I’m an Italy fan, says Arena Thursday 15 June, 2006
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USA boss Bruce Arena has admitted that he’s been a fan of the Italian national side, who they meet on Saturday, since he was a child.
The tactician, who has peninsula roots, has revealed that he’s been an Azzurri disciple since he saw a poster of a 1950s Italian national side hanging up in a Brooklyn store run by Salvatore Schembre, his grandfather.
“Everybody looks at Brazil as the class of the tournament, but I still like Italy and have followed them for years,” said Arena on Thursday.
"I have Italian heritage, but I was born in America. That's my only connection,” continued the Coach.
“I've been to Italy only three times in my life. My mother's side is Sicilian and my father's from Naples. I'm sure I have bloodlines there. But I have not traced them."
Arena also admits that his limited Italian language skills will probably be of no use when he faces Marcello Lippi’s troops at the weekend.
“I do speak Italian, but not the kind of words you want to hear,” he smiled.
The USA go into the game after losing 3-0 to the Czech Republic in their World Cup opener, a defeat which led to a blasting for key midfielder DaMarcus Beasley.
Yet Arena has today admitted that he made a mistake in publicly criticising the PSV Eindhoven 24-year-old.
"The remarks from me and DaMarcus should probably not have even been stated," Arena continued.
"DaMarcus hasn't been a problem with anything. I hate to tell you that because it doesn't sound as exciting as you want it to be.”
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he better prove his azzurri fan by loosing 3:0
