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Galaxy’s Bruce Arena wins U.S. Soccer’s highest honor

Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena shouts instructions to his players during a 2-1 victory over FC Dallas earlier this season at StubHub Center.
(Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)
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Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena, already a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, was honored with another prize Thursday when he was named winner of U.S. Soccer’s prestigious Werner Fricker Builder Award.

The Fricker Award, the highest honor presented by U.S. Soccer, goes annually to an individual who “has worked tirelessly on furthering the interest of ... soccer without regard to personal recognition or advancement.”

Arena, who led the Galaxy to three of the last four Major League Soccer championships, has won a record five MLS titles and, with 71 wins in seven-plus years, is also the winningest coach in U.S. Soccer history. Before that he won five NCAA crowns at the University of Virginia.

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“Bruce’s contribution to soccer in the United States began as a coach at Virginia 37 years ago and during that time he has guided college, professional and national teams to national and international titles,” U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati, a previous Fricker recipient, said in a statement. “The path he paved certainly set the bar higher and the legacy he created will last for future generations.”

Werner Fricker was a Yugoslavian-born soccer player who later became president of U.S. Soccer and is enshrined in the Hall of Fame. He was also the first winner of the award named posthumously in his honor.

“I am humbled by this honor,” Arena said, “and proud to be amongst the prestigious company of the other Werner Fricker Soccer Builder Award winners.”

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