Tag: Bruce Arena

Ex-USMNT boss Arena claims Pulisic could ‘potentially’ surpass Donovan

Pulisic is coming off of a career-best season, but Arena wants to see more consistency

Bruce Arena isn’t quite ready to declare Christian Pulisic the best player in the U.S. men’s national team’s history…but it sounds like he’s close.

Arena, speaking on an episode of CBS Sports’ “Kickin’ It,” said that the AC Milan star is “potentially” going to surpass Landon Donovan, who along with Clint Dempsey is generally the standard-bearer when it comes to discussions of the best USMNT player in program history.

“Christian, I think is potentially a better player than Landon,” said Arena when asked to evaluate the two. “He isn’t yet, but potentially he should be. He’s shown it now in Italy.”

Pulisic just completed a career-best campaign in which he put up 15 goals and 11 assists for AC Milan in his first season in Italy. EA Sports FC and Opta both named Pulisic to their Serie A teams of the season.

Host Kate Abdo asked Arena what he needs to see from Pulisic to make a more clear declaration.

“He has put some years together of quality,” said Arena, possibly alluding to Pulisic’s struggle to get consistent playing time at Chelsea. “He’s getting there. No question about that.”

Arena is one of two coaches who have had both Pulisic and Donovan on their rosters, along with Jürgen Klinsmann. Donovan spent the bulk of his USMNT career under Arena’s stewardship, before a rockier period that saw the California native controversially dropped for the 2014 World Cup.

Pulisic, meanwhile, made his national team debut under Klinsmann in 2016, and remained a regular for Arena in the latter stages of an ultimately doomed qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.

Watch Arena compare Pulisic and Donovan

[lawrence-related id=74721,74128,74823]

Arena: It would be ‘slap in the face’ if career ends with Revs resignation

The coach spoke for the first time after he resigned amid an investigation last year

Bruce Arena has spoken out about his resignation as New England Revolution head coach last year, saying that it would be a “slap in the face” if that was how his career ended.

Arena was placed on administrative leave last August amid a MLS investigation into allegations of “insensitive and inappropriate remarks.”

One month later, the former U.S. men’s national team coach stepped down, admitting that he had made “mistakes” in his conduct.

This week, Arena appeared on CBS Sports show “Kickin’ It,” and spoke out for the first time about his departure last year.

The 72-year-old was asked if he was able to comment on the specifics of the investigation that led to his resignation.

“If there’s a time where I can legally, I will do it,” Arena said. “I would welcome that.”

Arena added that he did take responsibility for the events that led to his ouster.

“Yeah, you have to take responsibility for it but I think I have to be reserved in what I say,” he said, “but I’ll just say yes to your question, but I can’t go into any detail.”

As one of the most accomplished coaches in American soccer history, it would be understandable if Arena decided to end his coaching career. Instead, he’s been actively seeking out another role after he was reinstated by MLS.

Host Kate Abdo asked if the way things ended in New England was a factor in his desire to end his career on different terms.

“That plays a role,” Arena admitted. “If that’s the ending, that’s a slap in the face.”

Arena said that he had not had any contact with Revs leadership since his departure.

“The players know what went on,” Arena said. “Because of legal restrictions, I can’t talk. The message to the people of New England is, ‘I miss you.’ The people in Boston were great to me, wonderful people. The players were great, so I enjoyed my time there. I’m disappointed in the way things ended and how they ended. But I don’t have control of that.”

Watch Arena discuss Revs resignation

[lawrence-related id=67608,27983,27798]

Reports: New England Revolution refuse to train after Arena resignation

The Revolution have entered crisis mode

The New England Revolution have entered crisis mode.

Two days after Bruce Arena resigned as the Revolution’s head coach and sporting director, the team refused to train under interim head coach Richie Williams.

The Athletic reported the news, with ESPN confirming.

Revolution players are seeking answers around the nature of Arena’s departure, which came after MLS said an investigation into “insensitive and inappropriate remarks” corroborated some elements of the allegations against the legendary head coach.

But the exact nature of Arena’s remarks has not been revealed, and The Athletic reported that Williams himself had filed some of the complaints against Arena.

