Bruce Arena has lived many lives. But at his heart, he is still a Virginia guy.
First as head coach at the University of Virginia for two decades; at D.C. United when it was first launched; and then with the national team where he worked out of his primary residence in Charlottesville.
That’s a storybook ending in its own right. But history has a funny way of coming around when you’ve been coaching for as long as Arena has. Twenty nine years later, he’s now in charge of the San Jose Earthquakes — the very team he coached against during the league’s inaugural match in April 1996.
So it had to sting a little bit to drum the hometown team 6-1. “They’ll always have a special place in my heart,” Arena admitted after the match. “But I’ll take it.”
Much has changed with MLS over the years, but some things like picking the right tactics or getting the most out of one’s squad aren’t as easily replicated. Which is why after all this time — plus a suspension for alleged misconduct — Arena’s services are still in demand.
The Quakes put together their most dominant performance of the young season on Sunday, snapping a four game winless run. Striker Josef Martinez, who has been somewhat of a nomad in recent years, netted a hat-trick using a variety of finishes that harkened back to his MVP campaign in 2018.
The first came from a powerful run on a lovely give-and-go he started with a header. The second from a through-ball inside the box. The third was a sublime flick brought down from a long cross.
“He’s got a great nose for goal,” Arena said. “Part of our issues in the first six games, one of which he missed for international duty, is that we haven’t found him as much as we should.”
Possession-based soccer might be en vogue across the globe, but the Quakes are finding success in the practicality of a direct 3-5-2. Sunday’s victory is San Jose’s third of the season, which is already half of their win total from all of last year. Their 15 goals are also tied for most in the league, albeit only seven games in.
The tactics protected the untested midfield — comprised of Beau Leroux, 21, Niko Tsakiris, 19, and Ian Harkes, 30 — from defending and allowed them push forward. Last year, they would have been overrun.
Leroux drew a penalty in the 18th minute which Cristian Espinoza converted, while Tsakiris put multiple dangerous crosses into the box and assisted on Martinez’s first goal.
Primarily though, Arena has built this team around Martinez, 31, and Chicho Arango, 30. The two strikers might not be as imposing given their ages and injury histories, but their experience punished an untested D.C. United backline.
The two teams are kindred spirits though. Both MLS 1.0 teams that have struggled to keep pace with a fast-evolving league. D.C. captured lightning in a bottle briefly in the late 2010s with Wayne Rooney and Lucho Acosta, but have cycled through general managers and coaches — including a fiery Argentine — just as San Jose has.
Now, their fates are tied to more understated names, mainly that of former Nashville GM Ally Mackay and head coach Troy Lesesne, 41, who is regarded as a rising star after shepherding New Mexico United during its first years in the second division USL.
Last year’s Golden Boot Winner Christian Benteke is a shoo-in for the lineup, but it was clear on Sunday that the two new Brazilian forwards, João Peglow and Gabriel Pirani, plus young Finnish designated player, Matti Peltola, have yet to find their footing.
In reality, the D.C. United’s undercooked nature made San Jose’s quality look better than it was. The hosts’ three losses have come against the likes of Charlotte, Colorado and Minnesota, all of whom made the playoffs last year handily.
But if they have indeed finally found an efficient way to service their strikers while conceding less goals, then the Quakes might be able to dream of a Nottingham-forest like season, where key veterans manage to turn back the clock and the supporting cast becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
“It’s not always going to be like this,” Arena said. “There will be good times and bad times, and we’re just going to try to make things better. That’s all we can do.”
A true measure of where his team stands will come in the form of a visit to LAFC next week.
Odds and Ends
- Arena insinuated twice postgame that the Earthquakes technical staff misread some of its best talents before he arrived. Regarding Leroux, who has come out of nowhere to grab a starting spot, Arena said: “I don’t know the full story with our academy and all, but I think he got pushed out at some point. But he’s a really talented kid.”
- Asked whether Leroux would have been discovered out of San Jose State in 1996, Arena joked that the midfielder would’ve been playing American football.
- Regarding Oscar Verhoeven, 18: “We’ve been together for three months as a team, and I’ve been watching this kid the whole time, and I finally said last week, this guy is a six or an eight, he’s not a wingback. He’s got a lot of energy, a pretty good feel, and had some very good passes today, so I think we’re going to continue to look at him there.
- Arena can be hardly characterized as sentimental or nostalgic for the past, but he did share that he went out to dinner with D.C. United alums Marco Etcheverry, John Harkes, Jeff Agoos, Shawn Medved and current coach Troy Lesesne the night before the game.
- He said that he and Etcheverry had a great conversation about Josef Martinez and South American talent. “I love these players,” Arena said. “They come here and really buy into the league. So it’s really rewarding to have those kinds of players on the team.”
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
