Zarek Valentin honored to represent his family, people of Puerto Rico in World Cup qualifying debut

Zarek Valentin was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania but he grew up eating Puerto Rican food, listening to music in Spanish and going back and forth between speaking two languages, sometimes Spanglish, when spending time at his grandmother's house for Sunday dinners.

His roots go all the way back to Spain, the motherland of his great-great-grandfather, and his Puerto Rican heritage was nurtured by the women in his life — his grandmother, aunt and stepmother. He was called up to the Puerto Rico men's national team in the past but it never felt like the right time, until now. 

"I felt that it was the right time in my career to go, to help the team, hopefully get some wins and to grow as a player," said Valentin. "The passing of my grandma this past year really thrusted me into that mix and wanting that feeling to represent Puerto Rico, listen to the anthem, put my hand over the badge and hopefully get a chance to cap."

Valentin is expected to feature in his first international match at the senior level when he suits up for Puerto Rico for their upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification encounters. El Huracán Azul (The Blue Hurricane) will host the Bahamas on Wednesday, June 2 in Mayagüez before traveling to face Guyana on Saturday, June 8 in South America.

Dave Sarachan, the former interim head coach of the United States men's national team from 2017–2018, has taken on the challenge of trying to qualify the Caribbean island to its first World Cup appearance. While Valentin has foregone several Puerto Rico call-ups in the past, he mentions Sarachan as one of the factors that make him feel more at ease about the current project.

"I think the timing of Dave's appointment," said Valentin, although he clarified that the coach was not the deciding factor. "It was very reassuring to speak to him because we have a little bit of a prior relationship, he coached my brother at the Galaxy and just through youth national teams, we've known each other for quite a while now. It's obviously that little bit of reassurance, knowing that Dave's coming from such a high standard with the US men's team."

"Obviously, the finances and the budgets are just completely different," Valentin added. "It's apples and oranges, but when it comes to, like, testing protocols, and kind of the professionalism around it, Dave comes from a long history with his MLS Cup titles and all these different things, World Cups, and he brings a lot of that experience that they may not have access to. To know that he's working to better that within the federation is very exciting and also, he speaks extremely highly of the group and the players and what they're trying to build."

Valentin was an important addition to the national team by Sarachan. The Houston Dynamo FC defender has played over 13,000 MLS minutes in his nine seasons in the league, placing him as one of the most experienced players on Puerto Rico's roster.

He formerly represented the United States at the youth level from the Under-15 to the Under-23 teams. He played under managers like Thomas Rongen, Caleb Porter, Bob Jenkins and his current head coach in Houston, Tab Ramos. 

"I am forever, forever, forever indebted to the US men's national team. They've molded me into the player I am today," said Valentin. "Those coaches have made me the the player I am today and to have the opportunity to even represent a part of the United States is almost a little bit more special in a way. A lot of times you talk to people around the country, people from Texas are so proud of Texas and Pennsylvania, people from New York and California, everyone's so proud to represent their state, right? And in Puerto Rico, you actually have a chance to do that."

Aside from his experience, Valentin also brings versatility to the Puerto Rican defense. While fans in Houston have only seen him feature at right back, the 29-year-old can also feature in central defense.

"I think Zarek can do well in both, so, whatever Dave decides, I am sure it is going to work well," said Dynamo FC head coach Tab Ramos. "Zarek was very adamant about staying here and playing the Kansas City game. He felt that is what is most important right now, but in general I am very happy for him, that he gets an international opportunity. Obviously, he is not getting it with the U.S. right now. So, I think he makes the right choice and gets to compete internationally and that is always good experiences."

Valentin had previously been called up to represent Puerto Rico but the Dynamo defender mentions the "right situation" never surfaced for him. Now, with a three-week break in Houston's 2021 MLS season, vaccinated for COVID-19, and other factors have made this the correct time.

He arrives at just the right moment with Puerto Rico looking for its first win to climb in the Group F standings (1 point, 0-1-1 record) in the first round of qualification in the Concacaf region. He won't be the only player with Texas ties as former FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo Academy alumn Jaden Servania, the brother of FC Dallas midfielder Brandon Servania (on loan to Austrian side St. Pölten), is another important addition for Sarachan.

"It's a very young team, I think I'm one of the oldest guys, if not the oldest guy to come in, so hopefully I'm not Old Man River on the team, but I think I might have some experience that some of the young players might not have," mentions Valentin. "It's a very young group in general, and it's one of the things that I'm very excited about – it's nothing that I'm taking lightly. I couldn't be prouder to go represent the Puerto Rico national team."