"However, we have been evaluating the situation...We are going to do in the end whatever is best for the Galaxy…There is always a contingency plan for everything…We are going to take it one step at a time.”
If Sven-Goran Eriksson is the dullest speaker on soccer, has there ever been a more frustrating communicator than Bruce Arena, here reacting languidly to David Beckham's inflammatory admission that he wants to stay in Italy? Don't get me wrong, we all owe Bruce a huge debt of gratitude for his eight years with the US National Team. He is not rude or unprofessional to people in public. It's just that listening to him as a fan is like watching a turgid 0-0 and he tortures journalists by boring them to tears.
Maybe that is not a bad thing! Having a good press is overrated and puncturing the Fourth Estate's pomposity is often a delight, in the same way as we are entertained by a guy who sulks out of a team and disses his coach for good measure. The thing is Arena enjoys being Mr. Unquoteable -try to extract a juicy sound bite from him and all you will come away with are bland generalizations.
I've asked him questions in person, and another luckless quote-seeker was sent packing by a slightly condescending tone of voice and the beginnings of a 'bad luck, kid' smile. In the run-up to the last World Cup, Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad spoke its mind and labeled him an "obstinate" and "sarcastic" character.
I still like the fact Bruce is his own man, and all faults are forgiven if your team comes home with three points. But I don’t rush to listen to his press briefings, as they're over before they have even started.
If Arsene Wenger is the wise monkey who saw no evil, Bruce surely gets the gig as the one with its hands over its mouth.
-Sean O'Conor
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment