SAN JOSE — Bruce Arena is more familiar with the California Clasico than just about anyone.
The longtime soccer coach, now in charge of the San Jose Earthquakes, helmed the LA Galaxy for nine years and coached in double-digit matchups against the Earthquakes. On Saturday night, he’ll return to Stanford Stadium, a place where he has coached many a storied Clasico match as a Quakes adversary.
Arena’s most notable battles with San Jose include a 0-0 draw in June 2011, when Galaxy field player Mike Magee took over in goal after LA keeper John Saunders was given a red card. Magee, a forward, had never played goalie at any level but stopped three shots to secure the clean sheet.
“That’s the one that I’ll always remember,” Arena told the Bay Area News Group.
San Jose Earthquakes’ Jason Hernandez (21) dribbles the ball against Los Angeles Galaxy’s Mike Magee (18) in the second half of the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinal at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012. (Nhat V. Meyer/ Staff)
It was a memorable matchup, to be sure. Saunders earned the sendoff after elbowing San Jose’s Steven Lenhart in the head, and someone had to step up in goal for the Galaxy.
Magee happened to be in the right place at the right time.
“I think I was just the closest guy to him after it happened,” Magee said of Arena after the game. “Bruce was having choice words with the ref, and I was just standing next to him.
“It finally caught my attention that someone had to play goalkeeper. I looked at him and asked, ‘Bruce, who is going to play goalie?’ I can’t even say his words at the moment, but then I said, ‘Alright, I’ll go in.’”
PALO ALTO, CA – JUNE 30: David Beckham #23 of the Los Angeles Galaxy battles for control of the ball with Justin Morrow #15 of the San Jose Earthquakes in the first half of their MLS soccer game at Stanford Stadium on June 30, 2012 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
In 2012, the Earthquakes staged a thrilling comeback from down 3-1 to win 4-3 in a game where Galaxy forward David Beckham got into an altercation with Quakes mascot Quakesadus Mascotacus during second-half stoppage time.
Q, as he is better known, confronted Beckham on the field with a sign reading “SPORTSCENTER IS NEXT.” The match aired on ESPN, and the network’s flagship sportscast was due to air after the game’s conclusion.
It wasn’t at Stanford Stadium, but the teams also contested a two-leg playoff series in 2012 that also ranks among Arena’s standout memories from his history in the Clasico.
In that semifinal pairing, the Earthquakes took the first game 1-0 in Carson, but the Galaxy avenged their home defeat with a 3-1 win at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara and advanced to the MLS Cup, which they won 3-1 over the Houston Dynamo.
San Jose Earthquakes Chris Wondolowski (8) reacts to call against Los Angeles Galaxy, in the first half of the second leg of MLS Western Conference Semifinals match at Buck Shaw Stadium, in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012. (Josie Lepe/Staff)
Nowadays, Arena is on the San Jose side of things, having joined the Earthquakes in November as coach and sporting director. He’s led San Jose to a resurgent season so far.
Last season, the Quakes finished dead last in MLS with 21 points in 34 matches, nine behind the second-worst team, Chicago. This year, San Jose already has 26 points in 19 matches played and is in playoff position, currently the No. 5 team in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy, meanwhile, have plunged from capturing an MLS Cup last season to the league’s worst team this year. They have one win, five draws and 13 losses.
Arena has already faced the Galaxy once as Quakes coach, beating them 1-0 in Carson in May. But this will be his first taste of the rivalry on this side of the state, and he’s looking forward to seeing what Quakes fans bring to the table on Saturday.
San Jose Earthquakes’ Simon Dawkins (10) controls the ball against Los Angeles Galaxy’s David Beckham (23) in the second half of the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinal at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012. (Nhat V. Meyer/ Staff)
“It’s a nice event at Stanford,” Arena said. “It’s always a good crowd, and obviously, the Galaxy are always a draw on the road. I personally have a lot of good memories of the competitions against the Earthquakes, so it’ll be an enjoyable day.”
The Clasico has consistently been a showcase event for the Earthquakes, one where they can reliably draw well over the capacity of PayPal Park. Thus, Stanford Stadium, which recently was used as a softball field while Stanford renovated its diamond complex, will get another chance to host a specialty event.
“I don’t know how this market responds,” Arena admitted. “I’m really still new here, so I don’t have a great feel for all of that. But I imagine, from what I recall in the past, every time we played at Stanford, we had close to 50,000 people at the game, so hopefully we get that same kind of turnout this time around.”
The rivalry between two teams representing different sides of California is one of MLS’ longest-running and most notable, and has grown up with the league to become one of the featured games on the Bay Area sports calendar. Twenty-nine years after MLS started in 1996, both clubs have survived ups and downs.
San Jose Earthquakes’ Marvin Chavez (81) reacts to a missed goal attempt by San Jose Earthquakes’ Ike Opara (55) late in the second half against the Los Angeles Galaxy for the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinal at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012. (Nhat V. Meyer/ Staff)
The Earthquakes, an MLS charter franchise that began as the San Jose Clash in 1996, relocated to Houston and became the Dynamo in 2006. Another version of the Earthquakes was restarted under new ownership in 2008. Since then, the rivalry between San Jose and the Galaxy has picked back up and has once again been a beacon of MLS’s growing impact on the West Coast.
“I don’t know how much it contributes to MLS, but certainly it does for the clubs,” Arena said. “In the years I was with the Galaxy, this was always a huge game for our fan base. And I know when I was here, the fans got on me pretty good, especially at Santa Clara. So I know both fan bases take it very seriously, and that’ll make for a fun environment. I think we’ll have a great day on Saturday.”
Looking beyond the Clasico, Arena expressed excitement about the Earthquakes’ future. San Jose announced last Wednesday that owner John Fisher would start “a process to sell a controlling interest in the club,” eventually paving the way for new ownership to take over the Quakes.
Earthquakes and Oakland A’s owner John Fisher (left) chats with Quakes’ star Chris Wondolowski at Earthquakes Stadium on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 after the team announced a new jersey sponsorship deal. Fisher is taking a more visible role with the team after years of being an enigmatic owner.
San Jose is on the rise this year, and depending how things fall with the ownership transition, the Quakes could be back on a path toward the success they had in winning MLS Cups in 2003 and 2005.
“All the original clubs have played a big role in the league,” Arena said. “In ‘96, there were 10 teams, and today there’s 30, and there’s eventually going to be 32 from what I understand. And this club in particular had to go through some hard times. It’s always been a good market for the league, and for many years, the Earthquakes were a very competitive team in the league, and that’s what I’m trying to do now.
“The support that the professional teams have received in this marketplace has been important. The future for this club and with new ownership coming in will be tremendous, and there’s so much potential here, and I look forward to seeing the growth. It’s a nice, diverse marketplace. So there’s everything you need here to be successful. And they like soccer. The home crowds have been very good.”
San Jose Earthquakes Bruce Arena and San Jose Earthquakes’ Cristian Espinoza (10) look on duirng the second half of an MLS soccer match against the Inter Miami at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
