Lafc Faces Big Test Against Coach Bruce Arena And His Earthquakes

No 1 has coached aliases won much MLS games than Bruce Arena, truthful erstwhile Arena speaks astir nan league, it’s astir apt wise to listen. Except, maybe, erstwhile he’s trying to downplay his ain team, nan San José Earthquakes, which is disconnected to nan champion commencement successful franchise history heading into Sunday’s crippled pinch LAFC astatine BMO Stadium.

“Well, you know, it’s very early successful nan season,” said Arena, whose squad is 6-1-0 and entered nan play tied for nan MLS lead successful wins and points. “You don’t get excessively crazy successful nan early going.”

Wins successful April count conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic wins successful October, however, and Sunday’s matinee against LAFC (5-1-1) looms arsenic an important trial for Arena’s team, which has conscionable 2 victories complete teams pinch winning records.

When Arena returned to negociate successful nan convention for nan 4th clip past play — he has ne'er really retired — he took complete a squad that past had a winning grounds successful 2013 and 1 that was put up for waste midway done that first season, which only added to nan instability astir nan franchise.

Yet nan coach has been capable to artifact that out.

“There’s a batch of things that are going to astir apt hap present successful nan adjacent year,” Arena said. “There’s a anticipation of having caller ownership and who knows wherever that takes us. So my attraction is connected this squad astatine this clip and nan adjacent game. I’m not trying to dictate a five-year scheme astatine nan moment.”

In Arena’s astir successful years pinch nan Galaxy, wherever he won 3 MLS Cups and 2 Supporters’ Shields successful 5 seasons, nan squad was stout defensively and that’s besides existent of this San José team, which has fixed up a league-low 20 shots and only 2 goals, tied pinch LAFC for fewest successful MLS.

Arena was besides successful successful luring erstwhile German World Cup subordinate Timo Werner to San José, signing him to a multiyear statement worthy a reported $5.4 cardinal a season. That makes him nan best-paid subordinate successful franchise history, a important finance for a squad whose payroll was second-lowest successful MLS earlier Arena’s arrival.

Now comes nan trial against LAFC, a squad that opened nan play pinch a league-record six consecutive shutouts while ranking 3rd successful nan convention successful scoring pinch 15 goals successful 7 games. In addition, LAFC has precocious to nan semifinals of nan CONCACAF Champions Cup, leaving it 1 triumph awkward of becoming nan first MLS squad to scope nan last of region’s astir important nine tourney 3 times.

But arsenic he has done pinch his ain team, Arena cautions against making excessively overmuch of LAFC’s early success.

“Could they perchance beryllium 1 of nan champion teams successful MLS history? Yes. But I would opportunity that they haven’t won that overmuch that you tin make that statement,” he said. “They person nan champion squad successful nan convention astatine nan moment. I person nary doubts astir that.”

LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos, whose squad will play 5 games successful nan adjacent 13 days, was arsenic complimentary of San José.

“Very difficult force to play,” he said. “Defensively, very compact. A squad that doesn’t springiness much. They’re a squad that activity collectively together. They cognize what they want to do.

“The biggest crippled of our play again is Sunday against San José.”