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Giovanni Savarese | A look at his career in soccer

Giovanni Savarese, A career in soccer, 12.18.17
  • Savarese was born in Caracas, Venezuela and came to the United States to play at Long Island University, becoming one of the top scorers in the school’s history
  • He later played for the Long Island Rough Riders in the USISL—a precursor to the modern USL—and earned MVP honors during the team’s championship season in 1995
  • Savarese became one of the original players in Major League Soccer when he was selected by the New York/New Jersey MetroStars with the ninth overall selection of the MLS Inaugural Player Draft in 1996
  • While with the MetroStars, he scored the team’s first-ever goal in a match against the LA Galaxy on Apr. 13, 1996
  • He was a 1996 MLS All-Star for the East team scoring in the 69th minute as the East team beat the West 3-2
  • On the international level, Savarese earned 30 caps for Venezuela, scoring 10 goals for La Vinotinto
  • Savarese's time with MetroStars made him their career leader in goals with 41 until 2009 when it was broken by Juan Pablo Angel
  • His playing career included stops with the New England Revolution, A.C. Perugia and A.S. Viterbese in Italy, the San Jose Earthquakes, Swansea City (then in the English Second Division) and with Deportivo Itochalco in Venezuela
  • Savarese joined the re-launched New York Cosmos in the NASL as the academy director in 2010 and was named head coach in 2012
  • In five years helming the Cosmos, Savarese led the team to three regular-season titles (2013 spring, 2015 spring, 2016 fall) and three NASL Soccer Bowl championships (2013, 2015 and 2016)