New San Jose Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena accepted responsibility Wednesday for “insensitive remarks” that led to his departure last year from the New England Revolution and said he has learned from the experience.
The former coach of the U.S. men's national team spoke at a news conference introducing him as the Earthquakes' sporting director and head coach.
Arena left the Revolution in September 2023, six weeks after he was placed on administrative leave by MLS for what the league said were “allegations that he made insensitive and inappropriate remarks.” MLS later announced an investigation confirmed the allegations.
Arena did not comment on the nature of the remarks.
“I made a couple of mistakes there. I accept the responsibility, and I’m going to move forward," he said. “I will say this about my experience in New England, I’m very proud of the work I did there. The players, I enjoyed just about as much as any team I’ve ever had, some really good people in the organization. The fan base was good. The people in Boston were great. So overall, it was it is a really positive experience for me. And I’m disappointed in the way it ended. But I’ve learned from that.”
Arena, 73, is the most accomplished coach in U.S. soccer history and was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010. He has won five MLS championships and is the winningest coach in MLS and for the U.S. men’s national team.
He'll face a challenge in turning around the Earthquakes, one of the league's founding teams. San Jose finished at the bottom of the league with just six wins this past season.
“I think there’s potential and certainly, when you take over a team that finishes last, in my opinion you can only go one way. ... When we kick off in late February, we’re hopeful that we’re going to have a pretty competitive team and we can turn it around. I’m not promising that we’re winning the MLS Cup in 2025, but promising that we we will have a better team and a team that this community and our fan base will be proud of," he said.
Arena led the United States in two World Cups, including a run to the quarterfinals in 2002 that was the first time the country made it that far since the initial tournament in 1930. The U.S. failed to make it out of the group stage in the 2006 World Cup and Arena’s contract was not renewed.
Arena won two MLS championships with D.C. United and three more with the LA Galaxy in 2011, 2012 and 2014. His 262 regular-season wins and 35 postseason wins are the most in MLS history. He also coached the New York Red Bulls and most recently New England from 2019-23.
He said Quakes owner John Fisher has promised him the tools to field a competitive team.
“My meetings with Mr. Fisher strongly indicate that he’s going to support the club. We don’t expect to be Inter Miami, believe me. But, we’re going to move our club up the ladder to position ourselves to be a much more competitive team,” Arena said. "And I believe there’s great commitment on part of the owner as well as our front office.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press
