Julian Valentin is one of the best young players to come from the region, hailing from Lancaster, PA.  He has played for the U-20 Men’s National Team, and played for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons as they won the College Cup in December.  Julian is going to be drafted into the MLS at the SuperDraft in Baltimore on January 18.  We asked him about his past experiences as well as his future.

What is your favorite/most memorable professional sports moment? 

My most memorable sports moment would have to be “4th and 26.”  I’m a huge Eagles fan and I was watching the game with a couple Packers fans and a bunch of other guys who were cheering against the Eagles just to get me fired up.  I thought the season was over and I was getting it from all angles.  Then…the play..  I’ll never forget going wild for the next few minutes and the excitement after the win.


What is your best personal soccer memory?

My best soccer moment would have to be winning a National Championship.  It’s still fresh in my mind so I may be unable to think of anything else but it was so amazing..  To have such a payoff for all of the hard work that I’ve put in over the years and to win it with my teammates, my best friends, was fantastic..  I grabbed the trophy and started running around like a little kid.  We were also able to win the title in front of so many family, friends, and alumni.  It is an unforgettable memory.


What was your best experience playing in the ACC? 

I don’t know if I have one “best experience” but my best experiences were playing home games at Wake Forest’s Spry Soccer Stadium.  Big wins against UNC, UVA, Maryland and other conference rivals are particularly memorable.  Wake has, what I think is, the best facility in college soccer and great support from the students and local people and I loved playing there.  The atmosphere at Spry made my ACC experience a special one.


What is your favorite moment living in North Carolina? 

My favorite moment living in North Carolina was hanging out with my teammates.  Winston-Salem, NC is sort of a boring place to live so there is no one moment in particular, but spending time hanging out with my teammates are what I will remember most about living in NC.


Do you follow Major League Soccer?  If so, what team and/or player is your favorite?

I’m a big fan of MLS and I certainly stay up to date on the league..  I’ve always followed DC United because they are the “local team” and I remember watching Eddie Pope growing up.


If Philadelphia were to enter MLS, what would playing for them mean to you?

If Philly were to get a team it would be great to play for them.  Being able to live close to my family and have them at every game would be incredible.  It would also be special to play in front of some of the coaches that I had growing up playing in PA.  I think that an MLS team would mean so much to the people of Philadelphia.  It’s such a good sports town and the team would be so well supported that it’s surprising to think that they don’t have an MLS team already! 


Have you seen the proposed stadium design for Philadelphia, along the banks of the Delaware River in Chester?  If so, what are your thoughts on it?

I have seen the proposed stadium on the Sons of Ben website and it looks absolutely incredible.  It looks like it is the perfect model for the new soccer specific stadium in America.  It’s perfect size for an MLS team and I can just picture it buzzing with a rowdy Philly crowd.  The location is perfect – it almost looks like something out of a movie..  If everything goes through it would be great for MLS and the people of the Tri-State area. 


Would things have been different if Philadelphia (or the region in general) had a professional soccer team while you were growing up? 

I think that things would have been a lot different if Philly had a MLS team while I was growing up.  I’m confident that I would see at least 5 games a year and being able to see live professional games is invaluable for young players.  Pro players tend to make appearances in the area and it would have been great to meet the players that I look up to.  Also, if there were to be a sort of academy system in Philly (like DC United, Chivas USA, and the New York Red Bulls have now) it would greatly change the landscape of youth soccer in PA.


What professional soccer player did you follow when you were growing up? 

Probably Eddie Pope.  I remember watching Eddie Pope play for DC United and his time with the US National team.  He’s a model professional and demonstrates how to do things the right way.


With the MLS SuperDraft coming up, what are your initial feelings about getting drafted?  Any preferences on where you’d like to go, who you’d like to play for? 

I’m extremely anxious right now.  I’m excited to move to a next chapter in my career but it’s sort of scary having no idea what my future holds.  I don’t have an preference as to what team I go to.  I just want to go to a team that really wants me, where I can go and continue to develop my game.  Wherever that is, that’s where I want to be.


Which was better, winning the college cup with Wake Forest or playing for the U-20 National Team? 

Both accomplishments are special in their own way.  It’s too hard, and too different, to choose one but I will say that absolutely nothing can compare to representing your country in a World Cup.


Do you have any advice for young players? 

I would advise young players to always work hard and be resilient.  I know that it sounds simple and cliche but it really is the most important thing to know.  You don’t have to be the best player but working hard will always put you in a good position to improve.  It is also important to be resilient because there will always be obstacles and things to get you sidetracked but it’s important to battle through everything and keep working hard.


If you weren’t playing professional sports, what career would you have? 

I would probably be a journalist, preferably a sports journalist.  I have a degree in English and writing is something that I’ve always enjoyed.

What is the best local band you have heard of? 

I’m a punk rock fan and I think my favorite local band would have to be Valencia.  I also like old stuff from The Starting Line.


When is the last time you had a soft pretzel? 

It’s been too long but the last time I had a pretzel was this summer.  I went to get Chestnut Street to get a new passport and I stopped to get one, of course.


Can you describe what happened in the National Championship and getting kicked in the head?  How are you feeling now? 

In the National Championship game, I went in to win a header at the top of the box and the player from the other team went after the same ball….but with the bottom of his cleat.  He did a sort of karate kick at six feet in the air and caught me right in the face.  I got busted open in two places under my eye, across the bridge of my nose, and just above my eyebrow that required 25 stitches to fix.  It was pretty gruesome but I’m feeling good now.  The stitches are all out and my face is looking like a face again.



Poor Richard Says: We’d like to thank Julian for giving us his time and wish him luck in the upcoming draft. We look forward to hearing his name called at the draft in Baltimore and encourage all of you to come join our Road Trip on January 18th