Giovanni Savarese
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Giovanni Savarese | ||
| Date of birth | 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 in Caracas) is a former Venezuelan footballer who is best known for his stay with New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer. On November 19, 2012, he was announced the head coach of the newly formed New York Cosmos who play 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 once 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 vagabond career continued, as he played one game for English club Millwall against Burnley and then went back 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. 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. He is now a commentator for Thursday night soccer on ESPN Deportes and continues to coach youth teams in New York.
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] In November 2012, he was announced as head coach of the Cosmos for the 2013 North American Soccer League season.
National team
Savarese scored 10 goals in 30 caps for the Venezuela national team 3 in World Cup qualifiers. His most notable goal was against Argentina.
References
- ↑ CSL Wrap Up
- ↑ "The New York Cosmos Goes Coast-to-Coast With Cosmos Academy". New York Cosmos. 2010-08-25. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
External links
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