On Saturday night when Real Salt Lake faces Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it will be the first time that RSL winger Jefferson Savarino and Atlanta striker Josef Martinez square off on the field. The two Venezuelan National Teamers came to MLS last year amidst strife in their homeland and have taken well to their new environments.
But their success on the field means far more than goals and assists or points in the standings. When they take the field, they represent the millions of people in Venezuela who hope for better things for their country and give them something – no matter how distant – to take pride in.
“Venezuela is going through a little bit of a hardship, but that’s all in the hands of god of what happens there,” Savarino said through a translator. “But we all know that whenever we come together as a team, we know what we’re there for and it’s to try and bring some sort of happiness to our people and we know exactly what it represents…that is what we play for…we play to bring a positive feeling to our country because it brings a lot of unity when the Venezuelan national team plays.”
Whether playing for club or country, Savarino is cognizant of what is happening in his homeland. He has compartmentalized those difficulties well, tallying six goals and 10 assists this season to give him 12 goals and 15 assists in 50 matches since his arrival early last season.
Now in the midst of a playoff battle in the Western Conference, he is helping a dynamic RSL attack that has found its form of late and will need to continue that run into the final five matches of the season to secure a postseason berth and continue to stay in contention for top spots in the West.
“There is a certain comfort zone that comes from getting more and more games together,” he said. “It’s not just the front 4, it’s the whole team and I believe we are just going to keep getting more comfortable together and grow as a team.”
As for tonight, the matchup against Martinez is one that he looks forward to on many levels. It’s an opportunity for RSL to play in front of a big crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and also test itself against one of the best strikers MLS has seen. For Savarino, the chance to continue to pave the way for other Venezuelan players is not a responsibility he takes lightly.
“I’m happy that there are a number of Venezuelans in MLS and hope we can continue to triumph here because what we want to do is open doors for more players from Venezuela to come into this league,” he said. “It’s a great springboard for them and a very good league for them to come to demonstrate their qualities.”
Kickoff in Saturday night’s match is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT with live coverage on KMYU, KSL.com, the KSL TV app and ESPN 700.
