Arena Finds a New Job, Sees Long Road for U.S.

Bruce Arena has a message for American soccer fans: Be patient.

Arena took over the struggling New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer on Tuesday, but also predicted that his former squad -- the U.S. soccer team -- would not win consistently at the World Cup until 2018.

“Why did I say 2018? Because I know that it’s not going to happen in 2010, 2014,” he said at his introductory news conference. “We have a long way to go. To get there, you’ve got to know where you are. It’s the same thing with this team. If I told you, we were going to compete for the MLS Cup right away, if I told you we were going to win a World Cup in 2010 ... who’s going to believe that?

“We made progress in this World Cup. But we do not have players of the quality and experience of the teams in the group that ended up in the last eight.”

Red Bulls fans may also have to wait. The club is 3-6-8 this season -- the fewest wins in the league -- and is last in the Eastern Conference with 17 points.

Arena took over the U.S. team in October 1998, shortly after the Americans finished last of 32 teams at the World Cup. He brought them to respectability in 2002, taking them to the quarterfinals and raising hopes that the U.S. could field an even better team in 2006.

But those hopes were dashed at the World Cup last month, when the U.S. failed to advance to the second round after losses to the Czech Republic and Ghana and a draw with eventual champion Italy. Last week, Arena and U.S. Soccer agreed to part ways.

Arena believes a growing MLS will eventually help the U.S. compete better at the World Cup, as well as getting more Americans to play in Europe. But after the U.S. was eliminated, some thought Arena took a swipe at MLS because he said more players should go abroad.

When asked about those comments and his return to MLS, Arena declined to say much of anything.

“I’m not going to worry about the league,” Arena said. “I’m going to worry about the Red Bulls. When I was technical director of the national team, that was my job. Now, this is my job.”

Arena said he had a feeling in January he would not return as national team coach. Though he had no interest in MLS, Arena started talking to the Red Bulls after the U.S. was eliminated and changed his mind because he thought the organization had many positives to offer.

Arena won MLS championships with D.C. United in 1996 and ’97.

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Juventus is appealing its demotion to Serie B and the loss of two Serie A titles in Italy’s match-fixing scandal.

Juventus filed an appeal late Monday, arguing that the sanctions were excessive, club spokesman Roberto Patriarca said.

Lazio, Fiorentina and Milan also confirmed they will appeal their punishments. The appeals hearing will begin Saturday, the Italian soccer federation said.