AEG President Tim Leiweke on Bruce Arena - The Next Galaxy Coach?
The Superclasico has taken on secondary importance tonight with word that Galaxy owner Anschutz Entertainment Group wants Bruce Arena as the team's next coach.
AEG President Leiweke said as much to journalists in the press box after also appearing on ESPN2 during the first half of the game.
Leiweke said is not looking at Arena as president/general manager, but as coach; now all AEG has to do is throw enough money at him and assure him of complete control on the soccer side, presumably.
But Leiweke wouldn't be drawn on what Arena would want to take the job
"I personally think he's the best coach in the history of the league and we'd be damn lucky if we could get him in here," Lieweke said. "You don't interview Bruce Arena."
When yours truly pointed out Arena hadn't done so well in New York (or at the 2006 World Cup for that matter) Leiweke glossed over the point.
"You've got to look at the environment he was put in," Lieweke said, apparently referring to the chaotic Red Bull organization. "The last time I looked he had a couple of (MLS) championships."
Yes, in the early years of the league when it was no where as strong as it is now.
Arena has been fired from his last two coaching jobs.
And you've got to wonder whether the team needs an abrasive, sarcastic, egotistical, stubborn coach in charge after what it is going through.
"It was obvious to us we had a division," Lieweke said of the relationship between Ruud Gullit and Alexi Lalas. "We wanted to get rid of the friction."
No fear of friction from Arena apparently
Coincidentally, Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan came up to the press box fresh off an airplane from China and was asked what he thought of Olympic Coach Peter Nowak, generally seen as the other top candidate for the Galaxy job.
"I really enjoyed playing for Peter, he's a real player's coach. He always knows how to have a mixture of having a good time with the guys to being serious and making sure we got the work done. He did a tremendous job of bringing the players together, really forming a real team. I think our team unity was great and I think the way we fought together on the field was something that you really can't put together in a couple of days and I thought he really did a good job of doing that so it was an honor playing for him."
Sounds like what the Galaxy needs doesn't it?
Finally, how out of touch is Leiweke?
"I don't think this franchise has ever gotten over losing Doug Hamilton," he said.
No, Leiweke this organization has never gotten over losing Sigi Schmid.
You can tell where I stand on Arena's hiring. What do you think?
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About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
Arena is a good guy, and he's done some great things as a coach. He'd probably be fine, but it doesn't seem like a fit for the situation at hand.
The NY comparison may be the best way to look at it. NY was a chaotic situation, the Galaxy are a chaotic situation. He didn't settle things down there (or things didn't settle down around him -- I don't know the management details).
The new coach is going to have a take over a team that's capable of excellent soccer, as they showed for the first 20 minutes tonight. They were winning balls, controlling the midfield well, moving the point of attack, playing skilled soccer.
But for whatever reason, they lose focus and fall apart. Tonight, it seemed to happen after Donovan couldn't convert the breakaway on Thornton, and while they were dangerous at points later, they were never consistently organized or aggressive.
I dunno, Nick. Can Arena solve that? Can any coach?
Arena was a great coach in a different world. Nowak sounds the better fit now.
I agree with you Nick, Bruce was succesfull at VA, DCU, and 02WC. But since then he's been in freefall. If he comes aboard, it will be NYRB redux.
If I'm Arena, I come nowhere near the Galaxy, no matter how much money AEG is offering, unless they give me total control over the soccer side (hiring a coach and a director of soccer). There's no way Leiweke is going to relinquish that much control. Hiring Arena as a coach, then hiring a president/GM who might not get along w/him is asking for more of the same.
You know what? Perhaps Leiweke wants to instill confusion and dissention in the front office. After all, how did he handle the Lalas-Yallop and Lalas-Gullit flareups before Monday? Some people like to play "divide-and-conquer" to enhance their own positions and reputations. Given that he's a gross incompetent when it comes to team management, Leiweke probably uses that technique to survive.
As far as the death of Doug Hamilton goes, for Leiweke to use that as an excuse is disgusting. It should be obvious to everyone by now that Leiweke does nothing but make excuses and cover his own sorry posterior. He takes responsibility for nothing. If I were Anschutz, I would have fired him two centuries ago.
Joseph - Isn't it clear by now that Leiweke has no idea what he's doing in "sports-entertainment?" Not only has he created a team that can't win in the face of equal opposition, he's created a league that is absolute crap. They refuse to adopt the league standards that have succeeded in making football and basketball successful world-wide. They continue to sell franchises on an MLS that will never be compelling or interesting to anyone who knows what real football leagues are like. They are interested in profits, not sports, and they could likely destoy football's future in North America by going with the American Sports Model. If MLS fails, there wouldn't be a snowballs chance in hell of future investment in the sport. AEG is awful, but perhaps its really Leiweke's snow job on Big Phil A. and his billions that's the true villain.