Back to the Portland Timbers Newsfeed

Savarese’s Timbers tenure and the battle to ‘right the ship’ in 2021

The head coach hot seat that Giovanni Savarese is sitting on got even hotter on August 31, 2021, when Austin FC put three goals past the Portland Timbers for the second time in as many months. Sebastian Blanco said it best in his post-game interview with Jake Zivin, “Disappointed for the result, and disappointed for sometimes playing like this.”

"We need to talk. We need to work very hard. More than before."

Seba Blanco speaks after the loss to Austin. #RCTID pic.twitter.com/adcKA6bjx0— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) August 22, 2021

The 3-1 loss came a week after the 6-2 demolition job the team suffered at the hands of their Cascadia rivals the Seattle Sounders and heavy criticism of the team’s poor defensive start to the season led some fans (admittedly, myself included) to question Savarese’s tactics and management of the team.