Bruce Arena
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Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York) is the head soccer coach for the United States men's national soccer team.
Before rising to international stature, Arena was an enormously successful college soccer coach at the University of Virginia. Arena was the head coach of the Virginia program for 18 years, during which he won five national championships and amassed an amazing 295-58-32 record. Additionally, he coached and developed many players who would go on to play significant roles in the United States national team, including Claudio Reyna, Jeff Agoos, John Harkes, Tony Meola, and Richie Williams.
Arena left UVA to become the coach of D.C. United for their, and Major League Soccer's, inaugural season in 1996. Arena would lead United to MLS Cup victories in both of the league's first two years, and would win the MLS Coach of the Year Award following his second victory, before losing to the expansion Chicago Fire and his protege Bob Bradley in the 1998 MLS Cup final.
Arena was hired by the US national team to replace Steve Sampson as head coach in October 1998 following the team's disastrous showing in the 1998 World Cup. He forged the team into a successful international side, and is the all-time winningest coach in US history. The steady progress was rewarded in 2002 with better results at the World Cup than the American team had recorded, reaching the quarterfinals before a close defeat against Germany. Additionally, under his control, the USMNT attained its highest FIFA Ranking ever, passing into the top ten international soccer teams in the world.
Arena earned one cap for the US national team in a 1973 friendly against Israel, in which he played goalkeeper. His son, Kenny, plays for D.C. United after spending his first two pro years with the MetroStars.