One of my favorite soccer stories was told me to me a little over a decade ago at a New York City pub called Nevada Smith's. MetroStars legend Giovanni Savarese, who had retired as a player just a couple years prior, was holding court with the Empire Supporters Club, signing autographs and explaining the new youth development initiatives he was heading up for the recently rebranded New York Red Bulls.
This story was of his playing days, way back in the first season of MLS. Savarese was a relative unknown then, a 24-year-old Venezuelan kid who'd come to New York to get his education in the early 1990s. He'd starred at Long Island University, then lit up the local Cosmopolitan League before tearing up the A-League with Long Island in 1994 and 1995.
He was an original MetroStar, but he wasn't supposed to be a star at all – not remotely. That team was supposed to be led by US playmaker Tab Ramos and Italian international midfielder Roberto Donadoni.
But it was Savarese who immediately and permanently captured the hearts of the fanbase. He scored in the team's first game. He bagged the league's first bicycle kick goal a few games later in a spectacular comeback against Tampa Bay:
He scored the league's second hat-trick two weeks after that. In all, he scored Metro's first eight goals and by the end of May was officially a cult hero in Section 101, and officially on the radar for the Venezuelan national team.
And that's when the summer friendlies started. The first visitors to Giants Stadium were Fiorentina, led by their own South American goalscorer extraordinaire, Gabriel Batistuta.
Batistuta was, at that point, arguably the best striker in the world. He'd led Serie A in scoring in 1994/95, then followed it up in 1995/96 by leading Fiorentina to their first major title (the Coppa Italia) in 20 years, scoring eight goals in eight games. He was on the verge of overtaking Diego Maradona as Argentina's all-time leading scorer. He'd starred in the 1993 Copa America, still Argentina's most recent tournament triumph.
"There were 30,000 people [at Giants Stadium for the friendly]," Savarese told us at Nevada's. "And when Batistuta was announced, of course they went crazy. Screaming.
"Then they started announcing [the MetroStars], and the crowd was good. And then they got to me, and they screamed louder than they had for Batistuta. And [the Fiorentina players] all sort of leaned forward and looked down the line, 'Who's this guy?'"
The point, of course, wasn't that Savarese was as big a name as Batistuta, even in the metro area. The point he made that night in 1996, and then that night at Nevada's, was that the first job of any player, any team, is to win the support of their local fans. To represent the city and the region, to wear the colors with pride and to go toe-to-toe no matter who's lining up across from you.
MLS teams and fans back then – and to be honest, a good chunk still now – had an inferiority complex when it came to big-name players and teams. Savarese was having none of that. Ever. It resonated in New York two decades ago, and it will resonate in Portland come 2018.
He'd would spend two more seasons in New York before becoming an itinerant striker, bouncing from Caracas to New England to Italy to San Jose to Wales to Italy and then, finally, back to Long Island before hanging up his boots. Along the way he scored 10 goals for Venezuela. He had a good career and logged a lot of miles.
Savarese's managerial career was less scattershot. Simply: When the New York Cosmos were revived at the start of this decade, they hired him to build their academy as he'd helped build RBNY's. When they were ready to hire a first-team coach in 2012, Savarese was naturally the guy, and he'd stay there for five full years.
His haul? Three NASL Soccer Bowls, one spring championship and two fall championships. He wins.
"Savarese likes to play the ball on the ground, build from the back and isn't married to a single formation," is how Dave Martinez, the founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Empire of Soccer described his managerial style. "His ability to clearly communicate roles for his players and convey the intent his tactics allows him to present different fronts throughout the course of a match without losing effectiveness."
He's also done this with a variety of players, from lower-division journeymen to global stars.
"And for those concerned about his credentials, keep in mind: his time with the Cosmos involved managing several former MLS standouts – and world-class athletes like Raul and Marcos Senna," is how Martinez put it. "From Day 1, he earned their respect."
Expectations in Portland will be the same. If the past is anything to go by, fans in Rose City are going to enjoy the future.
