# Julian Valentin

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**Julian Valentin** (born February 23, 1987) is an American retired professional [soccer](/source/Association_football) player.

## Career

### Amateur

A four-year starter at Wake Forest University, Valentin appeared in 84 games from 2003 to 2007.[2] Named NSCAA First Team All-South and Second Team All-America, Soccer America First-Team All-American and All-ACC First Team in 2006, Valentin was also named to ESPN's Academic All-District III team and was one of three NCAA starters on U-20 Men's National Team.[3] Valentin captained the Demon Deacons to their first NCAA National Championship title in 2007 and famously took a cleat to the face in the final minutes of the game.[4]

### Professional

Valentin was selected by the Los Angeles Galaxy with the 29th overall pick in the [2008 MLS SuperDraft](/source/2008_MLS_SuperDraft).[5] With the [MLS Reserve Division](/source/MLS_Reserve_Division) having been scrapped at the end of 2008, the LA Galaxy loaned Valentin to [Cleveland City Stars](/source/Cleveland_City_Stars) in the [USL First Division](/source/USL_First_Division) on May 15, 2009.[6]

Valentin signed with [USSF Division 2](/source/USSF_Division_2) club [FC Tampa Bay](/source/FC_Tampa_Bay) on 5 February 2010[7] and was named club captain on 6 April 2010.[8]

On 3 February 2011, Valentin officially retired from professional play and accepted a job with the [Colorado Rockies](/source/Colorado_Rockies) of [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball).[9][10] Valentin is of Puerto Rican descent.[11] Valentin is the older brother of [Zarek Valentin](/source/Zarek_Valentin) of [Minnesota United](/source/Minnesota_United_FC)[12] and brother in-law of [Taylor Kemp](/source/Taylor_Kemp), formerly of [DC United](/source/DC_United).[13][14]

## References

1. ["FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 – List of Players"](http://www.fifadata.com/document/FWYC/2007/pdf/FWYC_2007_SquadLists.pdf). FIFA. p. 23. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000046/http://www.fifadata.com/document/FWYC/2007/pdf/FWYC_2007_SquadLists.pdf) December 31, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 18, 2013.

1. ["Wake Forest Men's Soccer History & Records"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140517123546/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wake/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/history-records.pdf). *Wake Forest*. Archived from [the original](http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wake/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/history-records.pdf) on 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2014-05-16.

1. ["Julian Valentin Bio - Wake Forest Men's Soccer - WakeForestSports.com"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060318/http://www.wakeforestsports.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/valentin_julian00.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.wakeforestsports.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/valentin_julian00.html) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-05-16.

1. ["And then There Were Four… | the Shin Guardian"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121622/http://theshinguardian.com/2009/12/10/and-then-there-were-four/). Archived from [the original](http://theshinguardian.com/2009/12/10/and-then-there-were-four/) on 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2014-05-16.

1. ["Espn Fc"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140607115301/http://www.espnfc.com/draft/mls/?draftyear=2008&cc=5901). Archived from [the original](http://www.espnfc.com/draft/mls/?draftyear%3D2008%26cc%3D5901) on 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2014-05-16.

1. ["City Stars Add Two Before Taking On Minnesota Thunder Saturday at 8:05 p.m. - OurSports Central"](http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3824144). *www.oursportscentral.com*. 15 May 2009.

1. ["Soccer Insider - Friday kickaround"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130226141352/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2010/02/friday_kickaround_41.html). Archived from [the original](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2010/02/friday_kickaround_41.html) on February 26, 2013.

1. ["FC Tampa Bay soccer - Tribune Staff: Valentin excited to be named Rowdies captain - from TBO.com Sports"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110716194900/http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/valentin-excited-to-be-named-rowdies-captain). Archived from [the original](http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/valentin-excited-to-be-named-rowdies-captain) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-05-02.

1. Valentin, Julian (3 February 2011). ["Trading in cleats for wingtips. I've accepted a job with the Colorado Rockies organization. Excited to use my other skills and move on."](https://www.twitter.com/JulianValentin/status/33214707791831040)

1. ["Chivas USA selects Zarek Valentin and Victor Estupiñan in first round of MLS SuperDraft"](https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/chivas-usa-selects-zarek-valentin-and-victor-estupiaan-in-first-round-of-mls-superdraft/n-4139608). *Our Sports Central*. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2022.

1. ["Chivas USA selects Zarek Valentin and Victor Estupiñan in first round of MLS SuperDraft - OurSports Central"](http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/chivas-usa-selects-zarek-valentin-and-victor-estupiaan-in-first-round-of-mls-superdraft/n-4139608). *www.oursportscentral.com*. 13 January 2011.

1. ["Portland Timbers acquire defender Zarek Valentin from Montreal Impact"](https://www.timbers.com/news/portland-timbers-acquire-defender-zarek-valentin-montreal-impact). 12 January 2016.

1. Valentin, Julian (17 January 2013). ["What a day; @dcunited got a good one! Here's @Tkemp02 demonstrating the angst & joy that is the @MLS #SuperDraft"](https://twitter.com/JulianValentin/status/292079322829828097)

1. Valentin, Julian (1 December 2012). ["And let's not forget about my brother @Tkemp02 who is headed to the Final Four!"](https://twitter.com/JulianValentin/status/275025660190281728)

## External links

- [Julian Valentin's blog](https://web.archive.org/web/20081005134254/http://americansoccerreader.com/category/guest-blogs/julian-valentins-blog-guest-blogs/) October 5, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- [Wake Forest bio](http://wakeforestsports.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/valentin_julian00.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Julian Valentin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Valentin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Valentin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.