Matchday

Made in MLS: Diego Valeri looks at player development in "Cambio de Frente"

PHOTO-2023-11-14-15-07-25

A product of Argentina's rich pool of creative playmakers, Diego Valeri maximized his soccer DNA to forge a legendary career that included a memorable eight-year stint in Major League Soccer with the Portland Timbers.

Much has changed since Valeri first arrived in the Rose City a decade ago, particularly the league's emergence as a proper forming ground for young, elite-level talent.

That's the focus of the latest episode of "Cambio de Frente" – Valeri's new show airing exclusively on the league's official Spanish website, MLSes.com.

The 2015 MLS Cup winner and 2017 Landon Donovan MLS MVP traveled to South Florida to speak with Inter Miami CF head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino and assistant Javier Morales – two key figures behind one of MLS's most ambitious academies in recent years.

And as fellow Argentines and practitioners of their country's traditional soccer ethos, Valeri, Martino and Morales discuss whether the league – through its MLS NEXT and MLS NEXT Pro mechanisms – is developing a prototypical MLS player.

Watch the entire episode of "Cambio de Frente" here or MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.