After plenty of anticipation, the Bruce Arena-era officially got underway Tuesday afternoon, as the five-time MLS Coach of the Year led practice in Foxborough, Mass.
Shortly beforehand, the New England Revolution snagged some behind-the-scenes footage as Arena offered some introductory remarks to his players. The central theme? Growth, together and individually.
“I’m going to make mistakes,” the sporting director and head coach said. “I can promise you I’m going to make mistakes and you will make mistakes as well. But that’s all part of the process and the same thing on the field. Your teammate makes a mistake, we work and we cover for each other. We make up for it.”
Arena, who has yet to confirm he’ll coach the Revs for their trip to face the LA Galaxy Sunday night (10:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+, on DAZN in Canada), struck an upbeat tone.
“I want you to come into work every day happy,” Arena said. “I don’t know if you’ve been around, but there are some jobs out there that aren’t real good. To play soccer for a living, I could care less what you make – it’s a great job. Enjoy it.”
That’s likely a breath of fresh air for a Revs side that’s second-from-bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with 13 points through 15 games. However, New England is 1-0-2 since Brad Friedel was relieved of his duties as head coach and Mike Lapper became the interim head coach.
Arena’s end goal, in his duel role, is to progress the group on and off the field. He said some players have earned starting spots, but he comes in with an open mind.
Again, he stressed, make the most the new era.
“I’ve been around guys who have been at the top of the game, the bottom,” Arena said. “This is a great opportunity for all of us, and we should enjoy it.”
