Editing Bruce Arena (section)

==Playing career==

===High school and college===
Arena was born in [[Brooklyn|Brooklyn, New York]] to Vincent and Adeline Arena, Italian immigrants (from [[Alicudi]], [[Sicily]]).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2002/06/15/la-famiglia-dell-allenatore-degli-usa-agli.html|title=La famiglia dell'allenatore degli Usa, agli ottavi dei Mondiali, è originaria di Alicudi|work=|publisher=|agency=La Repubblica|date=June 15, 2002|access-date=June 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 22, 2016 |title=Five Things to Know About U.S. MNT Head Coach Bruce Arena |url=https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2016/11/five-things-to-know-about-us-mnt-head-coach-bruce-arena |access-date=December 27, 2024 |website=[[United States Soccer Federation]]}}</ref> He grew up in the [[Long Island]] town of [[Franklin Square, New York]], where he attended [[H. Frank Carey Junior/Senior High School|Carey High School]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |title=Amazingly Graceless Honest-to-a-fault coach Bruce Arena has D.C. United poised to win another MLS title |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1998/03/23/amazingly-graceless-honest-to-a-fault-coach-bruce-arena-has-dc-united-poised-to-win-another-mls-title |access-date=2023-10-09 |work=Sports Illustrated Vault {{!}} SI.com |language=en-us}}</ref> His father was a butcher while his mother was a [[school bus]] driver. Adeline was diagnosed with breast cancer when Bruce Arena was a child and had to undergo a [[mastectomy]].<ref name=":3" />

While he excelled at several sports, he was too small for [[American football]], so he joined his high school's soccer team as a defender. He moved into the goal when the starting goalkeeper was suspended after hitting another school's player during a game. While in high school, he also played a single season with local club Hota S.C. of New York City's [[Cosmopolitan Soccer League]].

After graduation, he began his collegiate athletic career playing both [[lacrosse]] and soccer at [[Nassau Community College]], a two-year college near his home. Arena was a 1970 and 1971 Honorable Mention [[All-America]]n lacrosse player and an All-American soccer player. He was inducted into the National Junior College Hall of Fame in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=10267|title=National Junior College Hall of Fame Inductees for '08|work=laxpower.com|access-date=June 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092715/http://www.laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=10267|archive-date=December 22, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> While at Nassau, he played soccer for head coach Bill Stevenson and goalkeeper coach [[Shep Messing]], a future [[New York Cosmos (1970–85)|New York Cosmos]] goalkeeper. At the end of his two years with Nassau, Arena transferred to [[Cornell University]] in upstate [[New York (state)|New York]] where he was a 1972 Honorable Mention All American and a 1973 Second Team All American in lacrosse. He did not originally intend to play soccer, but injuries to the school's first and second string goalkeepers led the men's soccer coach, [[Dan Wood (soccer)|Dan Wood]], to recruit Arena into the team as its goalkeeper. Arena backstopped the [[Cornell Big Red]] soccer team to the [[1972 NCAA University Division Men's Soccer Championship|1972 NCAA Soccer Championship]] Final Four and earned Most Valuable Defensive Player honors for the tournament.<ref>{{cite web|first=Alex |last= Kwan|date=May 31, 2006| url=http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/May06/Arena_profile.ak.html|title=U.S. men's soccer team is competing at World Cup in Germany, with Cornellian Bruce Arena at helm|work=Cornell Chronicle|access-date=June 10, 2016}}</ref>

===Professional===
After Arena's graduation from Cornell, [[New York Cosmos (1970–85)|New York Cosmos]] [[Draft (sports)|drafted]] him in the fifth round of the [[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|North American Soccer League]] college draft. The Cosmos released him before the season.   Arena then signed to play professional lacrosse for the [[Montreal Quebecois]], spending a single season with the team in 1975. The [[National Lacrosse League (1974–75)|National Lacrosse League]] folded at the end of the 1975 season, leaving Arena unemployed. At the same time, [[Dan Wood (soccer)|Dan Wood]], who had recruited Arena to play for the Cornell soccer team, had been named the new head coach of the expansion [[Tacoma Tides]] which played in the [[American Soccer League (1933–83)|American Soccer League]]. Wood contacted Arena and convinced him to move to the [[Pacific Northwest]] in 1976 to play for him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://goalseattle.com/TidesUpdates/meet_the_tacoma_tides.htm|title=Meet the Tacoma Tides|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230255/http://goalseattle.com/TidesUpdates/meet_the_tacoma_tides.htm|archive-date=September 27, 2007|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lawrence |first=John |date=March 27, 1976 |title=Arena follows coach onto Tides boot payroll |page=B2 |work=[[The News Tribune]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113037323/arena-follows-coach-onto-tides-boot/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |accessdate=November 13, 2022}}</ref> While Arena was the second string goalkeeper behind starter [[Jamil Canal]], the move to Tacoma was significant in that it introduced Arena to coaching. That year, in addition to playing for the Tides, Arena coached the men's soccer team at the [[University of Puget Sound]], where he compiled a 5–7 record.<ref>{{cite web |title=1977 Tamanawas |page=93 |url=https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=ups_yearbooks |publisher=[[University of Puget Sound]] |accessdate=November 13, 2022}}</ref>

===International===
In 1973, he earned his only [[United States men's national soccer team|national team]] [[Cap (sport)|cap]] as a second-half substitute for [[Bob Rigby]] in a 2–0 loss to [[Israel national football team|Israel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html |title=USA – Details of International matches 1970–1979 |work=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=June 10, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205054634/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html |archive-date=February 5, 2010 }}</ref> National team coach, [[Gordon Bradley]], had called Arena into the national team for an earlier game against [[Haiti national football team|Haiti]], but Arena could not get time off from his job teaching at a local junior high school.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ussoccer.com/news/centennial/01/hidden-caps-arena.aspx|title=Hidden caps: Bruce Arena|publisher=U.S. Soccer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117223126/http://www.ussoccer.com/news/centennial/01/hidden-caps-arena.aspx |archive-date=January 17, 2013 }}</ref> In addition to his single cap with the U.S. soccer team, Arena also played for the national lacrosse team which won the 1974 [[World Lacrosse Championship]] and finished runner up in 1978.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uslacrosse.org/national_teams/rosters/men_1974.phtml|title=1974 U.S. Men's National Team – IFL World Champions|publisher=US Lacrosse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050114094340/http://www.uslacrosse.org/national_teams/rosters/men_1974.phtml|archive-date=January 14, 2005|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uslacrosse.org/national_teams/rosters/men_1978.phtml|title=1978 U.S. Men's National Team – ILF Runner-up|publisher=US Lacrosse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123124103/http://www.uslacrosse.org/national_teams/rosters/men_1978.phtml|archive-date=November 23, 2007|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>