The Portland Timbers are set to name Giovanni Savarese as their next head coach.

The Oregonian/OregonLive confirmed Friday that the Timbers had finalized a contract to make Savarese their head coach.

ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman first reported Tuesday that Savarese would succeed Caleb Porter as the next head coach of the Timbers. Porter unexpectedly stepped down as the Timbers head coach in November.

Savarese has spent the last five seasons as the head coach of North American Soccer League club the New York Cosmos, posting a regular season record of 65-26-44 during that time and leading the Cosmos to three league championships.

The Cosmos announced Wednesday that Savarese, who had spent his entire managerial career with New York, was leaving the club to explore other coaching opportunities.

Following Porter's departure, the Timbers said that they hoped to hire a new coach that was familiar with MLS, spoke Spanish and embraced the club's tactical vision, among other things. Savarese checks those boxes.

Savarese spent five seasons during an 18-year playing career competing in MLS with the then-MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls), the New England Revolution and the San Jose Earthquakes. He also spent time competing with multiple clubs outside of the United States, including Swansea City in the England Premier League and Deportivo Italchacao in his native country of Venezuela. He earned 30 caps with the Venezuela National Team during his playing career.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg