LOS ANGELES – LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena’s thoughts from LA’s 3-1 victory over Juventus.
ARENA: “I think that our team played well. The result isn’t going to change anything in this world. It’s an exhibition, but I thought our team had a good attitude about the game tonight. They played well against a very good team tonight. We understand though that we’re playing in an exhibition, I don’t want to play them when it really counts.”
(On the field at Dodger Stadium…)
ARENA: “I actually thought this was the best converted baseball field to a soccer field that I’ve ever been on. I’ve been on these for years. I thought that the Dodgers did an excellent job. The field was very good again, and watching other games not only in this tournament, but throughout the years, they usually don’t get it as good as this one. I thought the field played as well as expected. “
(On Robbie Keane’s performance…)
ARENA: “Robbie played well. He’s been out three weeks and our plan all along was to give him some minutes, most likely on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, and we thought about giving him 30 minutes tonight, but gave him the start in the second half. If he had to come out then we would have taken him out. I was pleased that he was able to get 45 minutes.”
(On the return of Clint Demspey to MLS…)
ARENA: “I think that it’s good. Obviously, Clint is the right person to discuss the reasons for his move, but he’s an exceptional player and he’ll obviously be a very good player in this league. I think that he’s going to obviously say that he wanted to come back home and that’s why he made the move.”
(On Whether he would have wanted to have Clint Dempsey…)
ARENA: “Sure. I would have loved to have Clint.”
ARENA: “We don’t discuss any of that.”
(On the importance of the win…)
ARENA: “It’s just different. Maybe years ago, we could not step on the field, even in an exhibition season, and play as well as we did tonight. We are getting better, but I simply stated don’t read too much into this result.”
(On the importance of playing at Dodger Stadium…)
ARENA: “I thought that it was good especially for our players from the Southern California area. They thought it was great. I thought it was a nice night, I got here early for the first game and it was great to see the excitement in the stands. I think that this is a wonderful tournament and I’m happy that we’ve been able to participate in it. All the teams, we get something out of it. The European clubs are moving things along to get fitness and maybe the schedule is a little hectic for them, but for our team, it was a good experience for the young players and, something that can certainly help as we get back into MLS play.”
(On any cultural significance to playing at Dodger Stadium…)
ARENA: “It’s great. It’s a nice experience. I came here the other night for the Dodgers, Yankees game and it was great to be here, then to think that some days later that I would be here with my team is kind of amazing.”
(On whether he’ll rotate his roster in Miami…)
ARENA: “Not sure yet. We’ll see how our players react to this game. We used more players on Thursday in Phoenix so that we could be able to put it a little more quality on the field tonight. I think that the extra days rest is going to help us. The rhythm that we’re in of playing Thursday night then Saturday night, then Wednesday night in Miami, and Sunday in Dallas, I don’t think that’s going to impact us drastically. We should be able to use a full lineup perhaps in both games. I don’t think that we’ll be rotating for the rest of this tournament, but I do think that as we get into play in August and September, we’ll certainly be rotating players.”