After a series of meetings with club leadership on Tuesday, Revolution players reportedly felt their questions were not answered to their satisfaction. When quizzed on his involvement in the investigation, Williams declined to answer. As a result, the Revs reportedly refused to participate in training.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Williams confirmed that training had been cancelled but called it a collective decision.

“We didn’t have training today as we had a bunch of meetings between players, coaches and management,” said Williams. “The length of the meetings and what was discussed we decided as a group, collectively, that we wouldn’t have training today and we’d be out tomorrow.”

Ahead of the press conference, a team spokesperson said that Williams would be unable to answer questions about Arena’s resignation, referring media to previous statements by the league, team and Arena himself.

UPDATE: The Revs said later on Tuesday that Clint Peay, head coach of Revolution II, had replaced Williams as interim head coach. The status of Williams was unclear. In addition, assistant coaches Dave van den Bergh and Shalrie Joseph, both of whom had reportedly clashed with Williams, left the club.

[lawrence-related id=27798,27737,26049]

Berhalter backs Arena after legendary coach’s resignation

Berhalter played for Arena with the USMNT and Galaxy, and also coached alongside him

U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has said Bruce Arena is a “great person” following the New England Revolution manager’s resignation over the weekend.

Amid a MLS investigation into “insensitive and inappropriate remarks,” Arena stepped down on Saturday, admitting in a statement that he “made some mistakes.”

MLS said that its investigation confirmed some elements of the allegations, though it wouldn’t go into further detail.

Berhalter and Arena have a long history, with the latter coaching the former on both the USMNT and LA Galaxy, before Berhalter became an assistant coach under Arena with the Galaxy following his retirement.

With details of what Arena actually said still not available, Berhalter was careful not to opine on the specifics of the situation on Monday, but did offer a backing of Arena as a person.

“I’m not entirely informed with the ins and outs of that whole thing,” Berhalter told reporters ahead of the USMNT’s match against Oman on Tuesday. “What I’d say is that I know Bruce, I know he’s a great person, I know he’s a great coach. I know he’s a very successful coach. He has a strong family. That’s all I can really say about that. I know Bruce has a great character.”

Arena, who coached the USMNT at the 2002 and 2006 World Cup, has the most wins (262) and most MLS Cup titles (five) of any coach in MLS history.

[lawrence-related id=27737,26049,24448]

Arena resigns as Revolution head coach amid MLS investigation

The 71-year-old is the winningest coach in MLS history

Bruce Arena has resigned as New England Revolution head coach and sporting director, admitting to “mistakes” amid a league investigation into inappropriate remarks.

Arena, the winningest coach in MLS history and a two-time U.S. men’s national team head coach, will have to petition MLS commissioner Don Garber should he wish to coach in the league again.

On August 1, Arena was placed on administrative leave amid a MLS investigation into allegations of “insensitive and inappropriate remarks.”

Revolution assistant Richie Williams has served as interim head coach in the meantime. Just hours before Arena’s resignation was announced, The Athletic reported that Williams himself had filed some of the complaints against Arena.

The nature of Arena’s remarks has not been revealed, but the league said in a statement that its investigation confirmed some elements of the allegations.

In a statement issued by the Revolution, Arena said: “I know that I have made some mistakes and moving forward, I plan to spend some time reflecting on this situation and taking corrective steps to address what has transpired.

“And while this has not been an easy decision, I am confident that it is in the best interest of both the New England Revolution organization and my family that we part ways at this time.”

Arena, who turns 72 this month, was in the midst of his fifth season in charge of the Revolution. He has won five MLS Cups, two with D.C. United (1996, 1997) and three with the LA Galaxy (2011, 2012, 2014). With 262 victories, he is the winningest coach in MLS history.

Arena has coached the USMNT on two separate occasions. He led the team to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals, the team’s best finish in the modern era, before coaching the U.S. to a group-stage exit at the 2006 World Cup.

He returned for a second spell in 2016, taking over midway through the team’s ultimately unsuccessful qualifying cycle for the 2018 World Cup.

