Portland bonds Venezuelan managers in MLS, MiLB

Giovanni Savarese and Javier Colina had never met before Savarese attended a Hillsboro Hops game on Aug. 17. But both recognize the significance of their roles as leaders and mentors in professional sports during turbulent times in Venezuela.  

The city of Hillsboro, Ore., is approximately a half hour from Portland. The two communities are close enough that fans of the teams “in town” often crossover, as do executives.

There are four sports teams in the area: the Timbers, the Hops, the Portland Trail Blazers (NBA), and the Western Hockey League’s Portland WinterHawks. Two of the head coaches or managers of those four teams are from Venezuela.

“What a coincidence that our city has two coaches from the same country,” Savarese said.

Savarese is the 49-year-old head coach of Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers. He has traveled the world playing soccer for more than 30 years. He first represented Venezuela internationally on the pitch as a teenager at an age many baseball prospects sign with major league teams.

Colina is the 40-year-old manager of the Hillsboro Hops, a short-season Class-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent 11 years playing minor league baseball before making the transition into coaching. Colina is finishing his second season as the manager of the Hops.

Savarese came to the United States to pursue his soccer career at 19, attending Long Island University Brooklyn. Colina also came to the U.S. at 19, joining the Colorado Rockies organization.

The two had different paths to Portland, but now they share a unique bond.

“The good thing always about Venezuelans, even in those moments when we’re working hard and pouring our hearts into what we’re doing, there’s always a smile in every Venezuelan,” Savarese said. “If we can continue to do that, hopefully we will be setting a good example so others can have a path to come to the United States or anywhere in the world that’s better than Venezuela (right now).”

Gio’s Journey

Savarese was born to Italian parents in Venezuela who loved soccer. In school he was afforded the opportunity to play both baseball and soccer, but his passion was always kicking rather than hitting and fielding. But baseball was always present.

“Baseball was always a place of pride for us because so many talented players came to the United States that we followed – some more than me,” he said.

Savarese grew up hearing about the exploits of Tony Armas and Dave Concepción. Baseball was the sport where more Venezuelans were able to leave the country and succeed professionally at the highest level.

Baseball is the national sport for Venezuela but soccer at the youth level has been very important for many years as well.

Leaving Venezuela was difficult for Savarese. Venezuela wasn’t an international soccer powerhouse at the time and there weren’t many role models for him. When his friend Che Che Vidal received a scholarship to play soccer at Boston University, it opened the door for him to take his talents to the United States as well.

“It was hard to leave when I did because Venezuela was a beautiful country,” he remembered. “It had everything. Things were going really well. Venezuela now is different. But coming here as a youngster, it was great to have the opportunity to follow my dreams and try to become successful.

“[Vidal] was the one who put the seed in my mind and to follow his footsteps. I felt it would be great to also get a scholarship and get an education while doing what I needed to do playing soccer. He was one of the people who helped me get to the United States.”

Colina’s Path

Colina grew up in Cocorote, a small town he described as poor in the Yaracuy state in Venezuela. Nine years younger than Savarese, Colina spent his childhood as an aspiring middle infielder idolizing Omar Vizquel and Ozzie Guillén.

As a teenager, Colina’s Pastora team won a championship at the expense of the Leones de Caracas – the powerhouse team in Venezuela’s capital city. Colina played well enough that 25 years later a big Leones fan – Savarese – remembered his performance.

“We had the best team in Venezuela with Pastora,” he remembered. “[Savarese] was a big fan of their team in the capital because he grew up there. He still remembered me as a player… he was more involved with soccer but he still followed baseball.”

When Colina matriculated to the minor leagues in the United States, it wasn’t to a college campus. He went to rookie ball in Arizona.

He remembers struggling to adjust to the language differences with coaches and teammates in the late-90s when he moved to the United States. The biggest difference between the experience young players have now and his path is the language education.

“It was hard trying to go to the restaurants, and trying to talk to managers, and all different kinds of people related with baseball,” he said. “I didn’t know what to say. All you say is, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t speak English,’ you know, ‘I don’t understand.’”

Colina noted that the Diamondbacks organization provides English language classes on a regular basis for their prospects – and some American-born prospects are learning Spanish as well. Colina also said the Diamondbacks provide mental skill coaches and a sports psychologist.

Colina played winter ball in Venezuela as his minor league career progressed, eventually joining the Tiburones de La Guaira. With the Tiburones he played with major leaguers Grégor Blanco and Manny Piña. He also played with Ronald Acuña Sr.

But through his time with La Guaira and then joining the Chicago White Sox organization, he got to know Guillen, his childhood hero.

“[When the White Sox won the World Series] it meant a lot because he was the only Latino manager to ever win the World Series,” Colina said. “He brought the trophy down to Venezuela and we had a World Series ceremony for him before one of those games down in Caracas. It was special.”

Venezuelan Mentors Meet

When Savarese joined the Hops it was special for both managers. Colina, who joined the Hops in June of 2018, hadn’t met another Venezuelan other than his players since getting to Hillsboro. Their paths to managing in their respective sports may have been different, but their love for their country and their roles is contagious.

“It was a pleasure to talk to Javier and feel his passion for the game and also for coaching and how excited he is to be part of the Hops,” Savarese said.

Savarese met with Colina and some of the Timbers players. He also spent time with the front office getting to know more about minor league baseball. According to KL Wombacher, the president and general manager of the Hops, Savarese was intrigued by the way baseball organizations work.

For the four Venezuelan players on the Hops roster, meeting another successful leader from their country made for a special moment.

“Every time you find a Venezuelan person or a pro athlete from Venezuela, you feel kind of like you’re more than welcome,” Colina said. “You want to help him and he wants to help you, and we get together because we know exactly what we went through to be here. 

“And now the situation back in my country is not looking good at all. We don’t want to see these young athletes fail and go back home. We just want to push them, to be there for them. We know their parents, or families, or wives, they’re not here because they cannot afford to come here, because it’s expensive.”

It was also a serious moment for two Venezuelan leaders to foster a relationship. Colina has joined Savarese for a Timbers game since their initial meeting, getting to see the world of Major League Soccer. Both takes their role as a coach seriously, but each is equally focused on representing their country in the best possible way.

“It’s good to be connected so we can make a bigger circle of people who can help,” Savarese said. “In our individual time we need to make sure we are able to be efficient and good at our jobs and that we represent our country the best possible way so that when someone comes across an opportunity with a person from Venezuela to be a coach or player, hopefully at that moment they can have a good memory of what we have done.”

Featured Image: Courtesy Hemllsboro Hops
Inset Image (Savarese): Portland Temmbers
Inset Image (Colemna): Hemllsboro Hops