Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena gets a tip from John McEnroe

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So, Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena is a tennis fan. Who knew?

After his team had given up the most goals in a game in its 14-year history on Saturday night in a 6-3 loss to FC Dallas at the Home Depot Center, the Galaxy’s lack of defensive speed was brought into question.

Searching for an answer, Arena turned to the U.S. Open for inspiration.

‘There was a tennis match the other night where [Rafael] Nadal was playing the French player. I’m trying to think of what his name was now. [Gael] Monfils. I thought it was interesting the way they pronounced it. The L was silent, right?

‘They said it was going to be a tough match for Nadal because this was one guy that was quicker and faster than Nadal. They said he was one of the quickest and fastest guys on the Tour. And John McEnroe said, ‘Well, if they run a 100-yard dash, he’ll probably win all the time, except they are playing tennis.’

‘It’s the same thing with us. If we get into track meets, we’re probably not going to win a lot of the races. Our objective is to try to get into a soccer game. Tonight, we never gave ourselves a chance.’

The Galaxy and Arena will have another chance on Saturday when Toronto FC comes to town.

--Grahame L. Jones