05 Nov, 2007
Arena Out As Red Bull Manager, Reyna Next?
Posted by: WVHooligan In: Chicago Fire| FC Dallas| MLS| New York Red Bulls| News and Rumors
A couple days after the season ends for New York, manager Bruce Arena tells the club that he is out as head coach and sporting director, ending his tenure with the team after his first full season with the club.
Arena posted an 18-16-11 regular season record as Red Bulls coach, a tenure that included a pair of first-round playoff losses. A record well short of his tenure that saw championships in DC in the early years of the MLS.
I had a feeling that either he would be forced out or would quit on his own after this season. Red Bull management probably didn’t see nearly enough progress (moving past the first round of the playoffs) as a reason to try and keep him on board. I had said previously that out of the clubs that reached the playoffs, Arena’s job status was the most in question depending on the club’s results. No goals in the playoffs and no advancement wasn’t good enough.
Expect the Red Bulls to continue to be the way they are, failing to exceed expectations that are put on them by their European owners. Something they fail to realize is that the MLS isn’t like Europe, coachs need more than two years to build a winner to succeed in this league.
I think Arena will be off from coaching next year to then return in 2009 somewhere. We get to have his weird humor and wit again on ESPN games, so that is something I am looking forward to.
The thing that is interesting now for the Red Bulls is surrounding Claudio Reyna’s status with the team. Along with Dallas’s Denilson, Reyna was probably one of the most disappointing DP players this season.
Reyna has another guaranteed season left on his contract and it remains unclear what the former U.S. national team captain will do next but he stated repeatedly during the season that he intended on playing in 2008. Though he may not even use that season and just leave the club all together. Rumors are that he could re-sign as a non-DP player (smart move) and get possibly traded away (Chicago is the target team). I think really a move to Chicago would be great for the club and for Reyna’s career.
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