In August, Bruce Arena flew to San Francisco to meet with John Fisher, the owner of the San Jose Earthquakes. It wasn’t so much a job interview, but rather a consultation.
Fisher was wondering where it had gone so wrong for his team after he had spent more money than he ever had before on player acquisitions and new facilities. With two months still to go in the 2024 season, they were the worst in the standings by a distance and well-liked head coach Luchi Gonzalez paid the price with his job.
The 73-year-old Arena had no shortage of notes, but his future was still uncertain since the league still needed to approve his return to the touchline after his controversial exit from the New England Revolution a year prior.
“It wasn’t a snap decision on whether the club wanted me or not,” Arena told me during a recent interview. “They had to let the team complete the season and take time to evaluate what they wanted to do next.”
Leadership. Pedigree. Experience. Eventually, after two months of surveying the soccer landscape, San Jose’s front office circled back to Arena, who checked all the boxes they believed they needed to turn last year’s team around.
Arena’s first test comes on Saturday, at home against Real Salt Lake, to kick off the 30th season of MLS.
The two month training camp has been hectic. Since his official unveiling in November, Arena has brought in 13 new players and let 14 walk.
Players In: Chicho Arango (trade); Josef Martinez (free agent); Mark-Anthony Kaye (trade); Ian Harkes (trade); Dave Romney (trade); Nick Lima (free agent); Earl Edwards (trade); Max Floriani (draft); Reid Roberts (draft); Nick Fernandez (draft), Beau Leroux (draft); Francesco Montali (draft); Kaedren Spivey (homegrown).
Players Out: Jackson Yuiell; Carlos Gruezo; Jeremy Ebobisse; Emi Ochoa; Tommy Thompson; William Yarbrough; Carlos Akapo; Michael Baldisimo; Tanner Beason; JT Marcinkowski; Alfredo Morales; Will Richmond; Casey Walls; Jacob Jackson.
Fixing the porous defense, which conceded a league record 78 goals, was the top priority, Arena said. Last year’s centerbacks Rodrigues and Bruno Wilson are still on the team, but joining them are Romney, who has worked with Arena twice, and Floriani and Roberts from the college draft, where the coach has a knack for spotting talent. He called this year’s unit a “sneaky strength” of the team. Goalkeeper Daniel, who missed most of last season due to injury, also signed an extension.
Adding goals into the side was paramount as well since San Jose scored a measly 41 goals last season. At least on paper, the Quakes have imported them in spades in the form of Arango (29) and Martinez (31), who have scored a combined 221 goals between them in their professional careers.
Meanwhile, the middle of the park has been overhauled too. Gone are last year’s captain Yuiell and his partner Gruezo, who were criticized by observers for their lack of steel on either side of the ball. Stepping into their places will be Kaye and Harkes, who both played briefly for Arena in New England, but have had uneven years recently.
“We’re about 24 players strong,” Arena said. “The issue will be at the top-end, where we have to find the quality to win a lot of games. But we have a bunch of competent players, so we just have to find the right mix and continue to add and make our group better.”
The games will be coming non-stop after this week, and even though Arena said that the MLS season doesn’t “start to really get into action until about August every year,” he’ll have to make sure his side remains competitive before then. Last year, the Quakes’ dug themselves into an early hole and the season was lost by the summer.
Arena, who is the winningest coach in MLS history, is known as a players’ coach with a pragmatic style. “I look at the strengths and weaknesses of the players in the squad and employ a style of play that’s suitable for them to be successful,” Arena has previously said of his philosophy.
In San Jose, he will have to fit his new pieces around Argentine stars Cristian Espinoza and Hernán López. Details on tactics or shape have been closely guarded this preseason, but indications are that the two will be asked to play more centrally behind the two new strikers and in front of Kaye and Harkes. To fit everyone into the starting XI, the team’s shape might resemble a 4-2-2-2 or a 4-4-2.
Espinoza told me he’ll stay on the right side of the field, his preferred spot, but has been asked by the coaching staff to provide more support in defense and in the build-up play. “Obviously, it’s going to require a lot of effort on my part, but I’m ready for it,” he said.
This season, the team’s brass is counting on a significant turnaround. They’ll have looked down the I-5 and saw that the LA Galaxy, Arena’s former team, went from 13th place to league champions in a span of a year. Furthermore, they’ll look up the standings and see opportunities to overtake the likes of Vancouver, Houston or Minnesota, all playoff teams, who haven’t brought in as many reinforcements this offseason.
Asked what identity he wants his team to form, Arena put it simply: “Be better than last year.”
“We’re going to have more answers on Saturday than we have had this entire preseason,” he said.
Odds and Ends
- Kaye, Harkes and Romney were traded together in a package from New England shortly after Arena was hired by San Jose. The trio all expressed their fondness for Arena but said the move to California has been good for them off the field as well. For instance, Romney went to school at the University of San Francisco and his wife is from Marin. Kaye’s wife grew up in Santa Cruz. Starting somewhere new is easier when you already know the area and have friends.
- It’s been seven years since Martinez had the most decorated year of his career, winning the Golden Boot, MVP, and MLS Cup with Atlanta United. Since then, he’s endured major injury and a disappointing spell with Inter Miami (before Messi). Last season, he quietly found steady form again with CF Montreal, scoring 11 goals in 23 games. Martinez said that Head Sporting Strategist Vassili Cremanzidis, who was hired from Montreal in June, played a big role in recruiting him to San Jose.
- Homegrown midfielder Niko Tsakiris is turning 20 this year and has already played for three coaches in his brief professional career. “The club needed someone like Bruce,” Tsakiris told me during a recent sit down. “He’s known for turning things around rather quickly.” Last season, Tsakiris switched between a playmaking 10 and a dual 8. His goals for this year? Literally score a goal. In 50 matches, he has yet to find the back of the net.
About the Author: Kevin V. Nguyen is a business and sports journalist based in the Bay Area. Follow him on X/Twitter @KevinNguyen_89 or on Bluesky @kevinvnguyen.bsky.social
