ARENA CRITICISES SCHEDULE

LA Galaxy manager Bruce Arena recently criticised the schedule of the US open cup finals by saying that they are ridiculous. Seattle Sounders manager Sigi Schmid has also come in support of Bruce Arena by saying that it is indeed extremely tough on the teams. During the US open cup finals, clubs often have to deal with a lot of matches in a short span of time. This is extremely tough for clubs that have a small squad, while usually there is also a lot of travelling involved as well. Arena has criticised the fact that his club will be travelling almost the entire length of the country in order to play in North Carolina.

Seattle Sounders will have three games in a week, and to make matters worse, they will be travelling across the length of the country in order to do so. Schmid has said that the way the fixtures have panned out this season has made it worse for Seattle Sounders than it is for LA Galaxy. After making the poor start to the season, there is finally signs of life in the Seattle Sounders team. They have gone undefeated in the last five matches, which has helped them close the gap on LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids.

“The only place we could have played is Miami that’s farther. For us, it presents a unique problem. I know Bruce Arena mentioned their problem, but our problem is worse. Last year I got in trouble, so I don’t want to say too much about it. I’m never quite sure if they redraw it every round, if it’s done on a regional basis. Sometimes you think it’s region when D.C. is playing Richmond and Chivas is playing the LA Blues,” said the Seattle Sounders manager criticising the schedule of the US open cup finals.