Giovanni Savarese

Giovanni Savarese
Personal information
Full name Giovanni Savarese
Date of birth (1971-07-14) July 14, 1971
Place of birth Caracas, Venezuela
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position Forward
Youth career
1977-1985 Centro Italiano Venezolano
1986-1989 Deportivo Italia
1990-1993 Long Island University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1986-1989 Deportivo Italia 27 (7)
1990-1993 Greek American AA 45 (31)
1994-1995 Long Island Rough Riders 37 (27)
1996-1998 NY/NJ MetroStars 85 (41)
1998 Caracas 20 (18)
1999 New England Revolution 27 (10)
1999 Deportivo Táchira 5 (3)
2000 Perugia 0 (0)
2000 → Viterbese (loan) 7 (0)
2000 San Jose Earthquakes 4 (0)
2000-2001 → Swansea City (loan) 31 (11)
2001 Millwall 1 (0)
2002-2003 Deportivo Italchacao 22 (6)
2003 Sassari Torres 1 (0)
2004 Long Island Rough Riders 10 (5)
Total 322 (159)
National team
1989-2001 Venezuela 30 (10)
Teams managed
2013– New York Cosmos

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Giovanni Savarese (born July 14, 1971) is a Venezuelan former footballer and current head coach and sporting director of the New York Cosmos who compete in the North American Soccer League.

Club career

In 1990, Savarese moved to the United States to play college soccer at Long Island University. That year, he also joined the Greek American AA of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League which he played for during the collegiate off-season.[1] After college, Savarese joined the Long Island Rough Riders of the USISL and combined with future MLS stars Tony Meola and Chris Armas to lead the team to the 1995 USISL Championship. He was drafted by the MetroStars in the 9th round of the MLS Inaugural Player Draft and scored the team's lone goal in its first-ever game, a 2:1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy on April 13, 1996. Savarese would go on to score the first eight goals in team history (not counting an own goal by a Tampa Bay Mutiny player in the same game that Savarese scored from a bicycle kick).

Savarese spent three seasons with the MetroStars, scoring a then-team record 41 goals and 94 points in league play and 44 goals, also a record, and 101 points in all competitions. His record for league goals was broken in 2009 by Juan Pablo Angel. Savarese became a huge fan favorite, despite coming off the bench for long stretches of time. He was traded to the New England Revolution amid large fan outcry before the 1999 season and scored 10 goals for the Revs that year. He left MLS to sign for Italian club Perugia in 2000, but never played for the Serie A team as they loaned him out to Serie C1 club Viterbese.

Savarese returned to MLS later in 2000, signing with the San Jose Earthquakes in mid-season but went scoreless with them in four games. Savarese then departed for Europe again, this time signing with Welsh club Swansea City of England's Football League Second Division. He would go on to score 14 goals for the Swans in all competitions.

Savarese's career continued with a game for English club Millwall against Burnley before returning to his native Venezuela to play for Deportivo Italchacao. After becoming an assistant coach at St. John's University, he tried out with the MetroStars in 2003, but failed to make the team. He would play one game for Italian Serie C club Sassari Torres, and then re-sign with the Rough Riders (then in the USL Pro Soccer League) in 2004, scoring five goals with the team that first put him on the US soccer map.

Coaching

In 2005, he returned to the MetroStars as the head of their youth development, a position he served in with re-branded New York Red Bulls through 2007.

In August 2010, Savarese joined the New York Cosmos in the role of Director of the Cosmos Academy with a focus on developing youth talent in New York.[2]

On November 19, 2012, he was announced as the head coach for the first New York Cosmos team in 28 years. In December 2012, Savarese signed the first Cosmos player in 28 years, Long Island native Carlos Mendes.[3] After building an entire roster and coaching staff from scratch with backgrounds from all over the United States and the world, Savarese and the club embarked on the 2013 NASL season.

On August 3, 2013, the Cosmos defeated the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2-1 in the team's first professional match since 1985. During the 2013 season, Savarese led the Cosmos to an undefeated record at home (W-D-L: 5-2-0) and winners of the 2013 NASL Fall Season title with an overall record of 31 points from 14 games (W-D-L: 9-4-1). The Cosmos would cap the season with the NASL Soccer Bowl, where they defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks 1-0 to capture the club's sixth title of all-time.[4]

In 2014, Savarese managed the Cosmos to second place in the 2014 NASL Spring Season, finishing behind Minnesota by just 1 point. The Cosmos also took part in the U.S. Open Cup with Savarese leading the team to a convincing 3-0 fourth round Open Cup win over the New York Red Bulls in New York City's first-ever professional soccer derby on June 14, 2014. The Cosmos would fall to eventual runners-up, the Philadelphia Union on June 24, 2014 in a 2-1 overtime defeat at PPL Park.

In 2015, Savarese led the Cosmos to an undefeated NASL Spring Season, claiming the Spring Season Championship in the process. The team also defeated New York City FC in the US Open Cup, marking the first meeting between the two clubs. The Cosmos defeated the Ottawa Fury 3-2 in the 2015 Soccer Bowl to win their seventh NASL title.[5]

National team

Savarese scored 10 goals in 30 caps for the Venezuela national team, including 3 in World Cup qualifiers. His most notable goal was against Argentina in 1996.

Broadcasting

Savarese works as a soccer analyst for ESPN International and ESPN Deportes.[6]

Honours

Head Coach

New York Cosmos

NASL Championship winner fall 2015

Statistics

Head Coach

As of 1 July 2014 (includes league and U.S. Open Cup)
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
New York Cosmos 19 November 2012 Present 26 17 6 3 42 17 +25 65.38
Career totals 26 17 6 3 42 17 +25 65.38

References

  1. ↑ CSL Wrap Up
  2. ↑ "The New York Cosmos Goes Coast-to-Coast With Cosmos Academy" (PDF). New York Cosmos. 2010-08-25. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  3. ↑ http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/story/2012-12-11/new-york-cosmos-sign-carlos-mendes-stats-bio-roster
  4. ↑ http://www.nycosmos.com/article/uuid/1cs555tcqlxt7126fj9j6pcbxv/new-york-cosmos-win-2013-nasl-soccer-bowl
  5. ↑ http://www.nycosmos.com/news/2015/11/15/cosmos-win-2015-nasl-championship
  6. ↑ http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/giovanni-savarese/

External links

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