PORTLAND, Ore. – You can feel the admiration Giovanni Savarese has for his Sunday counterpart in every word he says about New York City FC.
He’s always complementary of his fellow coaches, be they Oscar Pareja, Jesse Marsch, or the other successful bosses he’s faced since taking over the Portland Timbers. But in Patrick Vieira, Savarese’s facing a playing legend who, as the duo inhabited the same city over the last two years, began his coaching career in Savarese’s backyard.
“They’ve been working for three years to build this team,” Savarese explained, about Vieira’s time at NYCFC, “and now I think they feel the closest to what they’re looking for.