Bruce Arena won the MLS Coach of the Year award 12 years after first taking the honour. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)Bruce Arena was named MLS Coach of the Year for the second time on Wednesday.
Arena received the award on the basis of guiding the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 12-6-12 record and 48 points, good for top seed in the West.
It was a 15-point improvement over the previous season for the Galaxy, who last made the playoffs in 2005.
Arena took over in late 2008 in Los Angeles and after some early struggles this season, the team found a groove, led by high-profile players Landon Donovan and David Beckham, who seemingly moved past a well-publicized spat they had earlier.
Arena, 57, won the award previously with D.C. United in 1997, and was the U.S. national team coach for nearly nine years, a tenure that soon ended after the 2006 World Cup.
He beat out expansion club Seattle Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid, a two-time winner who took the award last year with Columbus. Schmid's replacement in Columbus, Robert Warzycha, was also a finalist.
Toronto FC keeper Stefan Frei is the only player from his team up for an award. He will find out on Thursday whether he's won the rookie of the year award.
