Arena regrets Beasley row but no hard feelings

HAMBURG, June 15: US coach Bruce Arena today said he regretted having a public slanging match with his versatile midfielder DaMarcus Beasley following their 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic.

But Arena insisted there were no after-effects over the remarkably open criticism they had for each other about Monday's Group E defeat in Gelsenkirchen and said there were no hard feelings between him and the 24-year-old from PSV Eindhoven.

''Probably the remarks from me and DaMarcus should not have even been stated,'' Arena said in Hamburg on Thursday before the team flies to Ramstein air base near Kaiserslautern for their match against Italy on Saturday.

''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,'' he told journalists, dampening speculation Beasley might be benched against Italy on Saturday.

Ghana is also in the group.

Arena had first said ''we got nothing out of Beasley'' after the match. Beasley said Arena's strategy -- pulling a defender for a third striker at the half -- was a mistake and forced him into a defensive role that was ultimately counterproductive.

The coach said a day later he hoped Beasley was ''man enough'' to understand his critiques.

Arena, proud of his Italian heritage, said he has followed Italy since childhood. He has recalled staring up as a six-year-old at a poster of an Azzurri side from the 1950s on a wall of a delicatessen run by grandfather, Salvatore Schembre.

''That's coming back to haunt me now,'' Arena said of the poster in Brooklyn. ''Being of Italian heritage is fun and all. Everybody looks at Brazil as the class of the tournament, but I still like Italy and have followed them for years.'' Arena said he does not have any other ties to Italy -- except his fondness for pasta and a limited Italian vocabulary.

''I was born in America. I have Italian heritage. That's my only connection. I've been there only three times in my life. My mother's side is Sicilian and my father's from Naples. I'm sure I have blood lines there. But I have not traced them.'' Arena was asked if he speaks any Italian.

''I do,'' he said. ''But not the kind of words you want to hear.''

REUTERS

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