Arena not worried about Fla. spike
Florida recorded a spike of nearly 10,000 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, but New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena isn’t ready to evacuate the Sunshine State.
The Revolution will resume MLS play at 8 p.m. today against the Montreal Impact in the opening round of the MLS is Back Tournament.
“I think resuming league play is a good idea,” said Arena during a Zoom press briefing on Wednesday. “You can argue if it is the appropriate way of doing it or not but I think it’s fantastic that we are starting the league again.
“Our players are excited to play, the coaches want to get back into it and everyone involved in the sport I believe wants to get back into competition.
“Obviously with a pandemic and the issues surrounding it it is not easy and we are well aware of that. I think overall a large majority of people want to be here and want to get back into the competition.”
The Revolution are in a bubble quarantine in their hotel and on the practice field, are frequently tested and have not suffered any setbacks.
Arena said he has the full support of the organization and he intends on making a good showing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
“We are in a bubble environment and the rest of Florida is immaterial, we could be in Wisconsin right now or Massachusetts or anywhere else,” said Arena.
“We are in a protected environment so any of the issues that are happening in Florida, and we certainly feel for the people of Florida in the pandemic. But we are isolated from it and we are in a very safe environment.”
The tournament was broadsided on Monday when FC Dallas was forced to withdraw from Group B play after 10 players and one coach tested positive for the coronavirus.
Fortunately, the Dallas outbreak never expanded beyond the confines of its own quarantine. MLS is in the process of reformatting Group B with Seattle, Vancouver and San Jose.
The news got worse on Tuesday when five players on Nashville tested positive since arriving in Florida while four Vancouver players voluntarily withdrew from the tournament. Nashville’s Wednesday match with Chicago was postponed.
“We were tested and that way we are really feeling safe,” said Atlanta United coach Frank de Boer. “All the safety measures are in place for us to feel safe.
“Of course, when Dallas came here, they were probably contaminated already in Dallas itself so that makes it different. I think if people get contaminated here that is a different way to think.
“I think people feel safe right now. I think MLS and the hotel and Disney is doing everything possible to make us feel at home here and especially safe.”