Minnesota United FC may always have a special place in Giovanni Savarese’s career; and, in turn, this current era of Portland Timbers soccer.
On April 14, a 3-2 win over the Loons at Providence Park gave Savarese the first victory of his Major League Soccer coaching tenure, one that snapped a five-game winless stretch to open the 2018 season. It was also the first home game of the campaign, a campaign which started with a construction-forced road trip that ended with three longtime Timbers – Alvas Powell, Diego Valeri and Fanendo Adi – pushing the team into the win column.