Bruce Arena, the coach may deserve all the brickbats that he got following the US debacle. But on this one I support him all the way.
Arena said, “We do need to get more of our younger talented players in Europe.We need them in a year round soccer environment. We need them playing in more intense games to develop them mentally, as well as soccer-wise.” (NYT, June 28, 2006)
Any quibble with that? The man has stated an obvious truth. If the MLS does not encourage talented players going abroad to gain experience playing in the tougher European league, then the players themselves are going to do it. If they could do it here, then this debate becomes moot. However, they are not getting that expereince here and if there is one person who can say this with authority then it is a coach who has coached the national team for 8 years. He might be criticized for his tactics and choice of players but on this one he gets it right.
Arena did not criticize the MLS. There are different ways of developing players. Going overseas is one of them.
The problem is that the MLS has chosen not to debate what he has said, they have chosen to treat this as don’t bite the hand that feeds you. The MLS commissioner Don Garber said yesterday in Berlin, “I think it is ridiculous. If I were him, I’d take a deep breath and think about what I say before I criticize anyone in American soccer.”
Talk about thin skinned. The deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis, the man most responsible for player development pooh poohed it, “The inconvenient fact is that there is not a shred of evidence to support it.”
Eric Wynalda, Bruce Arena’s most vocal critic, “You do have a league that provides him with a great team. For him to be so arrogant, to not recognize the fact.”
Well, what happened to players before 1996, the year the MLS was formed. Many of them went overseas and then returned to play for the MLS. This includes Eric Wynalda who played in the Bundesliga for 5 years. Is he complaining that the Bundesliga was a waste of time? He learned nothing! Brad Friedl, Tab Ramos, Alexi Lalas, John Harkes all played for European clubs before reurning to the MLS. Claudio Reyna and Kasey Keller in the present squad have not played for any league except European ones. DaMarcus Beasley’s play might be criticized but he showed against Ghana that he could play. Guus Hiddink (yes, the Socceroos coach) signed him on to PSV Eindhoven for a four year $2.5 million. contract. And Beasley is the first person to say his experience playing there has made him a better soccer player and toughened him up considerably.
This just smacks of petty politics as Wynalda is obviously jockeying for a position to become the coach of the MNT. The implication is give me this great team Arena falied with, and I’ll take it places, no one has taken it before.
So MLS folks, I think Arena is speaking the truth, and I don’t think he is engaging in finger pointing or shifting the blame to you guys. His statements merit a closer look. The harder part is to make the MLS the league to come to. Until then Europe should be an attractive destination point for US players with talent, who can then come back and play soccer for the MNT at a standard at par with the European clubs. Well, we hope so.
After these statements it is difficult for me to see Arena have anything to do with the MLS. It is over.