Coach Bruce Arena explains how he rebuilt the LA Galaxy, says Wahl's book had no affect on team

LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena
Photo: AP

Friday, LA Galaxy coach and former US Men's National Team coach Bruce Arena spoke with Boston media about how he rebuilt the Galaxy, the controversial book The Beckham Experiment, and how he expects his team to perform against the New England Revolution Saturday evening.

The transcription of the press conference is below:

How did you pull the Galaxy together this year and what were the biggest challenges?

Arena: It was a difficult start to this season with the question marks in the early going about whether we would see both Landon Donovan and David Beckham by the start of the season. Landon arrived in time, David a couple weeks ago, and then we had issues with injuries and a real big turnover with our roster, so it took us some time to move our team along.

At the beginning of the MLS season we showed more guts than anything, just hanging around and not losing games and getting points whenever we could. As of late when we got the team healthier, David returned and were able to put together some wins. But really it’s been a result of some fresh blood, some breaks, good leadership in the team. Hopefully we can continue to move forward, but at this point in time nothing is done, we have a lot of games to play still in the league and we’re hopeful we can get one of those eight playoff spots.

Last year the Galaxy scored the most goals and took the most goals in the league. How did you get across the importance of not losing a game?

Arena: We put a lot of emphasis on defending in the preseason. Out goalkeeper is new, our whole backline has changed, our holding midfielder has changed, so the last six players in our line-up are different players from last year. New players were brought in and there’s a different mentality and hopefully we can continue to be a good defensive team as well as improved going forward.

How has Beckham worked out for the team?

Arena: Last year, I saw very little of David. As soon as I came in, he was away on international duty I believe and I didn’t seem him for a couple games, a couple weeks. He had a difficult year in 2008 with injuries as well as international call-ups, which resulted in the short period of time I was with the Galaxy I didn’t see a whole lot of him and that was difficult.

I would tell you this though, my working with David over the last month has been nothing but fabulous. He’s been a great member of the team, he does a great job off the field as well as on the field, he’s very cooperative with us in every way, and you can see the quality of his play. He’s still a fantastic player. I don’t know how anyone evaluates him, but we think at the Galaxy that he’s a great addition to our team and he’s going to be a very important member of our squad as we try to move forward and make the playoffs this year.

Has Grant Wahl's critical book The Beckham Experiment affected your team?

Arena: I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think we’ve ever discussed it as a team so it hasn’t affected us at all. I think it’s something that’s happened. I think between David and Landon and myself we discussed any issues there were as a result of the book and we’ve moved forward, it’s all behind us now. We've move d forward so at the very least it’s been a positive for our team, I don’t think it’s been a negative at all. David has stepped in and let his play do the talking, Landon continues to be a great player and a great leader for our team and we’re just moving forward.

The Celtics – oh, I’m a Yankee fan, and the Red Sox, the Patriots – all teams to be good have a delicate balance in the chemistry of your team and it’s a work in progress every day, every year. Certainly the LA Galaxy experiences the same thing as do other teams in the league. The things we deal with in terms of personalities, the team chemistry, it’s not any different in our sport than it is in other sports – the Sox have got to try to rally after getting whipped last night by the Yankees. Every day is a challenge.

How are you expecting the Galaxy to perform against the Revolution?

Arena: History tells me the Galaxy have not been terribly successful here in Foxboro so we know right from the start it’s going to be a difficult game. The Revolution are always going to be team starting from the back. Matt Reis is one of the most veteran goalkeepers in the league and they’ve done a remarkable job with their young defenders who’ve come a long way and certainly improved. I think the addition of Jankauskas is good, Dube is maturing as a player, Mansally and Nyassi are very good flank players, Larentowicz has had a fabulous year in the midfield, and Shalrie Joseph is now coming back so they have a combination of good players. Steve Ralston is still a very fine player in this league. They have a good team, they’re at home, they know they need to win this game so it’s going to be a real difficult game for us.

Saturday 6PM, August 8, FSC: New England Revolution versus LA Galaxy at Gillette Stadium

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