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What's wrong with US? : a coach's blunt take on the state of American soccer after a lifetime on the touchline
Outspoken, honest, game changing—ultimate soccer insider and legendary coach Bruce Arena looks back on an extraordinary career, and forward to what the United States needs to do to compete successfully on the world stage once again.
At around 8:37 p.m. EST on October 10, 2017, an unheralded Trinidadian right back, Alvin Jones, received possession of the football in a World Cup qualifier against the United States. Looking up, he took one touch and unleashed an extraordinary shot toward the American goal. No one in the stadium—least of all US coach Bruce Arena, standing ten yards away on the touchline—thought the ball would hit the back of the net. But hit the back of the net
it did. And so, on that fateful muggy night at Ato Boldon Stadium, in Trinidad, Alvin Jones doomed the United States to miss the World Cup for the first time in thirty-two years.
Cue hand-wringing and moans of pain from the legions of US Men’s National Team fans. With that ultimate 2–1 defeat and ouster from the World Cup, American soccer realized it had to take a long, hard look at itself. In What’s Wrong with US?, Bruce Arena begins that painful but much-needed process. Arena has won everything there is to win in sports, including college championships and Major League Soccer triumphs—he has even excelled as a coach of lacrosse, his first passion. His 2002 World Cup soccer team came a non-called handball away from the semifinals; and, having worked with the likes of David Beckham, Landon Donovan, and Christian Pulisic, he has had a storied life as a coach.
Now, though, it’s time to take stock and have an honest discussion about what’s wrong with soccer in the United States. Arena casts his eye on recruiting, coaching, the structure of Major League Soccer, the integration of overseas players, and the role of money in the modern game. He looks back at the 2018 qualifying campaign, reveals what went wrong, and looks forward to a new way of soccer in America. Offering a framework for reform, Bruce Arena’s book will set a benchmark by which changes to the game he loves will be judged—and along the way he recounts a life in sports like no other.
At around 8:37 p.m. EST on October 10, 2017, an unheralded Trinidadian right back, Alvin Jones, received possession of the football in a World Cup qualifier against the United States. Looking up, he took one touch and unleashed an extraordinary shot toward the American goal. No one in the stadium—least of all US coach Bruce Arena, standing ten yards away on the touchline—thought the ball would hit the back of the net. But hit the back of the net
it did. And so, on that fateful muggy night at Ato Boldon Stadium, in Trinidad, Alvin Jones doomed the United States to miss the World Cup for the first time in thirty-two years.
Cue hand-wringing and moans of pain from the legions of US Men’s National Team fans. With that ultimate 2–1 defeat and ouster from the World Cup, American soccer realized it had to take a long, hard look at itself. In What’s Wrong with US?, Bruce Arena begins that painful but much-needed process. Arena has won everything there is to win in sports, including college championships and Major League Soccer triumphs—he has even excelled as a coach of lacrosse, his first passion. His 2002 World Cup soccer team came a non-called handball away from the semifinals; and, having worked with the likes of David Beckham, Landon Donovan, and Christian Pulisic, he has had a storied life as a coach.
Now, though, it’s time to take stock and have an honest discussion about what’s wrong with soccer in the United States. Arena casts his eye on recruiting, coaching, the structure of Major League Soccer, the integration of overseas players, and the role of money in the modern game. He looks back at the 2018 qualifying campaign, reveals what went wrong, and looks forward to a new way of soccer in America. Offering a framework for reform, Bruce Arena’s book will set a benchmark by which changes to the game he loves will be judged—and along the way he recounts a life in sports like no other.
- GenresSportsNonfictionSoccer
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 12, 2018
10 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 16, 2018
I've never liked Bruce Arena, but I do have a newfound respect for him after reading this book. It's not what the tagline would have the reader believe it is. 80% is a self-serving Arena autobiography(albeit a good one) and only in the last chapter does he provide a list of things US soccer needs to do to ensure we qualify for future World cups. Fortunately it seems like US soccer and new GM Earnie Stewart have already begun to implement the vast majority of the ideas Arena outlines. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens going forward. I personally like that we seem to be looking for an International coach at least for the next cycle.
July 24, 2018
Arena is the kind of guy who prides himself on “straight talk.” Meh. This book is “bang-average” and does not contain any shocking pronouncements. It is a disgrace that the US didnt make it into the 2018 World Cup that’s for sure. Abolish american football and replace it with real football!!
January 22, 2019
With the USA not qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, many changes were in store for the US men's national team. The day after losing to Trinidad Tobago, coach Bruce Arena was fired. This is a book about how he became a coach and why the US failed their fans. I am going to start off with what I did not like about the book because it came first in the book. When I bought this book I expected it to be all about the coaching and the tactics involved with the US team but it started off as a biography. It does a good job explaining where Arena learned his coaching methods, but I was looking for the blunt take on US soccer. About half way the book switches over and starts explaining why the US sucked and that is when I really enjoyed the book. My favorite part was when he ripped into the way youth soccer is coached and that it is one of the biggest reasons the tip top of US soccer is not good. Another part of the book I enjoyed was when he talked about Christian Pulisic. Christian is the most exciting player in US soccer right now and when Arena talked about how he felt like he let down the players by not getting them to the world cup it really made you feel sad. It highlighted all the work many of the players put in and what it was like to miss out on playing in the biggest event in the world. Overall this book has two sections, the first being the autobiography and the second being the actual blunt take on the US soccer team. I gave the book a 3 out of 5 because I wanted more of the blunt take and less of the autobiography. I wouldn't recommend this book to people unless they are really interested in Bruce Arena and the US men's team.