[lawrence-related id=26049,24448]

Gonzalez calls Arena absence ‘bizarre’ amid MLS investigation

Arena has been suspended since August 1 pending an MLS investigation

New England Revolution defender Omar González has said he and his teammates are completely in the dark when it comes to the ongoing absence of head coach Bruce Arena.

On August 1, Arena was placed on administrative leave amid a MLS investigation into allegations of “insensitive and inappropriate remarks.”

There have been no updates since the initial announcement, with assistant coach Richie Williams having taken charge as interim head coach.

As the investigation continues, González appeared on CBS’s “Morning Footy” on Thursday to give an update on his team’s mental state.

“First and foremost, the team is together. The locker room is tight,” the veteran defender said in remarks transcribed by The Blazing Musket.

“This did come from left field. It’s just bizarre what’s going on. Still really have no idea what happened, what’s going on. Guys are hoping that Bruce will be back soon and get ready to kick off the second half of the season and continue the way that we’ve been going.

“We’re doing really well. On our best days when everyone is healthy, we can match up against anyone. We can go toe to toe with anyone. We have a talented roster, we play well together, and we’re just a tough team to play against.

“Having Bruce back will help us in the latter part of the season. Everyone is just laser focused right now. We got kicked out of Leagues Cup a little earlier than we’d like. Now we have this time to train, get everyone ready, hopefully get everyone back healthy — no hiccups there — and we can just hit the second half running.”

Under Williams, the Revs advanced past the Leagues Cup round of 32 with a penalty shootout win over Atlas, before falling in another shootout to Querétaro in the last 16.

They return to MLS play next weekend against CF Montréal.

[lawrence-related id=19021,25813,24448]

Arena placed on leave pending review of ‘inappropriate remarks’

The 71-year-old is the winningest coach in MLS history

New England Revolution head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena has been placed on administrative leave pending a review into allegations of “insensitive and inappropriate remarks,” MLS said on Tuesday.

“The organization takes any allegations of workplace misconduct extremely seriously and is working closely with the league and fully cooperating with its investigation,” the Revolution said in a statement.

Arena, 71, is one of the most decorated and successful coaches in American soccer history.

Now in his fourth season as Revolution head coach, Arena has won five MLS Cups, two with D.C. United (1996, 1997) and three with the LA Galaxy (2011, 2012, 2014). With 262 victories, he is the winningest coach in MLS history.

Arena has coached the U.S. men’s national team on two separate occasions. He led the team to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals, the team’s best finish in the modern era, before staying on through the 2006 World Cup.

He returned for a second spell in 2016, taking over midway through the team’s ultimately unsuccessful qualifying cycle for the 2018 World Cup.

The Revolution will next play on Thursday against Liga MX side Atlas in the Leagues Cup round of 32.

[lawrence-related id=19021,21759]

Jozy Altidore on verge of loan move to Liga MX’s Puebla

Jozy’s off to Liga MX, seemingly in pursuit of more starts

Jozy Altidore is on the brink of leaving the New England Revolution, with multiple outlets reporting that a loan to Puebla in Liga MX is virtually done.

Fabrizio Romano first reported the news, noting that the loan would run through December 31, 2022. Altidore is expected to arrive in Puebla in the very near future, and per ESPN could even be available for Saturday’s game against San Luis.

Speaking to 98.5 The Sports Hub and to The Bent Musket on Thursday, head coach Bruce Arena confirmed the reports, saying that Altidore had initiated the loan himself.

Altidore joined New England this winter, but has largely been restricted to short substitute appearances. While he’s played in 17 league matches for the Revolution, Altidore only has four starts and 589 league minutes in a New England kit.

Even Adam Buksa’s move to Lens hasn’t opened up many opportunities, as the Revolution have since signed striker Giacomo Vrioni as a Designated Player. Arena has also been willing to play Gustavo Bou up top alone.

Altidore’s motivations aren’t known, but with the U.S. men’s national team striker pool still seemingly in flux, a rich vein of form in Mexico could theoretically vault Altidore back into the mix for Gregg Berhalter’s side at the World Cup.

[lawrence-related id=5323,2906]