Striker Giovanni Savarese scored 51 goals in four MLS seasons (1996-99) before being sold to Italian club Perugia, which placed him on its Third Division team, Viterbese. He’s returned to MLS on loan with San Jose.

SOCCER AMERICA: How did this loan deal come about?

GIOVANNI SAVARESE: MLS asked about me, and it has worked out. We’re going to preseason in Italy, so the opportunity was for me to come here on a loan.

I played here four years, and it hasn’t been so long since I’ve been away, only about six months.

MLS is trying to find its place. It was great what they did, changing the rules about the shootout, to make it more like everywhere else in the world.

SA: Do you think you will get a chance to play Serie A ball with Perugia?

GS: At the end of last season, seven or eight guys from Viterbese went to Perugia to try and make the team, and four of them are still there.

It looked like a positive situation to make it at Perugia. That is definitely one of the ambitions that I have.

SA: Was adjusting to Italian soccer difficult?

GS: Every league has a different rhythm, especially the Italian League. At the beginning, I had to get used to the style and to the players.

But I did it. Last year, I was in and out of the team, because I was also with the Venezuelan national team.

SA: Describe playing for a small team like Viterbese.

GS: The stadium holds about 7,000 people. It is right in the middle of the town, which has about 70,000 people. It is the first time we have played in the Third Division and last season we came in third. We almost made it to the final, which would have taken us to the Second Division.

SA: You played for Venezuela June 28 when they beat Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier.

GS: They called me because the team was not scoring for a couple of games. It was a very big result and fantastic for Venezuela, not just because we won, 4-2, but because the way the team played.

SA: You were a star in MLS. Was going to Italy the right move?

GS: I think so. It was a good move because it was an opportunity to go to a Serie A team. It was also a chance in a country where soccer is a passion. I live seven days of the week soccer.


by Soccer America senior editor Ridge Mahoney