He talks Swansea City with Pele, manages Raul at New York Cosmos and one day he would like to come back to Wales — the story of Giovanni Savarese New York Cosmos head coach and former Swansea City player Giovanni Savarese. last Tuesday at 3:29 PM 3comments By South Wales Evening Post HE has talked Swansea City with Pele and is now managing Raul. He likes the idea of one day coaching Swansea, the club he represented with some distinction during much darker times in SA1.  And he is not at all surprised to hear of potential American investment at the Liberty Stadium. Giovanni Savarese played 35 times in an all too brief spell at Swansea, scoring 13 goals despite being part of a side which ended up getting relegated. Almost 14 years later, the Venezuelan’s colourful football career has led him to the United States of America, where he is head coach of the New York Cosmos, the club the likes of Pele, Carlos Alberto and Giorgio Chinaglia once played for. Pele is now the honorary president. “I have had dinner with Pele a couple of times,” Savarese reveals. “And of course I mentioned Swansea City — I mention Swansea City everywhere I go.” The Cosmos were one of the big names in American soccer in the 1970s and early 1980s but then disappeared off the map. The club were revived in 2010 and have big ambitions, and Savarese is the man charged with delivering on the pitch. Having spent the majority of his playing days in America, Savarese began his coaching career as academy director at the New York Red Bulls. He left to take charge of the Cosmos’ academy in 2010 and two years later he stepped up to become the club’s head coach. Savarese’s team compete in the North American Soccer League, a separate organisation from the more well-known Major League Soccer.  MADE WITH SIGN UP! The Cosmos have enjoyed considerable success under Savarese, but is unclear for now whether they will try to join the MLS or continue in the NASL. “That could be a path in the future, but the NASL could grow to be as big as the MLS or the two leagues could combine,” Savarese explains. “We don’t know what will happen, so our concern for now is to build a strong team and a strong club with a good academy. “We have the support of ex-players like Pele and Carlos Alberto, and we have just signed Raul. “We are building a nice team and we are trying to play good soccer — just like Swansea.” Savarese’s stint as a Swansea player was disappointingly short.  MADE WITH SIGN UP! Having impressed even as John Hollins’s team were relegated in 2000-01, he took up an offer to join Millwall — who were then in the second tier — rather than staying to compete in the bottom division with Swansea. But the former Venezuelan international has not forgotten his time in Wales, where his daughter Valentina was born. Savarese returned to Swansea over Christmas, watching Garry Monk’s team beat Aston Villa on a flying visit to his old stamping ground. “We lived in Caswell Bay and I used to go for breakfast in Mumbles,” the 43-year-old recalls. “My team-mates were great and so were the fans. “Everything about being at Swansea I enjoyed — the only negative was the relegation. “The club now is worlds apart from the one I played for, but the one thing that doesn’t change is that it’s a family club. It’s part of the city.” A family club they may be, but Swansea City are changing. Few in his homeland would have known where Savarese was going when he signed for Hollins’s Swansea. Now, as Savarese knows from experience, the club’s name is mentioned across the planet. Hence it is no shock to see him that John Moores and Charles Noell, formerly of the San Diego Padres, are interested in buying shares in the club. “The Premier League has grown tremendously in America in the last few years,” Savarese says. “It is one of if not the best leagues in the world, and one of the big things people like is the fans. Coming to a Premier League game is not just about the soccer, it’s about the fans as well. “It has become a big destination for ownership in America. It looks like Americans are trying to buy in the UK and the UK clubs are trying to get into America. It’s globalisation.”  MADE WITH SIGN UP! The Premier League’s heavyweight clubs attract most attention Stateside, but Savarese says his former employers do not go unnoticed. “Swansea have a really good reputation in the US as a club who do things the right way,” he adds. “They are known as a club with a good fan base who try to play good soccer. “I think Roberto Martinez gave the club a good identity and they have carried on from there. Now the club have won the Capital One Cup as well, so they have more credibility. “They are not a team who will sit in the bottom part of the Premier League, they are a team who can fight for trophies and they have quite a few fans in America now. “They don’t have the same number as clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United or Liverpool, but even the fans of those clubs have respect for Swansea too.” Savarese classes himself as a member of the American branch of the Swansea supporters’ club. So what chance him ever coming back for a second stint in these parts? “One day I would love to work for Swansea City,” he says. “I had a chance recently to coach Houston Dynamo in the MLS, but I didn’t feel it was the right time. “But hopefully there might be a move to the UK when the time is right in the future, and why not Swansea? “I love the city and I love the people, so you never know.” Report Have your say by TaboolaSponsored LinksFrom the Web 15 Child Actors who Changed Careers ZANZLE 19 Photos of Terrifying Nightmare Fuel from Glitchy iPhones MobileLikez.com The Coolest Business Cards In The World Shown Here Viral Nova #1 Reason to NEVER drink milk (are you drinking this type of milk?) The Fat Burning Kitchen Guide Book  Submit  zigzag3174 21/1/15 3:23 PM come now son, monk is out of his depth, showing his colours he s not cut out for premier league he's to soft in his approach stand back monk Lynbaz 21/1/15 9:25 AM Can he come NOW? lol bazgtr 21/1/15 9:15 AM Seems to be planting a seed for a job in the future?    News Sport What's On Directory Copyright © 2014 Local World. All Rights Reserved. Contact UsPrivacy & Cookies PolicyTerms and ConditionsHouse Rules 2.30v  
