Some say Kenny Arena, BruceÆs son, made the U.S. under-20 national team because of his fatherÆs influence. His U-20 coach and teammates will testify Kenny Arena earned everything on the field.
Kenny Arena knows heÆs not the most skillful soccer player on the planet. HeÆs not even the best player in the room, nowhere near it, and he can live with that.
There are those who canÆt, those who see where heÆs climbed in his brief career ù to a spot on the U.S. under-20 team at the World Youth Championship in Argentina ù and figure itÆs his name ù and his connections ù that warrant all the credit.
Bruce Arena ù if one is to believe the snickers emanating from the bowels of AmericaÆs soccer community, or the postings on Internet soccer boards ù pulled every string required so his only child could ascend to heights his talents could never take him.
ItÆs absurd, of course. Ask his coach, his teammates, anyone who saw his performance during the tournament that qualified the United States for FIFAÆs U-20 finals, and theyÆll testify Kenny Arena is where he belongs.
ôWhether youÆre the national team coachÆs son or not, itÆs too big a risk,ö defender Alexander Yi says, to include him on the roster because of his name. ôKennyÆs earned it ù he deserves every bit of it.ö
ArenaÆs qualities may not be as discernible as some of his U-20 teammatesÆ, but he offers a competitiveness that is unmatched on Wolfgang SuhnholzÆs squad.
ôHeÆs a battler,ö says Suhnholz, ôthe type of player we have been craving for in midfield because he does a lot of the dirty work. HeÆs all bite.ö
Arena wonÆt argue with that description. His touch, he admits, is ôbad,ö his footwork an area that needs attention. ôI have to be [all bite],ö he says. ôI have to work that much harder than everyone else to be on the field and help the team.ö
Arena turned serious about soccer after he left his Virginia home to spend his freshman and sophomore years of high school in New Jersey. He played club ball for Bob Bradley ù his fatherÆs former and future assistant ù who quickly corrected ArenaÆs notions that he could play with some semblance of flair.
ôBob Bradley would bluntly say, æWhat the hell are you doing?Æö Arena says. ô æPass the ball ù you canÆt dribble.Æ Slowly, I started to figure out the way to be a good player was to work really hard on defense.ö
Cleaning up things in midfield, whether in the air or with a tackle, has become his forte. If heÆs not the prettiest player, heÆs among the more effective.
ôHeÆs got a very good soccer brain,ö says George Gelnovatch, ArenaÆs coach at the University of Virginia and a former player (and sometimes an assistant coach) for Bruce Arena. ôHeÆs the first guy to figure out how the other team is playing and pass that information on on the field.ö
Kenny Arena is no mirror image of Bruce, although evidence exists to the contrary.
ôTheyÆre both very competitive, very determined, very intense,ö says Phyllis Arena, BruceÆs wife and KennyÆs mom. ôBoth have big hearts, though they donÆt necessarily want everybody to know that. TheyÆre both incredibly smart. And theyÆre both very passionate about the game.ö
They look alike, share personality traits, and their voices are so similar that Gelnovatch swears he sometimes canÆt tell them apart on the phone.
KennyÆs impersonation of Bruce keeps his teammates in stitches, but constant comparison irks him.
ôTo everyone else, IÆm BruceÆs son,ö he says. ôEveryone [on the U-20 team] jokes around about it ù I kick their ass when they say it. But [Bruce has] let me become me, you know? ThatÆs something I really appreciate.ö
Kenny says that until he demonstrated he was serious about the sport, about the time adulthood arrived, his dad ônever really helped me play soccer … never talked soccer to me.ö
ôKenny told me his dad doesnÆt give a s*** if he plays soccer or not,ö says Yi, ArenaÆs roommate with the U-20s.
Bruce Arena confirms that.
ôIÆd like to see him do whatever makes him happy, whether thatÆs flying kites or playing soccer,ö he says. ôEither one works for me.ö
That wonÆt slow talk that Bruce Arena engineered KennyÆs way onto the U-20 team, that anything Kenny accomplishes in the sport is BruceÆs doing.
Kenny wonÆt let it irritate him.
ôItÆs probably bothered me,ö he says, ôfor about five minutes of the past year and a half.ö
Those close to him arenÆt so dismissive.
ôIÆm sure thereÆs a lot of people out there who will criticize every move Kenny makes because heÆs my son,ö Bruce Arena says. ôItÆs very unfair, and theyÆre jerks, most of them.ö
Says Gelnovatch: ôI would bet you 99 percent of people making the comments havenÆt seen him play. IÆve known him for years, IÆve had him [at Virginia] for two years, and I know what a good soccer player is. The kid is a good soccer player.ö