Recapping Bruce Arena's Kickin' It Appearance
What did we learn
Former New England Revolution head coach and sporting director spoke for the first time since resigning from his position with the club. On the Kickin It podcast presented by CBS Sports, Arena touched on his time in New England in a wide-ranging discussion that included his international management career.
Here are some key quotes that Revolution fans will want to take note of.
He Misses Us
When asked for his message to the people in New England, Arena stated that he misses the fans.
“Well, the message to the New England people is, I miss you,” he said. “I mean, the people in Boston were great to me, New England, wonderful people. The players were great.
“So I enjoyed my time there,” Arena added. “I’m disappointed the way things ended but I don’t have control of that.”
He Takes Responsibility
As indicated by his statement announcing his resignation, Arena admitted fault and on the podcast he took responsibility for what happened when asked by Charlie Davies.
“Yeah, you have to take responsibility for it,” he said. I think I have to be reserved in what I can say but I’ll just say yes to your question.”
Still, Arena said he was “hurt” by the process that ended up with him resigning and stated that the environment was great when he was with the team.
He Legally Can’t Talk About Suspension
When asked if he will ever share the details of his suspension, Arena said that he would welcome the opportunity to talk about it but current he legally can not.
“If there’s a time where I can legally do that [discuss his suspension], I would do it,” he said.
Speaking of not talking, Arena stated that he hasn’t talked to the “upper echelon of people there [New England] since he left.”
He Hopes This Isn’t How His Career Ends
After indicating that he was available to coach in December and that he has talked to a couple of clubs, Arena stated that he desired a different ending to his career than the events that transpired in 2023.
"If that's the ending, that’s a slap in the face,” he said.
It is amazing that in this day and age that no details have come out.
Well, the feeling is certainly mutual. We miss him. We miss having someone who thinks his players are great. We miss seeing him lean against the sideline fencing.