The MLS offseason doesnāt offer much of a break for the leagueās playoff contenders ā especially the teams that played in the Dec. 6 MLS Cup.
For Jorge Villafana, the starting left back for the champion Portland Timbers, that break has been especially condensed. Just days after helping the Timbers beat Columbus Crew SC in the title game, Villafana was sold to Mexican club Santos Laguna and went immediately back to work as they navigate the Liga MX season.
Villafana caught up with FutbolMLS.com to talk about his time south of the border and upcoming CONCACAF Champions League clash with LA Galaxy on Feb. 24 (10 pm ET), a team he knows all too well from his nine seasons in MLS with the Timbers and before that Chivas USA. In fact, it was only back in mid-October when Villafana helped Portland beat the Galaxy 5-2 on their StubHub Center field.
āI already have the experience of having played against the Galaxy,ā said Villafana, who earned his first MLS contract with Chivas through the Sueno MLS reality TV show, in comments translated by MLSsoccer.com. āThe truth is that they have great players at their club, itās one of the great MLS teams and that [the game] is not going to be easy. We are going to be prepared to get the victory. It is going to be an important match, I already had the opportunity to go against [Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane] last year. They are players that Iāve played against, so I know them a little, their tendencies and style of play. Therefore it is not going to be a problem.ā
Heāll also be facing off with Mexico international forward Giovani dos Santos when he lines up against the Galaxy.
āOne as a player never wants to lose, especially as a defender,ā Villafana said. āMe as a defender, I always base myself in that, in winning, that he doesnāt take advantage of you.ā
Villafana has made three starts for Santos since joining the team in early January. For Portland, he took over as the starter late in the 2014 season and emerged as a stalwart for a backline that led one of the leagueās best defenses, making a career-high 33 starts last year.
He said his new teammates have shown an interest in MLS.
āYes, yes, Iām not going to tell you the names, but there are various players that have asked how MLS is, how it works,ā said Villafana. āThey ask me about Los Angeles and Miami, about KakĆ”ās team [Orlando City SC], Seattle, the [New York] Red Bulls.ā
Following Villafanaās stellar season in Portland, he was mentioned as a possible US national team call-up.
āNo one [from the USMNT] has reached out,ā Villafana said of a potential call-up. āI had a good year as a champion and now here at Santos theyāve also given me the opportunity to be a starter. The club is doing a good job, so the truth is that it would give me great pleasure to be called up and I would accept it.ā
The 26-year-old was born in Anaheim, Calif., but spent his formative years living with family in Mexico.
āI have a great love for both countries,ā he said. āI would like to get a national team call-up, because one can say, āI want to be there,ā but if you they donāt call you ⦠one is open to getting a call-up.ā
Villafana joined former LA Galaxy center back Omar Gonzalez as the most recent MLS players to make a move south of the border. Villafana said itās evidence that talent, not where you were born, determine success.
āThereās always opportunity for everyone,ā he said. āThe players that arrive and excel, sometimes those are the foreign players, and sometimes they are Mexican. Thatās whatās beautiful about soccer, that thereās always variety. For me thatās what makes soccer grow, the variety of types of players [from the different countries that they come from].ā