Tim Howard says MLS 'will be a better league with Bruce Arena in it'
The San Jose Earthquakes announced last Thursday they will be bringing in Bruce Arena as head coach and sporting director. Ian Russell has served as interim head coach for the team since they parted ways with Luchi Gonzalez in June.
“Bruce is the most accomplished coach in American soccer history,” said Earthquakes Managing Partner John Fisher in the team’s announcement Thursday morning, “and we are thrilled to bring him to San Jose.”
Arena started his MLS coaching career in 1996 when he took over at D.C. United. There, he led the team to two MLS Cup Championships, three Eastern Conference titles, the U.S. Open Cup in 1996, the Supporters’ Shield in 1997, and the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup in 1998.
That year, Arena left D.C. to become head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team. During his nine-year tenure, which included a brief return to the position in 2017, the team won a record 81 games – the most under any head coach.
In 2023, after coaching the New England Revolution for four years including a Supporters’ Shield win in 2021 and what was at the time a record-setting 73 points for the season, Arena was place on administrative leave “as a result of an ongoing investigation being conducted by Major League Soccer into allegations of insensitive and inappropriate remarks.”
While discussing Arena's return to the MLS on the most recent episode of Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, Donovan spoke in Arena’s favor, saying that he “is not a bad human being. There are a lot of people in MLS who probably shouldn’t be there but he is not one of them.”
Both Howard and Donovan played under Arena as part of the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2006 World Cup with Donovan also playing under Arena for the U.S. in 2002 and as part of MLS club the LA Galaxy from 2008 to 2014.
Howard went on to agree with his cohost’s sentiment that MLS “will be a better league with Bruce Arena in it.”
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