Whenever there is an opportunity, Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri and his family - his wife, Florencia, and eight-year-old daughter, Connie - will make the short trek up from their home in the Pearl District to Providence Park to watch their beloved Portland Thorns.

Valeri relishes the chance to witness some of the world's best women's soccer players compete in the Rose City and loves seeing his daughter's face light up as she cheers on her hometown team.

Following the Thorns is just one example of how Valeri and his family have embraced Portland over the last four years. Since arriving from Argentina in 2013, the family has grown to call Portland home and increasingly become immersed in the everyday life of their adopted community.

"As a family, we want to be involved in this community," Valeri said. "Our daughter is growing up here. She's a Portland girl. This is her home, and it's our home too."

Very few players have won the hearts of Timbers fans as quickly as Valeri. Since joining the Timbers in 2013, "El Maestro" has gone on to become one of Portland's most influential players and one of the most dangerous playmakers in MLS. The 30-year-old has made 110 starts in four seasons with the Timbers, recording 37 goals and 42 assists during that time, and has twice been named to the MLS Best XI.

But Valeri's decision to leave Argentina and come to Portland was never exclusively about soccer.

He made the decision to leave his cherished hometown of Lanus, a suburb just south of Buenos Aires, after being robbed at gunpoint in the fall of 2012. He came to America in search of a safe harbor, and, in Portland, he found a peaceful city where he could enjoy his soccer and he and Florencia could raise their daughter with a high quality of life.

Four years later, Valeri and his family have become fixtures in the Portland community. Valeri has made it clear that he plans to finish his career as a Timber and remain in Portland after he retires. He further solidified his commitment to the city last year, signing a contract extension that runs through the end of 2019.

"That's what we're planning, to remain in Portland," Valeri said. "My wife loves that idea, so I love it too."

As the Valeri family has become more devoted to Portland as their long-term home, they've increasingly developed favorite pastimes outside of Valeri's Timbers games - whether it's taking in Thorns games, going out for family dinners at Piazza Italia, or spending their free time at Rose City Futsal, where Connie plays for a youth team and Valeri has jumped into some offseason games with Thundercats FC, an adult team made up of Timbers and Thorns supporters.

A calling to service also comes naturally to the Valeri family and they've started to make a significant commitment to give back, both through the Timbers Stand Together program and volunteering for other community service initiatives whenever they have the chance.

Over the last year, Valeri has started to share his involvement in the community on Twitter, whether it's to get the word out about projects that he is passionate about - often causes that will serve the betterment of children or promote literacy - or simply to wish his followers a "Happy National Girls & Women in Sports Day."

"I believe that this is about more than a club," Valeri said. "It's a city and I want to be involved with the people who help it to be a better city."

During the winter holidays, the Valeri family reached out to the Children's Book Bank in hopes of attending a book cleaning. It ended up turning into a big event with 50 people showing up to clean books alongside Valeri, Florencia and Connie, according to Children's Book Bank Partnership Manager Todd Diskin. Soon after, Valeri and Florenica once again worked with the Children's Book Bank to help Connie run her own book drive, which ended up bringing in 384 books in part through the support of donations from members of the Timbers Army.

Their work with the Children's Book Bank came just a few months after the family volunteered to help renovate a family visitation room at the Hillsboro DHS Child Welfare Office through a project with the 107ist, the charitable arm of the Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters. Valeri, Florencia and Connie all showed up to paint the walls of the room and assemble furniture. The family then pitched in with a raffle to raise money to give "You are Loved" scarves to foster care children.

"They are just a very down to earth and gracious couple that genuinely care about people and want to make a difference," said Timbers fan Keith Palau, who led the foster care project. "If there are ways they can kind of bless other people in their community, they want to do that."

Introducing Connie to these community service initiatives has been particularly important for Valeri and Florencia, who, as part of their faith and upbringing, want to instill in their daughter the values of giving back to a community that has given so much to them.

"It's actually very important because this is the way we want her to grow up," Florencia said. "She learns from the example of seeing people helping each other and working together to improve the community where they - and we - live."

Valeri, Florencia and Connie still return to Argentina every offseason to visit their family and immerse themselves in a country and culture that will always be near and dear to their hearts. In the beginning, it felt like the family was returning home in those offseason visits. But, increasingly, that isn't the case.

In everyday moments walking through the Pearl District with his family, Valeri feels perfectly at home. For the most part, he blends in as just another citizen, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm one of them," Valeri said. "I will retire at some point and I will be just one more citizen here in Portland."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg

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