CARSON, Calif. – Bruce Arena took the helm of the U.S. National Team on Tuesday, but one question remains?
How will Arena’s USMNT squads play? Well, the American way, of course.
Arena took over the USMNT gig on Tuesday from the dismissed Jurgen Klinsmann after the United States began the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying with two defeats. The 65-year-old returns to the U.S. National Team after leading the squad from 1998 to 2006 which featured two World Cup appearances.
When asked in his introductory teleconference how his U.S. teams will line up, Arena admitted that for the USMNT to move forward, they must once again be tough to play against.
“We are who we are. The American quality is that [we] have been hard to play against. In the modern era, that’s a quality that a lot of teams take on. If you saw the European Championships last summer, the Copa America, the U.S. isn’t far behind. Technically, you can certainly say an exception to Argentina or Colombia, but if you look at the European Championships, those teams were strong because they were good teams.
“That’s a quality that we have. We’re traditionally strong in the goal. We have some young attacking talent, and we have some experienced players in the midfield. We have to find the way to get the right balance and the right combinations on the field and the right mentality, and we’ll produce a good team. What it looks like in the end, I can’t tell you now, but I’m certain that we’re going to develop a good team.”
To build this identity, Arena, who is well-known for his team building abilities, says that the USMNT must forge chemistry each time they convene.
"We need to build the chemistry of this team and have a common goal and really work on a team concept," Arena said. "I really believe individually and positionally we have good players and we've just got to get them working together as a team.
"There are no real secrets on how you build good teams: It takes a lot of hard work, it takes communication, it takes discipline and it takes some talent, and I think we have enough talent to build a good team and end up in Russia 2018. It's going to take a little time, a little bit patience and a lot of hard work."
