PORTLAND, Ore. – His first career MLS win under his belt last night with Portland’s 3-2 win over Minnesota United FC Saturday evening in a sold out, 2018 home opener at Providence Park, you might think that Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese would be enjoying a quiet Sunday.
But come Sunday afternoon, he was back at the stadium again, this time in the stands proudly sporting a Thorns FC scarf, enjoying Thorns FC’s own NWSL home opening 2-1 win over the Orlando Pride. It was Savarese’s first experience witnessing the Thorns in person and they did not disappoint.
“I enjoyed it very much,” he said following the match while proudly sporting a Thorns scarf. “We have a good team [in the Thorns]. It was a good result against Orlando.”
Powered by a goal and assist each from Thorns midfielder Lindsey Horan and captain Christine Sinclair, the win gave Portland their second victory of the season (2-1-0) and boosted them into a tie for second place in the table in the young season.
For Savarese, who had read about and seen the tremendous environment at Providence Park from afar prior to moving to Portland, getting to experience the incredible atmosphere Saturday night first hand from the sidelines in the Timbers win, and then Sunday’s Thorns victory was something that he was thrilled to witness in person.
“I knew coming here that these are fantastic fans,” he said. “The support is incredible and that’s why Portland is known as the Soccer City. It’s been fantastic. Yesterday was amazing, the atmosphere and today was incredible.”
And for a club that sees the encouragement of each team for each other coming from across the staff and players—Thorns head coach Mark Parsons attends many Timbers matches, Timbers players come to Thorns matches and vice-versa—Savarese’s presence Sunday was not only an enjoyable one for him, but also something he feels strongly about in supporting the club as a whole.
“We’re one family and we have to support each other,” he said.
“It was fantastic, the atmosphere that I saw in the stadium today,” he added. “I’m going to be coming to a lot more games.”
