. Having him here did help the transition.”

Perlaza and Chara immersed themselves in Portland’s Latino community. They met other Colombians and spent time outside practice attending barbecues, driving to the beach and exploring their new city.

“I was very happy when Diego arrived,” Perlaza said. “I felt like I had a brother by my side.”

• • •

When Chara arrived in Portland, he didn’t speak a word of English.

He laughs when he recalls former Timbers coach John Spencer yelling out commands in his thick Scottish brogue during those first months of training. Spencer spoke fast, Chara said. He never understood a word his coach said.

“It was hard, but we had a person who helped translate in practice,” Chara said. “At the end of the day, when you get in the game, it’s easy. Football is football.”

During the Timbers’ first year as an MLS squad, Chara made an immediate impact. He started 27 games and recorded 2,401 minutes, scoring two goals and adding four assists.

Diego Chara scored two goals in the Portland Timbers' 4-4 draw with the Seattle Sounders on April 5, 2014.

And, this season, with the Timbers off to a slow start, Chara stepped up and blasted two long-range goals on his 28th birthday as the Timbers settled for a 4-4 draw against the rival Seattle Sounders.

But it’s often hard to quantify Chara’s impact.

He is often at the center of key plays and consistently covers more ground than anybody else on the field, an ability that allows him to both prevent counterattacks when his team turns the ball over and launch attacks on offense.

“I just see it and I go for it,” Chara said. “I’ve always been like that since I was 4 years old.”

The 5-foot-8 Chara is the Timbers’ club leader in duels won with 535 and recoveries with 655, second in Timbers MLS history in interceptions with 169 and touches with 5,404, and far and away the Timbers’ club leader in tackles won with 275 and fouls with 231.

Chara also has the fourth-best passing accuracy in MLS since 2011 at 84.86 percent.

"He's very selfless," said Timbers captain Will Johnson, who formed an uncanny partnership with Chara in the midfield last season. "He runs around and makes all the plays and tries to get the ball to the attackers. He doesn't get a whole lot of glory, but he makes a lot of big time plays that don't usually come up on our stat sheet."

Porter called Chara a perfect “modern” box-to-box midfielder. Every team wants a midfielder who has the intangible skills to screen the back line, disrupt the other team and win balls.

And Chara is incredibly effective in his nuanced role, Porter said. The Timbers coach believes Chara is one of the best ball winners in the league.

“He shows up every day, does his job and has a great attitude,” Porter said. “He doesn’t need credit. At the end of the day, he wants to win, that’s it.”

As the Timbers’ lineup has shifted and evolved over the last four years, Chara has remained a constant in the starting 11.

Since 2011, the Timbers are 2-4-4 when Chara isn’t in the lineup.

“That’s what I do,” Chara said. “When I was playing in Colombia, it was the same thing. It doesn’t show in the statistics, but it’s efficient. I enjoy being the person that brings the balance to the team.”

• • •

Since arriving in Portland, Chara has had limited opportunities to visit his family in Colombia. But every December, Chara, his wife and two daughters — his youngest daughter Allison is 2 and was born in the U.S. — return to Colombia.

Invariably, the family gathers outside in the street for a pickup soccer game, Chara and his brothers — three professional soccer players — running around with their cousins, just as it was when they were little kids.

“It’s the only time where we can all get together,” Chara said. “Things continue to change. When we go now, we try to go to different places and travel and also visit my wife’s part of the family. It’s becoming a short month to do what we want to do.”

Still, Chara is happy in Portland. He and his wife bought a house in Tigard and their daughters are growing up bilingual, which Chara believes will open up better opportunities for the girls in the future.

And Chara has solidified his place in Timbers MLS history.

“I still have no regrets,” Chara said. “I think it was the best decision for me to come here.”

Now, he is the only Colombian player left in Portland.

Jose Valencia joined the squad in 2012, but is on a full-season loan with Argentine first-division side Olimpo de Bahía Blanca. Sebastian Rincon, another 2012 addition, signed with a club in Argentina before the 2014 season.

But losing Perlaza was the hardest for Chara.

Perlaza scored six goals in his debut season with Portland, but never fully settled into the Timbers lineup or had the type of production that the club wanted out of the forward.

In June 2012, Portland shipped Perlaza off to the Philadelphia Union in exchange for Danny Mwanga.

“I was very sad because he’s my best friend,” Chara said. “My teammates helped me get over that difficult time and I’m still here.”

• • •

Chara still has big ambitions for the future. He would like to again play for the Colombian national team — he has only two caps with the squad — and would like an opportunity to one day compete in the top leagues in Europe.

But for now, he is at home in Portland and savoring the moment.

Chara has been an anchor for the Timbers, from the growing pains of their first two MLS seasons to the triumph of last year’s playoff run to this season’s rocky start.

Through the ups and downs, Chara has become inextricably intertwined into the fabric of the club.

“I have been here practically since they became an MLS franchise,” Chara said. “For me, to see them succeed is very important. The Timbers will always have a really good place in my heart because they gave me an opportunity to play abroad, and I will always love this team.”

-- Jamie Goldberg