The hiring of Savarese, 46, quickly quelled much fan angst over Porter’s abrupt departure. A classy and talented forward as a player -- he scored 51 goals
in four seasons for the MetroStars and Revolution, and netted 10 in 30 appearances for Venezuela -- groomed him for a successful venture into coaching. In five NASL seasons with the New York Cosmos,
he won league titles in 2013, 2015, and 2016, and lost in the 2017 championship game last November.
His Cosmos teams played a fluid, attractive style borne of ownership largesse as well
as his philosophies. Timbers majority owner Merritt Paulson is not the spending juggernaut that are a few of his counterparts, yet he’s no cheapskate, either. As a market, Portland may be
small but as a soccer team the Timbers are not. It has sold out every home game since joining MLS in 2011.
Last year, the MLS salary list included three Portland players in seven figures
(guaranteed compensation): playmaker Diego Valeri ($2.607 million), midfielder Sebastian Blanco ($1.075 million), and forward Lucas Melano ($1.01 million). Melano has gone out on
loan. Portland has brought in a striker on loan, Samuel Armentaros from Italian club Benevento, and by racking up five goals in preseason he has put some pressure on Adi to deliver more
consistently.
Midfielder Darlington Nagbe departed in a trade to Atlanta and forward Darren Mattocks is now with D.C. United. The midfield mix is more South American
with Andy Polo (Peru) and Christian Paredes (Paraguay) and younger, too: their ages add up to 42. Costa Rican defender Julio Cascante, 24, brings some youth and experience to
complement veteran Liam Ridgewell, who turns 34 in July.
Yet the new head coach is under the brightest spotlight.
"In this ultra-competitive, cut-throat world of pro
soccer, it's pretty rare when you talk to former players, owners, even custodians in the building where they worked, I don't care who you talk to, and you get nothing but positives about
someone,” Paulson said. “That's the case with this guy. It really is. He's a special individual. He has a quiet confidence and charisma that's rare, not just in soccer, but in this
world.”