A pair of former teammates and now opposing coaches square off Saturday when Tab Ramos again seeks his first win with the Houston Dynamo versus Giovanni Savarese and the Portland Timbers.
The two former international players – Ramos with the U.S. and Savarese with Venezuela – were teammates on the inaugural New York/New Jersey MetroStars team when Major League Soccer began play in 1996. Ramos shared the team lead with 10 assists while Savarese paced the MetroStars with 14 goals that season. The pair played three seasons together, with Savarese leaving as the club's all-time leading scorer in league play with 41 goals – a haul not surpassed until Juan Pablo Angel claimed the top spot in 2009.