The biggest testament to Diego Chara’s abilities as a soccer player is what happens to his team when he’s not on the field.
The stat has become ubiquitous over the last year, but any discussion of the midfielder has to start with it: in their last seventeen games without Chara, the Portland Timbers are winless. 0-11-6. They’ve been outscored in those matches — six of which have been at home — by a whopping 21 goals.
The plus-side of Chara’s presence in the team is just as clear. In their last seventeen games that Chara has played, for comparison, the Timbers’ goal difference is plus 15. More incredibly, the team has lost just two times in the last 31 home games that Chara has started.
Those are crazy numbers. Liam Ridgewell has a similarly impressive home record, but the club has gone 6-5-6 in his last 17 absences. Similarly, in Diego Valeri’s last 17 missed starts, the Timbers are a very respectable 7-4-6.
Valeri’s numbers should be taken with a grain of salt — his missed time was concentrated in the Timbers’ Cup-winning 2015 season as he was recovering from an ACL tear — but they are striking nonetheless. Brilliant as Valeri is, his absence, not for long stretches, but on a game-to-game basis, is survivable.
Chara’s isn’t. The best predictor of how the Timbers will do in any given game is simply whether they are at home or on the road, and whether Chara playing or not. Since Caleb Porter’s first season, that’s held true across seasons, form, and formations.
Why? Chara is an elite defensive midfielder. He’s frequently amongst the league leaders in tackles — per Mike Donovan, the only player in MLS to make more than 80 in every season since 2011 — interceptions, fouls, and bookings. His engine and stamina are marvels. Few cover more ground, week in and week out.
This is well known. Chara is nightmare to play against, and has been for many years. He’s a defensive eraser of sorts for the Timbers, and no other midfielder the club has ever had has been able to approximate his contributions.
But Chara is more than a hard man. One of his best attributes, beyond his mobility, is his game sense. He covers a ton of ground, but he’s calculating, disciplined: very rarely out of position, and extremely careful with his chance taking. He’s received 64 yellow cards in his Timbers career, but never two in the same game.
Considering his natural talent, Chara is, in many ways, a deeply conservative player. His pass completion percentage has never fallen below 85 in his eight years in MLS, and this year is hovering around 90. He’s yet to take a shot this season, and last year took just five. He plays simply, and within himself.
That makes him an extremely efficient fulcrum for the Timbers’ attack — something that the likes of Will Johnson and David Guzman, consistently guilty of overplaying their positions, were and are not — and it generates rhythm: when Chara gets the ball, it moves forward quickly and accurately.
That’s no small thing. It’s not often talked about, but one of the foundational aspects of good attacking soccer is the ability to move the ball up the field reliably and on the ground.
Teams without central midfielders who can transition them from a defensive footing to an attacking one — Darlington Nagbe’s greatest attribute — invariably end up looking a lot like the Colorado Rapids. They have to play long balls, and struggle both to possess and, depending on their personnel, to counter.
The Timbers don’t have those problems. Nagbe was long a reason why, but Chara just as much so. Against LAFC last weekend, the Colombian attempted 44 passes and completed 40. More than half of those passes advanced the ball.
Of course, Chara does provide his share of highlights beyond his forty yard defensive runs — and that’s because, loathe as he is to take serious risks in his game, he picks his spots to sell out just about as well anyone in MLS.
His instinct for game-breaking moments, combined with his speed in attacking them, is a joy to watch. Take this against Vancouver in the 2015 playoffs, or this, against the ‘Caps earlier that season, or this against Orlando last year.
There was this, with an assist from Fanendo Adi, against Dallas three years ago, or these two plays against Dallas two years before. Here is more of the same, against the Galaxy last year, and then against the Red Bulls.
The later a game goes, as players tire and Chara doesn’t, the more of those moments you get. From the 75th minute forward, it’s almost like playing with an extra man — Chara’s mobility gives the Timbers numbers up situations all over the field, and especially, in games that the Timbers are winning, going forward.
Chara’s unparalleled energy late in games usually results in him committing himself for stretches further and further up the field, where he becomes more and more effective. Against LAFC, Chara attempted seven attacking half passes in the first 45 minutes. In the second 45, that number went up to thirteen.
Now — there are other great defensive midfielders in MLS. Osvaldo Alonso, Kyle Beckerman, and Dax McCarty have all had their moments in recent years. But there are none like that.
That’s why the idea that Chara can be replaced is a fallacy. Yes, eventually, someone will succeed him as the Timbers’ destroyer. But they won’t be replacing him, because they won’t play like him. Hardly anyone does.
Everyone involved with the Timbers knows this. Chara has won the club’s Players’ Player of the Year and Supporters’ Player of the Year awards multiple times. He’s also won recognition for his work in the community, which will be on display again during this year’s Stand Together week from June 9 through 15.
In many ways, it’s amazing that Chara is in Portland at all. His younger brother Yimmi is going to the World Cup with Colombia, and had Diego continued his career at home or elsewhere in South America, he very well might be bound for Russia too. He’s that good.
The hope, and, at this point, expectation, is that Chara will finish his career in a Timbers jersey. When he does, the club will be losing — in longevity, style, and impact — one of its all-time greats.
