Portland Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese yelled out instructions to his team in English during a recent practice session at the Timbers training facility in Beaverton. He then turned to Paraguayan midfielder Cristhian Paredes and Peruvian winger Andy Polo and carefully repeated those same instructions in Spanish.  "It's really helpful," said Paredes through an interpreter. "Having a Spanish-speaking coach is just really going to be helpful when it comes to communicating and getting things done."

Savarese, who speaks English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, is the first multilingual coach to lead the Timbers during the club's MLS era. And his ability to communicate in multiple languages has been a major asset over the last month as he has strived to win over a very diverse locker room.