July 9, 2018
I write this review as we are entering the Semi-Final stage of the 2018 World Cup, a tournament in which I am still disappointed the US did not participate. Having read most of the analysis as to why the US failed to qualify, I was excited to see Bruce Arena write this book to hear from the coaches own words on what went wrong not only in qualifying but also with the US program as a whole. While I gave this book 4 stars, to me it is really 3.5. My main issue is the title since it only touches upon the issues with the US men's national team problems without a great deal of depth and while it presents ideas, Arena really could have expanded on several points. If you want an autobiography of Bruce Arena's career, it is a very interesting and compelling book, taking the reader from Bruce's early years growing up as a lacrosse player and later coach to his stint as coach of the University of Virginia soccer team to his stints with MLS' DC United, the national team's relatively successful 2002 World Cup, to his days with the David Beckham era LA Galaxy, and back to the US national team's disastrous qualifying campaign. The majority of the book details his career in all of these instances and how he dealt with the challenges each situation presented. In these chapters, Arena does provide his thoughts on leadership, coaching philosophy, and ideas. In the chapters on his 2016 take over of the US team from Jurgen Klinsmann, he does provide several clues on why the US failed to qualify and beat or tie Trinidad and Tobago pointing out several factors ranging from the team's disorganization, fitness of some of the European based players, playing Costa Rica in New Jersey rather than a place with less foreign support, and finally field conditions in T & T.
It’s in the final few chapters, he diagnoses problems with the US program with the main issues being lack of technical leadership in the US program and Major League Soccer’s focus on its business side more than US player development. He offers a checklist of what US soccer needs to do to move ahead and succeed on the international stage, some of which US soccer has already achieved. Its these chapters and this checklist that support the book’s title, but I felt Bruce could have expanded upon these ideas into a solid diagnosis on what is wrong with US. My feeling is he only scratched the surface on the issues and in this respect, it left me wanting more. Otherwise, it was not a bad read at all, it just did not fully accomplish what the title suggests.
It’s in the final few chapters, he diagnoses problems with the US program with the main issues being lack of technical leadership in the US program and Major League Soccer’s focus on its business side more than US player development. He offers a checklist of what US soccer needs to do to move ahead and succeed on the international stage, some of which US soccer has already achieved. Its these chapters and this checklist that support the book’s title, but I felt Bruce could have expanded upon these ideas into a solid diagnosis on what is wrong with US. My feeling is he only scratched the surface on the issues and in this respect, it left me wanting more. Otherwise, it was not a bad read at all, it just did not fully accomplish what the title suggests.
August 14, 2018
mostly a memoir of his career as a coach, but at the end turns his attention to what might be done to improve after USMNT failed to make World Cup 2018. Not sure how I feel about the protectionist stuff [lower the limit on number of international players MLS teams can have, to create more opportunity for young American players] -- sort of like the bad old days of American distance running when people wanted to shield our best from competition with even 3rd-tier Kenyans by offering American-only prize money at road races etc. If you want to be the best, you need to compete with the best.
The ideas for organization of US Soccer, technical approach, etc., I don't know nearly enough about soccer to have an opinion of, but as a generalist sports fan I'd say he comes off as a bit self-serving and excuse making [New York wasn't a good site to play Costa Rica because it's so ethnically diverse that lots of their fans were there, and we didn't get much home field advantage? wow, grasping at straws a bit there].
I was a little surprised that he never mentioned USWNT. "Us" and "American soccer" in this book are entirely male. Our women's team has been fantastically successful, and I'd think something might be learned from them. Perhaps he thinks they don't face same depth of competition b/c post-Title IX USA is one of the few nations to provide much support for women's sports. But still, it reads like a U Conn men's basketball coach lamenting what in the world is wrong with Connecticut basketball since the Richard/Rip ("if it ain't rough, it ain't right") Hamilton heyday without ever acknowledging that their women's team wins the national title almost every year.
The ideas for organization of US Soccer, technical approach, etc., I don't know nearly enough about soccer to have an opinion of, but as a generalist sports fan I'd say he comes off as a bit self-serving and excuse making [New York wasn't a good site to play Costa Rica because it's so ethnically diverse that lots of their fans were there, and we didn't get much home field advantage? wow, grasping at straws a bit there].
I was a little surprised that he never mentioned USWNT. "Us" and "American soccer" in this book are entirely male. Our women's team has been fantastically successful, and I'd think something might be learned from them. Perhaps he thinks they don't face same depth of competition b/c post-Title IX USA is one of the few nations to provide much support for women's sports. But still, it reads like a U Conn men's basketball coach lamenting what in the world is wrong with Connecticut basketball since the Richard/Rip ("if it ain't rough, it ain't right") Hamilton heyday without ever acknowledging that their women's team wins the national title almost every year.
