VANCOUVER, BC – Marc Dos Santos received a number of congratulatory messages after he won his first match as a Major League Soccer head coach last month against LAFC. And one of the very first ones came from his counterpart at Portland Timbers.
It was a small gesture, but one that speaks to the relationship and level of respect that exists between Dos Santos and Timbers’ boss Giovanni Savarese, who have a history that dates back to 2014.
The two coaches have faced each other 12 times in the North American Soccer League between Dos Santos’ stints with Ottawa Fury FC and San Francisco Deltas and Savarese’s time with New York Cosmos.