CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy head coach and general manager Bruce Arena addressed the media for the first time on Tuesday.
During the scrum, Arena touched on LA’s new emphasis on experience in 2014 as well as the addition of his son Kenny Arena as assistant coach.
Arena’s comments are below…
(On the changes that team has made this offseason…)
ARENA: “There have been changes, I don’t think a considerable amount, but we have additions that are important for our team. I’m going to include Jaime Penedo as an addition since he came in so late. The combination of those players gives us both quality and experience in a lot of positions. A big part of this team this year is that we’re going to have good depth and experienced players that can play a lot of roles throughout the season. … We’re hopeful that our team is a little bit better and a little bit more consistent because if there as a weakness last year, it’s that we were inconsistent. We were one of the top teams in league in terms of scoring goals and believe it or not, one of the top teams defending. Yet, I don’t think the results were consistent. I’m hoping that we have a little bit more quality and a little bit experience this year that will allow us to play more consistently.”
(On why the team decided to emphasize experience this offseason…)
ARENA: “It’s important. We had young players playing a lot of minutes last year, which was good experience for them, but we still need more quality and more experience on the field at times.”
(On how important the year is for Robbie Rogers…)
ARENA: “I think it’s an important year for him. I think it’s an important year for a lot of players, not just Robbie. Robbie’s had an outstanding preseason to date, four good days. I feel good about that.”
(On bringing his son Kenny Arena as an assistant coach…)
ARENA: “That might have been one mistake that we made this offseason, but you can’t be perfect. He’s a good coach and has a lot of experience. He’s been around a head coach for about 33 years now and he knows [the profession] inside and out. He’s was hired on merit not on bloodline.”