July 27, 2018
As I watched the 2018 World Cup, which the US did not qualify for, I found myself agreeing with many of the suggestions Bruce Arena proposes in this book. I'm no soccer expert but it was easy to follow his rationale and recognize his good intentions. He doesn't seem like he has an axe to grind with the US Soccer organization. He seems like a competitive guy who wants his country to compete on the same stage as other great soccer countries.
The book is 2/3 a biography/memoir of Bruce Arena and it goes into detail on several soccer players he coached. I found some of those chapters interesting, like the ones on David Beckham and Landon Donovan - but I also skimmed a lot of these chapters because I didn't find them interesting and I didn't recognize all the people he mentioned.
The remaining 1/3 of the book contains his ideas for improving the US soccer program. He cites the lack of technical expertise in the leadership levels of US soccer. Many of the executives have no background in soccer so they make decisions that might be good for business but not good for the game or players. He also spends a lot of time discussing how MLS is failing at developing American soccer talent.
This book is worth skimming if you're just a casual soccer fan and want more insight into some of the challenges facing the US program.
The book is 2/3 a biography/memoir of Bruce Arena and it goes into detail on several soccer players he coached. I found some of those chapters interesting, like the ones on David Beckham and Landon Donovan - but I also skimmed a lot of these chapters because I didn't find them interesting and I didn't recognize all the people he mentioned.
The remaining 1/3 of the book contains his ideas for improving the US soccer program. He cites the lack of technical expertise in the leadership levels of US soccer. Many of the executives have no background in soccer so they make decisions that might be good for business but not good for the game or players. He also spends a lot of time discussing how MLS is failing at developing American soccer talent.
This book is worth skimming if you're just a casual soccer fan and want more insight into some of the challenges facing the US program.
August 5, 2018
As a fan of Bruce Arena since the start of MLS, I have been hoping that one day he would write a book about his experience. Sadly this is not the book I hoped it would be. Billed as a blunt take on the state of U.S. soccer coming from a man known to tell it like it is, the book fails to offer the wealth of insight and candor Arena can deliver.
Most of the book recaps his storied coaching career. What has made him so successful? One would hope to learn the answer from his reflections but it's hard to say after 200+ pages what separated him from the pack. The final section delivers on the promise of a blunt analysis of soccer in the U.S. today. This level of forthrightness would have been welcome throughout the book.
In the end, I still admire Arena and his golden touch. Unfortunately the book wasted the opportunity to tell US soccer fans not just what's wrong today, but what for many years, under Arena's leadership at every level, went right.
Most of the book recaps his storied coaching career. What has made him so successful? One would hope to learn the answer from his reflections but it's hard to say after 200+ pages what separated him from the pack. The final section delivers on the promise of a blunt analysis of soccer in the U.S. today. This level of forthrightness would have been welcome throughout the book.
In the end, I still admire Arena and his golden touch. Unfortunately the book wasted the opportunity to tell US soccer fans not just what's wrong today, but what for many years, under Arena's leadership at every level, went right.
September 10, 2018
A failed coach who doomed the United States to not qualify to the World Cup, whines and complains for 300+ pages, trying to deflect and distract blame away from him, and his wrongdoings that cast this fate upon us. Outspoken, honest, and game changing are the words used to describe him in the synopsis. Yes, he is outspoken, speaking a lie that basically gets himself off innocent. He's honest about very little in this book, and if he's going to be described as a "game-changer," it's for changing the game to the worse in the United States. Bruce Arena failed the United States in 2017, but reading this book makes you think it was everybody's fault but himself.
November 9, 2018
Really enjoyed this book and read it in two days. I covered soccer for a newspaper for 23 years and covered D.C. United from day one. Arena was a great coach and good interview. He had his rough edges but he was fair and honest. It was interesting to read about the many jobs he had in the early years, even being a teacher in a school. Didn't know he was such a good lacrosse player.
January 22, 2019
Felt like revisionist history, a way for Arena to clear his legacy after the disaster he partially contributed to by being at the helm. Not only that, there were multiple errors (probably due to the editor) where he name dropped pages before actually introducing the person. He did that a lot, the name dropping.
July 3, 2018
Lucked into an ARC. Would’ve liked some more depth and explanation from the final few chapters. Also, comparisons to other national programs may have been helpful, despite the US’s geographic and population obstacles.
June 25, 2018
For those looking for a thorough critique of the state of American soccer, skip to the last couple of chapters. The rest of the book is an autobiography.
August 28, 2018
U.S. soccer has a lot left to do...we need to support our own aspiring US players...increasingly the professional and college teams are made up of non-US players.
January 11, 2019
This is an autobiography by a mediocre at best writer. The editor did little more than spell check. Could have the same US Soccer criticism from any number of online articles.
April 28, 2020
Mostly about Bruce Arena, but the last 30 pages were what I expected the book to be about
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August 8, 2022More of an autobiography than a "blunt take on the state of US soccer" but still an important contribution to the all too short American soccer bibliography.
August 7, 2022
Great till end..weak I thought on real suggestions
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews