Arena Takes Over At Red Bulls

Filed in archive US Soccer on July 20, 2006

image: soccernet.com

Bruce Arena has been named Sporting Director and Head coach at New York Red Bulls. It's not the dream move to Europe he was hoping for but it's better than your average MLS job.

The New York team has struggled for ten years, without any silverware or even a team to be proud of, but armed with wads of energy drink money Arena can turn this team around, doing American soccer a big favour in the process. A competitive New York team would attract some much needed media attention for MLS.

While he can't go out and spend Red Bull's money the way Jose Mourinho has spent Roman Abramovich's, his name and reputation should be enough to lure a few big name players to New York. Players like Claudio Reyna, who has expressed a desire to play in MLS towards the end of his career. And if and when MLS introduce "the Beckham rule" (allowing each team one star player, whose salary doesn't count towards the team limit) he should be able to make at least one big offer.

Arena also has some promising youngsters to work with. Players like Marvell Wynne, Josmer Altidore and David Arvizu will benefit from learning the game under Arena.

It's also important that Arena is Sporting Director as well as Head Coach. This indicates he's planning to reshape the organisation in order to turn it around, which is more or less what he did with the national team in 1998.

Arena's first game in charge will be a tough one, an exhibition match against Barcelona, but I'm optimistic that given a season or two Arena will deliver a winning franchise to New York.