FOXBOROUGH (AP) — The New England Revolution are turning to one of the most decorated coaches in Major League Soccer to help revive a season and a franchise. Bruce Arena, a five-time MLS Cup winner and former U.S. national coach, was hired Tuesday as the Revolution's coach and sports director. He succeeds Brad Friedel, who was fired as coach last week, and Michael Burns, the general manager who was dismissed Monday. New England is 3-8-2 and is last in the Eastern Conference. "Boston is a great sports town with a history of championship teams," Arena said in a statement. "And I am looking forward to working with the staff and players to make the Revolution a club that our supporters can be proud of and that can be part of the tradition of success in New England." The 67-year-old Arena, the eighth coach in club history, will be introduced at a news conference Thursday. "Bruce is one of the most successful coaches in American soccer history, and we feel his commitment to excellence, track record of winning championships in Major League Soccer, as well as his success at the international level, makes him the best person to bring the Revolution back to MLS Cup contention," team owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. The Revolution have never won an MLS Cup but have been to the finals five times. The last was in 2014 when they lost to the L.A. Galaxy team coached by Arena. Revolution President Brian Bilello said Arena shares the club's vision. "We believe that now is the time for a change in leadership and there is no one better suited to usher in a new era of success in New England," Bilello said in a statement. Arena brings a wealth of both domestic and international coaching experience to the job. He has coached 14 seasons in Major League Soccer, with a record of 202-121-89 with the New York Red Bulls, D.C. United and L.A. Galaxy. He won titles with D.C. United in 1996 and 1997 and with the Galaxy in 2011, 2012 and 2014. He has had two stints as U.S. national coach and holds the record for victories with 81. Arena also won five NCAA Division I championships over 18 seasons at Virginia.<doc-sep>A decade after taking over a struggling Galaxy team and leading it to three MLS Cups in four seasons, Bruce Arena assumed another rebuilding project Tuesday when he was named sporting director and coach of the New England Revolution. Arena, 67, will immediately assume responsibilities as New England’s sporting director. The Revolution’s current technical staff will continue handling the day-to-day coaching duties and a start date for Arena’s duties as the club’s eighth head coach will be announced later. Brad Friedel was fired as the team’s coach last week after leading New England to a 12-21-13 record in parts of two seasons. Mike Burns was relieved of his duties as general manager Monday after eight years in the job. He played for the team in its first 4 1/2 seasons in MLS. Arena coached both Friedel, a goalkeeper, and Burns, a defender, in the 1998 World Cup in France. Advertisement “I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for me to create a winning culture throughout the Revolution organization,” said Arena, who stepped down from his last job with the national team in October 2017 after failing to qualify for the World Cup. “Boston is a great sports town with a history of championship teams, and I am looking forward to working with the staff and players to make the Revolution a club that our supporters can be proud of and that can be part of the tradition of success in New England.” The Revolution (3-8-2) is last in the Eastern Conference standings with a league-worst goal differential of -17. The Galaxy was in the middle of their third straight losing season in 2008 when the team fired coach Ruud Gullit and general manager Alexi Lalas and gave both jobs to Arena. A year later the Galaxy made it to the MLS Cup, beginning a run of eight consecutive playoff appearances. Arena left after the 2016 season to return to the national team and the Galaxy haven’t been back to the postseason since. “Bruce is one of the most successful coaches in American soccer history and we feel his commitment to excellence, track record of winning championships in Major League Soccer, as well as his success at the international level, makes him the best person to bring the Revolution back to MLS Cup contention,” owner Robert Kraft said. “We have known Bruce dating back to the advent of MLS, and we have full confidence that he will raise the level of our club to the standard we all expect and demand.” Sign up for our weekly soccer newsletter » Arena won a record five MLS titles, three Supporters’ Shields, seven conference championships, a U.S. Open Cup and a CONCACAF Champions Cup with D.C. United and the Galaxy. He is the second-winningest coach in league history behind Sigi Schmid. He also coached more games with the national team than anyone in history and his 81-32-35 record is the best ever. He led the U.S. to two World Cups, reaching the quarterfinals in 2002, the team’s best performance of the modern era. Before that he won five NCAA titles with the University of Virginia. Advertisement “It was evident when talking with Bruce that we share a vision for the future of the Revolution and we look forward to having him oversee our soccer organization,” Revolution President Brian Bilello said. “We believe that now is the time for a change in leadership and there is no one better suited to usher in a new era of success in New England.” kevin.baxter@latimes.com | Twitter: @kbaxter11<doc-sep>New England Revolution has named five-time MLS Cup winner Bruce Arena as coach and sporting director. The appointment of the former United States men's national team coach comes after second-year head coach Brad Friedel and general manager Mike Burns were dismissed over the past week. Friedel, who was hired in 2018, finished in New England with a 12-21-13 record. His only previous head-coaching experience was a stint in charge of the U.S. under-19 men's national team. Burns had entered his eighth year as GM, having previously served as the team's director of player personnel. He also spent five seasons as a player with the Revs from 1996 to 2000. "Bruce is one of the most successful coaches in American soccer history, and we feel his commitment to excellence, track record of winning championships in Major League Soccer, as well as his success at the international level, makes him the best person to bring the Revolution back to MLS Cup contention," Revolution investor/operator Robert Kraft said in a statement. "We have known Bruce dating back to the advent of MLS, and we have full confidence that he will raise the level of our club to the standard we all expect and demand." Arena, who will be formally introduced at a news conference on Thursday, has been out of work since leaving the U.S. men's national team following its failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, his second spell in the role. The 67-year-old has previously coached D.C. United, New York Red Bulls and LA Galaxy in MLS. He won two MLS Cups while in charge of D.C. and three while at the helm of the Galaxy and has been MLS Coach of the Year on three occasions. "In my conversations with the Kraft family and [Revs president] Brian Bilello, it's clear that they have high expectations for the club and I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for me to create a winning culture throughout the Revolution organization," Arena said. "Boston is a great sports town with a history of championship teams, and I am looking forward to working with the staff and players to make the Revolution a club that our supporters can be proud of and that can be part of the tradition of success in New England." Arena's first game will be away to Montreal Impact on Saturday (live on ESPN+ at 1 p.m. ET), and his first home game will be against his former side D.C. United on May 25 (live on ESPN+ at 7.30 p.m. ET).<doc-sep>
Former USMNT coach Arena fills New England Revolution posts A man who has previously taken in two spells as manager of the United States national side has taken on sporting director and head coach roles in MLS Bruce Arena has returned to management at the New England Revolution, with the MLS side announcing the former United States boss as their new sporting director and head coach. The 67-year-old Long Island native has been out of work since leaving a second spell with the USMNT. He resigned from that position after failing to secure qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Article continues below Arena may have failed in that task, but retains the winningest record as coach of the USMNT. He is also a five-time MLS champion from previous stints at D.C. United and the LA Galaxy and will be seeking to chase down more honors after linking up with the Revolution. Arena replaces Brad Friedel as head coach and Mike Burns as general manager, both of whom were fired in the past week. “Bruce is one of the most successful coaches in American soccer history, and we feel his commitment to excellence, track record of winning championships in Major League Soccer, as well as his success at the international level, makes him the best person to bring the Revolution back to MLS Cup contention," Revolution Investor/Operator Robert Kraft told the club’s official website. “We have known Bruce dating back to the advent of MLS, and we have full confidence that he will raise the level of our club to the standard we all expect and demand.” #NERevs name Bruce Arena Sporting Director and Head Coachhttps://t.co/PyIN2TT8Xw pic.twitter.com/LDEHwO0ZCD — New England Revolution (@NERevolution) May 14, 2019 Arena is to take on sporting director duties in Boston with immediate effect, but a start date for his coaching commitments is yet to be determined. “It was evident when talking with Bruce that we share a vision for the future of the Revolution and we look forward to having him oversee our soccer organization,” said Revolution president Brian Bilello. “We believe that now is the time for a change in leadership and there is no one better suited to usher in a new era of success in New England.” Arena, who spent two years with D.C. United and a year with the New York Red Bulls either side of a first successful stint with the USMNT is looking forward to getting started in a new job. He has been out of club management since ending an eight-year spell with the LA Galaxy in 2016, but is planning to hit the ground running. Arena has said of the opportunity presented to him by the Revolution: “In my conversations with the Kraft family and Brian Bilello, it’s clear that they have high expectations for the club and I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for me to create a winning culture throughout the Revolution organization. “Boston is a great sports town with a history of championship teams, and I am looking forward to working with the staff and players to make the Revolution a club that our supporters can be proud of and that can be part of the tradition of success in New England.”