Diego Valeri wins 2017 MLS Landon Donovan MVP trophy

It takes greatness to earn a trophy with Landon Donovan’s name on it.

This season, the Portland Timbers attacking midfielder took his game to another level with 21 goals and 11 assists, scoring in nine consecutive games at one point and basically carrying the Timbers on his back into the playoffs.

Diego Valeri was named the 2017 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player on Monday, outpolling reigning MVP David Villa by a wide margin to cap a simply superlative campaign for the Portland Timbers playmaker.

Valeri was crowned in a ceremony at adidas America’s headquarters in the Rose City, where he's become a beloved icon both on the field and in the community, after racking up 21 goals and 11 assists to lead the Timbers to a first-place regular-season finish in the Western Conference standings.

In doing so, the Argentinean maestro 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, and his 32 combined goals and assists were tied for fifth-most in a single season in league history.

Both creative and consistent, Valeri also set the all-time MLS record for consecutive games with a goal as he scored in nine consecutive games from July 29-Sept. 24. He chipped in at least a goal or an assist against 19 of 21 MLS teams, and was the only player this season to net eight or more goals both at home and on the road. He 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.