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3 takeaways from Bruce Arena’s return to New England in the Revolution’s draw vs. Earthquakes
Arena's return produced a muted game but a bizarre postgame soundbite.
The Revolution managed a 0-0 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening. It was the first time former head coach Bruce Arena was back on the sidelines at Gillette Stadium, though the game itself fell short of the drama that — given the adventurous style of New England’s former coach — had been promised.
With more than 31,000 in attendance on an enjoyably summer-like night, the stage was set for another back-and-forth multi-goal drama as had played out against Orlando City the previous week. Yet neither team was able to generate consistent offense, with the mirroring 3-4-2-1 systems effectively nullifying each other.
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Here are a few takeaways from a night in which most of the drama occurred off the field:
The game itself
For the Revolution, the game was unfortunately dominated by the early exit of striker Leo Campana, who once again was forced to withdraw due to a first-half hamstring issue (the second time this has happened in 2025).
New England, already playing with backup forwards Maxi Urruti and Tomas Chancalay on minutes restrictions (due to recoveries from their own injuries), was forced to change tactical systems when Campana walked off the field in the 32nd minute.
Winger Luis Diaz came on, forcing Ignatius Ganago to play as a lone center forward while Diaz tucked in as a left winger, and playmaker Carles Gil nominally occupied the right forward location (though he drifted all over the field as he often does).
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San Jose, having faced Leo Messi and Inter Miami on Wednesday, deployed a heavily rotated squad given the short rest. This meant that Revolution fans, hoping to see a majority of the seven-player contingent of Earthquakes who were formerly New England players — the two teams have conducted multiple trades since Arena’s arrival in San Jose prior to the 2025 season — were largely denied. Mark-Anthony Kaye and Nick Lima were the two former Revolution players to make Arena’s Starting XI (DeJuan Jones later came on as a substitute).
Neither side was able to generate much offense, with both teams finishing the night having recorded just one shot on target each. In truth, San Jose created many of the best opportunities, and probably should have scored when forward Amahl Pellegrino received a perfectly weighted cross inside the six-yard box in the 29th minute. Somehow, his scuffed attempt at a finish bounced wide, and the home crowd exhaled.
The night’s controversy
Midway through the second half, it appeared the Revolution had broken the deadlock thanks to a nice finish from Ganago. The 26-year-old Cameroonian raced onto a central through-ball in the 69th minute, cutting back and applying a tidy finish from the top of the box. But upon review, Ganago was judged to have started his run from an offside position.
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The call, having been made on the field as “no goal,” was not reviewed by Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
“We’re not going to make excuses,” Porter said after the game. “It’s a draw; [we] didn’t lose. We defended well, and it’s too bad that they didn’t look at the VAR, because it’s a goal.”
Bruce’s return
Obviously, even with so many former Revolution players on-hand as members of the Earthquakes’ roster, the main story of the night was the return of the 2021 MLS Head Coach of the Year.
Arena, 73, exited New England in 2023 under mysterious circumstances. After being placed on administrative leave, he resigned over a month later following a protracted MLS investigation into allegations that he made “insensitive and inappropriate remarks.” He was eventually reinstated by the league, winding up in San Jose during the most recent offseason.
With the Earthquakes currently sitting eighth in the Western Conference, Arena is already working his familiar turnaround magic (San Jose were last in the league in 2024).
“Our guys played well,” said Arena of the match. “We rotated our team, starting nine new players today than we had on Wednesday.”
He paid tribute to his time in New England.
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“The fans were very supportive of me when I was here, and I’m very honored by that,” Arena said after the game. “I love the players that were here. The people in the City of Boston were great to me when I was here, so that’s nice. And it was nice to see some people the last couple of days that said hello.”
Always a gregarious figure with the media, Arena couldn’t resist unleashing one inimitable soundbite. Taking issue with the characterization of a collision in the game — in which Ganago ran into San Jose’s Brazilian goalkeeper Daniel, who was then substituted at halftime for another former New England player in Earl Edwards Jr. — he made a somewhat intense comparison.
“Daniel collided with him, or was it the other way around?” he asked Prost reporter Caleb Pongratz. “Yeah, you missed that a little bit. That was like saying JFK shot at Lee Harvey Oswald.”
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