New San Jose Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena accepted responsibility Wednesday for “insensitive remarks” that led to his departure last year from the New England Revolution and said he has learned from the experience.
The former coach of the U.S. men's national team spoke at a news conference introducing him as the Earthquakes' sporting director and head coach.
Arena left the Revolution in September 2023, six weeks after he was placed on administrative leave by MLS for what the league said were “allegations that he made insensitive and inappropriate remarks.” MLS later announced an investigation confirmed the allegations.
Arena did not comment on the nature of the remarks.
“I made a couple of mistakes there. I accept the responsibility, and I’m going to move forward," he said. “I will say this about my experience in New England, I’m very proud of the work I did there. The players, I enjoyed just about as much as any team I’ve ever had, some really good people in the organization. The fan base was good. The people in Boston were great. So overall, it was it is a really positive experience for me. And I’m disappointed in the way it ended. But I’ve learned from that.”
Arena, 73, is the most accomplished coach in U.S. soccer history and was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010. He has won five MLS championships and is the winningest coach in MLS and for the U.S. men’s national team.
He'll face a challenge in turning around the Earthquakes, one of the league's founding teams. San Jose finished at the bottom of the league with just six wins this past season.
“I think there’s potential and certainly, when you take over a team that finishes last, in my opinion you can only go one way. ... When we kick off in late February, we’re hopeful that we’re going to have a pretty competitive team and we can turn it around. I’m not promising that we’re winning the MLS Cup in 2025, but promising that we we will have a better team and a team that this community and our fan base will be proud of," he said.
Arena led the United States in two World Cups, including a run to the quarterfinals in 2002 that was the first time the country made it that far since the initial tournament in 1930. The U.S. failed to make it out of the group stage in the 2006 World Cup and Arena’s contract was not renewed.
Arena won two MLS championships with D.C. United and three more with the LA Galaxy in 2011, 2012 and 2014. His 262 regular-season wins and 35 postseason wins are the most in MLS history. He also coached the New York Red Bulls and most recently New England from 2019-23.
He said Quakes owner John Fisher has promised him the tools to field a competitive team.
“My meetings with Mr. Fisher strongly indicate that he’s going to support the club. We don’t expect to be Inter Miami, believe me. But, we’re going to move our club up the ladder to position ourselves to be a much more competitive team,” Arena said. "And I believe there’s great commitment on part of the owner as well as our front office.”
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FILE - Then-New England Revolution coach Bruce Arena gestures on the sideline in the first half of an MLS soccer match against CF Montreal, Saturday, April 8, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
