Galaxy Manager Bruce Arena Named USMNT Coach

By Connor Aylward
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Updated: November 23, 2016

The tumultuous Galaxy offseason continues. After the departures of Robbie Keane and Steven Gerrard, the Los Angeles Galaxy were dealt another blow Tuesday as Manager Bruce Arena decided to move on and take the reigns of the United States Men’s National Team for the second time.

.@ussoccer President @SunilGulati has named Bruce Arena as the new head coach of the #USMNT: https://t.co/u4hj7iAYSN #BruceisBack pic.twitter.com/WtZH4uMHb5

— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) November 22, 2016

After the firing of Jurgen Klinnsman from the national team Monday, rumors began to fly on his potential replacement. The most popular choice seemed to be Arena.

In his first stint with the National Team Arena saw plenty of success. Becoming the winningest coach in team history with 71 victories between 1998-2006. Arena also led the team through two World Cups.

His success for the Galaxy is also unmatched.

Bruce Arena officially introduced as the new coach of the #USMNT, leaving the #LAGalaxy after 8 full seasons and 3 MLS Cups

— Kevin Baxter (@kbaxter11) November 22, 2016

3 MLS cups and 2 MLS Coach of the Year awards will be Arena’s legacy in Los Angeles.

Undoubtedly Arena leaves the Galaxy job with big shoes to fill. So who will step in?

The Galaxy’s own staff provides some great candidates.

Dave Sarachan, Arena’s long time assistant, departed the club less than a week ago to pursue different opportunities. However his many years under Arena with both the National Team and the Galaxy have prepared him well to take over the job. Not to mention his MLS Coach of the year award he received in 2003 with the Chicago Fire. His experience should be enough to merit a call from his former employer.

Another is the Manager of the Galaxy’s USL affiliate Curt Onalfo. A former Galaxy player, Onalfo knows the history and expectations of the club well. Since 2014 he has been the Manager of Los Dos in USL and he has tremendous knowledge of the club’s roster top to bottom. That knowledge would allow the club to go younger with the roster as they have claimed they are trying to do moving forward. A former Manager of the Kansas City Wizards and DC United, Onalfo also has plenty of experience in the league.

Undoubtedly the Galaxy job will be one of the most sought-after jobs in the industry as the club is one of the wealthiest in the league and boasts the special perk of living in Southern California.

Who the club picks is still up for debate, but it should be interesting to see which direction they head in.