Bruce Arena, the most successful American coach in history, is in his first season at the San Jose Earthquakes’ helm. We checked in with Arena on eve of the U.S. national team’s September friendlies — part of Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup. The benchmark of U.S. success at a World Cup was set when Arena guided the USA to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup.

SOCCER AMERICA: How has this season gone so far compared to what your expectations were when you took charge of the San Jose Earthquakes?

BRUCE ARENA: When you start with the team that finished 29th out of 29, you know it’s not going to be smooth sailing.

I think we’ve had good moments but oddly enough, I think we should have 10 more points than where we are right now. We have actually, at times, played so well and have just punished ourselves. Another example would be our last game [3-1 loss at Austin FC]. It continues like that, and it’s sometimes hard to figure out.

But we’ve made some improvements to the roster and we’ll make more for next year. I didn’t expect to win the MLS Cup this year, but I’m hopeful that we can qualify for the playoffs. That would be a nice accomplishment in year one of this rebuild, or whatever you want to call it.

We’re going to have new ownership in the future, and I think that’s something that would be very beneficial for the club.

SA: Has the team being for sale in the middle of a season added challenges, such as summer transfer window player acquisitions?

BRUCE ARENA: A little bit. We had a chance to bring in what I thought was a pretty elite player, and we failed to do that. And maybe at a different time it would have worked out. But whatever, it’s all part of it. You move on.

SA: Thoughts on the overall competitiveness of MLS this season?

BRUCE ARENA: I would say that there is not one team that’s head and shoulders above everyone. Maybe, in my opinion, Seattle’s the best team in the league but on a given day, everyone’s beatable.

That’s highly unusual around the world, as you know. Using the EPL as an example, you know you have the top teams, and at the end of the day, it’s going to be hard not to believe that Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are going to be top four. That doesn’t happen in our league.

You look at a team like the [2024 champion] LA Galaxy. They have spent a ton of money, and look at where they are. [Last-place in the overall standings].