“I think it was the time for me to make this transition,” he said.
After seven years with the New York Cosmos, the past five as head coach—and three NASL titles to boot—the Venezuela-native Giovanni Savarese was announced as the new Portland Timbers head coach in December. On Monday, Savarese was introduced formally to Portland at a press conference at Providence Park.
Born in Caracas to Italian parents, Savarese later came to the United States on a soccer scholarship to play under legendary college coach Arnold Ramirez at Long Island University. After setting school records there, he played with the Long Island Rough Riders in the USISL—the precursor to the modern USL—and then became an MLS original after being selected by the New York/New Jersey MetroStars with the ninth overall selection of the MLS Inaugural Player Draft in 1996. While Saverese’s roots in New York run deep, he also played with Swansea City in Wales, A.C. Perugia and A.S. Viterbese in Italy and earned 30 caps with the Venezuela National Team.
Along with his wife Michelle, the couple has two daughters—Alessandra (12) and Valentina (16) and the family is eager to begin a new journey in the Rose City.
Timbers.com spoke with him ahead of the press conference about his excitement at coming to Portland, his life in soccer so far, what he enjoys doing away from the pitch, and what he’s looking forward to in the season ahead.
Why Portland? Why now?
“That’s a good question. I think it was the time for me to make this transition and I always found Portland to be a fantastic club with good people inside.
“I think it is a club that plays with a mentality and a philosophy that goes very much in line with my philosophy, so I felt that it was a very good fit for my part. But when I had a chance to come here and meet the people in the club, the owner [Merritt Paulson], Gavin [Wilkinson], everyone surrounding the club, I felt even more that it was the perfect club and that it was run by great people.
“Then when you see the support of the fans, when you see the stadium, it’s just a fantastic club. That’s not only me, I think many people would love to be here because it’s a fantastic club.”
You were an MLS original player, at the very beginning.
“Now you’re making me feel old. (Laughs) I’m kidding.”
Having been a player at the start of MLS and now coming back as a coach and having seen the league change, what does it mean to you now to be in Portland with the Timbers?
“It’s exciting because I have to tell you that, you know, as you mentioned, I know the league very, very well. I was there at the beginning when everything started, when we did the combine in California with so many people. Then we went through the first draft and then we made the teams and we started playing the first games. We went through the growing pains and the up’s and down’s so it’s a thing that I know very well.
“I’m friends with so many people inside the league so I’ve always been part of MLS even though I’ve been outside when I went to Europe and being in the NASL. MLS has still always been a league that I have valued.
“The other component, as well, is that I’ve always been in tune because I’ve been able to work with ESPN [as a soccer analyst]. Every year, for the past 12 years, I’ve covered MLS. Besides being a part of MLS as a player, and being part of the beginning, I’ve been a constant as well by watching every game.”
Has it been exciting for you to see the league grow and change since day one to where it is now?
“Definitely. I think there’s so many people that have done a fantastic job to allow this league to grow. We have to remember there was a point in which it was very difficult. That time in about 2000, 2001 and from that point on, the league has grown incredibly but I think even more so, after 2010, the growth has been incredible.
“Now we see so many fans, so many teams with their own stadium, and now the interest worldwide for this league and the type of players that are starting to come here. Also young talent coming in, I think it is very promising for where the future lays for this league.”
You were born in Venezuela to Italian parents before going to college in the U.S. and you played over in Europe in Wales and Italy and elsewhere. How has that international worldview and experience informed your outlook on soccer?
“One of the things I believe is, the more contact you have with culture, the more it enriches your understanding of people and understanding of things that you are going to face.
“For me, that’s been an important component because I’ve been in England, in Italy, in Spain and different places, and I’m from Venezuela and played for the national team. I traveled the whole of South America, and I came to the United States for college. I feel that I’ve been in contact with so many different components and cultures that allow me to understand people in a better way. I’m someone that likes to always enrich myself and educate myself. I feel that there’s always a possibility to be able to learn more.
“That situation for me, born in Venezuela, having been in Europe, being here, allows me to understand people in a much better way. Even the mentality in soccer, specifically. Being able to play in Swansea and understand the mentality in the U.K. and going through the different countries in South America, I can understand how people view soccer in different places, especially in the United States as well, how the players are growing, the system has been fantastic for me to be able to be in contact with.”
Soccer has taken you all over the world, but how did you first fall in love with soccer?
“That’s interesting because you know, many people, they question: ‘Oh, you’re from Venezuela. Venezuela used to be a baseball country and how come you ended up playing soccer?’ What they don’t know is that in Venezuela, there’s a big, big soccer community and since I was a little kid, always in the schools, soccer was very big because there are big Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Peruvian, and Argentinian communities that are very passionate about soccer. So I grew up playing soccer.
“My parents are Italian, my father loved soccer and the first thing he said is, ‘You better start playing soccer.’ But I fell in love with the game by myself. I was one of those kids who slept with a ball in the bed, that wanted to go out and be in every game. I had the fortune as well to be surrounded sometimes with bigger and older guys who were willing to invite me to little pick-up games in the street.
“I loved the sport from the beginning. I love everything about it. Not only about the playing, but it was also about watching the game and understanding the game better. I think one of the things that helped me through my youth, is that I understood very much the good things that I was able to do in soccer and what I needed to work on more. It made me be a little bit more pragmatic in learning more about everything in the game.
“In the end, even in Venezuela, I was lucky enough to play for the national team and then ended up getting a scholarship to Long Island University and coming to the United States. Two people that helped me to get there: a Venezuelan, Cheche Vidal, [and] my coach, Arnold Ramirez, and then from there, I continued my soccer career.”
It’s a big move for your family to come west to Portland, but how excited are they about this new challenge and opportunity not just for you, but for the family as well?
“It’s a new adventure for the family. I’ve been lucky enough to have a supportive wife that understands that this is my passion and this is what I decided to do with my life. She’s very supportive. She loves soccer. She’s likes to watch the games. Sometimes, she’s my worst critic. Or my smartest critic. (Laughs) But she’s excited.
“The feedback has been fantastic from every friend and people that we meet and we talk with [about Portland]. That’s been very helpful as well for my wife to make her be excited about this new adventure.”
When you’re away from soccer, what do you like to do?
“My wife will say, nothing. (Laughs) But I like to go and do things with the family. The movies, going to eat, I love going to great restaurants and tasting good food. I like to be with friends and open a bottle of wine and just talk about life. That’s the fun part. Getting to know people.
“One thing that I try is always to get my daughters into contact with culture. I love culture. We just went to Italy. We had the fortune to be able to be in Florence and going to see the Academy Museum (Galleria dell’Accademia). It enriches you so much and that’s my passion to be always with culture but most of all be with friends and enjoying the family.”
What are you most looking forward to this season?
“I’m going to tell you how I always do things. I first am coming here to be one more person that is going to add something more to a very good group. I want to make sure that we build—from the beginning—a family-oriented environment from the players’ standpoint. That there’s competition among the players but also solidarity and that we go about the season with the strength to be able to represent the fans that are our hardcore fans, that are so passionate, that they can feel proud of what they see on the field. That you go always with the mentality to win games. Not only to win but to make sure the fans enjoy what they are watching and most of all, to think only about what the next game is. Not about thinking what is going to happen at the end of the season. At the end of the season, we’ll look back and we’ll see how the season went, but it’s about that first game that we have to play.
“It’s always been about work, to give everything with honesty and work in a group. I don’t think one person can do the entire job, but I think you need good people and the support of good family, players, staff, club, fans, city—all that when it gets together, everything is going to push in the right direction.”
