Bruce Arena

Only coach to lead U.S. men's national team to two World Cups.

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Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951) is an American soccer coach who currently serves as the head coach and sporting director of the San Jose Earthquakes. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Arena has had a long and distinguished coaching career and is considered to be one of the most successful coaches in North American soccer history, having won five College Cup titles and five MLS Cup titles.

He was the United States national team head coach at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, head coach of the New York Red Bulls, D.C. United, LA Galaxy, and the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer, and coached Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer to several college soccer championships. He is the U.S. soccer team's longest-serving head coach with the highest number of wins, and the only coach to lead the team to two World Cups.

Quick Facts

Born: 21 September 1951
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Current club: San Jose Earthquakes (manager and sporting director)
Position: Goalkeeper

Lore & Background

Arena was born in Brooklyn, New York to Vincent and Adeline Arena, Italian immigrants (from Alicudi, Sicily). He grew up in Franklin Square, New York, where he attended Carey High School. He played goalkeeper for Cornell University and earned one cap with the United States men's national soccer team in 1973. He also played professional lacrosse for the Montreal Quebecois in 1975 and for the national lacrosse team that won the 1974 World Lacrosse Championship.

Reader's Guide

Arena's coaching career began at the University of Puget Sound in 1976. He then coached at the University of Virginia for 18 years, winning five national championships. He became head coach of D.C. United in 1996, leading them to MLS Cup titles in 1996 and 1997, and the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1998. He was hired as U.S. national team head coach in October 1998, leading the team to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup and winning Gold Cup championships in 2002 and 2005.