{"id":217825,"date":"2026-03-13T07:40:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T07:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/217825\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T07:40:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T07:40:29","slug":"timo-werner-san-joses-new-centerpiece-takes-mls-by-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/217825\/","title":{"rendered":"Timo Werner: San Jose’s new centerpiece takes MLS by storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI’m still learning all the names of the staff, the team,\u201d he admitted to Apple TV after his substitute appearance in the Quakes\u2019 Matchday 2 win<\/a> over Atlanta United<\/a>, \u201cand it was tough coming from an 11-hour flight. But I had enough time to rest in Germany over the last few weeks and months. So it was time to get starting, to come to the team, to have fun with them together.\u201d<\/p>\n

That newness \u2013 a factor of the usual paperwork, as well as his wife Paula giving birth to their first child last month \u2013 didn\u2019t stop him from playing the game-clinching assist. He replicated that feat last weekend in another supersub cameo, this time teeing up Ousseni Bouda<\/a> for the only goal of a 1-0 cross-country away win<\/a> over Philadelphia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nor, explained Bouda, has it kept him from fitting in quickly as one of the guys, despite his elite pedigree.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s such an experienced player and also such a great guy,\u201d said the Burkina Faso international of Werner with a smile. \u201cHe’s come in the locker room, and it already feels like he’s been here for, like, two years already. So we’re happy to have him. We’re happy to have his experience, and obviously I’m happy about the connection that we’re starting to build. So hopefully we can continue that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Timo Time<\/p>\n

Their new star has barely unpacked his bags, and the Quakes are top of the table with an unblemished 3W-0L-0D record as they prepare to host Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> in Matchday 4’s Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire showdown at PayPal Park (7 pm ET |\u00a0Apple TV<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Bruce Arena would likely be the first to point out that it\u2019s early to declare this landmark Designated Player signing a success. Then again, the Quakes\u2019 coach and sporting director said all along Werner would be a \u201chome run,\u201d even in the face of widespread doubt among observers skeptical that a player out of favor and chained to the bench at RB Leipzig for months could be a difference-maker on these shores.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis mentality. He\u2019s a good professional. He has the physical attributes that are good in this league. And he’s very bright, a very intelligent guy,\u201d Arena told MLSsoccer.com in a wide-ranging preseason sitdown in Rancho Mirage, California. \u201cHis wife’s familiar with the US, having gone to high school here for a year, so she knows the US a little bit, and they can make the transition pretty easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGermans are very good here. They’re bilingual, which I think is a real plus as well. When you bring in international players that speak English, it’s a plus. He has that as well. And obviously, he’s been a very good player; he’s scored well over 100 goals in his career. So that seems to me to be a decent bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n DP tradition<\/p>\n

That droll understatement with a twist of sarcasm is vintage Bruce, and he\u2019s earned it. \u2018Seen it all\u2019 is an overused phrase, though when it comes to Arena and Major League Soccer, it usually applies \u2013 often literally.<\/p>\n

No one\u2019s won more MLS Cups, or Supporters\u2019 Shields, or Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year awards, or matches, across five different clubs. The victory over Philly was his 276th career regular-season win, 36 ahead of second-placed Schmid and more than double that of his closest pursuer in the active coaching ranks, Houston<\/a>‘s Ben Olsen.<\/p>\n

Along the way, he\u2019s signed some pretty decent DPs.<\/p>\n

\u201cTimo reminded me a little bit of Juan Pablo \u00c1ngel,\u201d explained Arena. \u201cI brought him to [Red Bull] New York, and then Robbie [Keane], all the time I followed him, and got lucky to bring him to LA [Galaxy].<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing Timo in his years with Chelsea and Tottenham, I thought he was talented, would be very good in the league. And when I got to meet him, I thought he was a perfect fit for us. They’re all different, those three players and all, but I think he can have an impact with our club.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00c1ngel made MLS Best XI and led RBNY<\/a> to the 2008 MLS Cup final. Keane won three league titles and a Shield, and was league MVP and a four-time Best XI honoree with the Galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arena knows these are lofty comparisons. He\u2019s as adept as anyone at balancing high expectations with care and support, on the pitch and off it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has to be a big piece,\u201d Arena said of Werner. \u201cHe’s got to make the adjustment, like every international player has. The transition, sometimes it’s real quick and other times it’s real slow. Hopefully, his is quick. Robbie Keane arrived in LA in the morning and played that night \u2013 and probably had a few beers afterwards as well. Robbie’s a little unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo everyone’s different. So we’ll see how Timo makes the transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n MLS move<\/p>\n

It\u2019s vital to note how the very factor which injects uncertainty into the Werner gambit \u2013 the reality that he\u2019d played a scant 13 minutes in the Bundesliga this season before crossing the Atlantic \u2013 also provides potent fuel for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not a secret that I have a tough time the last six months,\u201d Werner, a UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup<\/a> winner with Chelsea, told reporters when he signed in late January. \u201cTo not be involved in a team like you wanted to be involved in a football team, and not doing that what you enjoyed over the last 14, 15, years \u2013 you want to go back in this business, and you want to go back in the daily work, to work every day in the pitch, with the aim to play on the weekend, winning trophies, winning games, winning everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what was motivating me to say, yeah, I think it’s the right time to make a step,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was a difficult time. I never experienced something like that in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d come very close to joining RBNY last summer before ultimately staying at Leipzig. By the time San Jose called, the calculus changed. It helped that he got a strong reference from former Spurs teammate Son Heung-Min<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I spoke to Sonny. We became good friends at Tottenham,\u201d explained Werner. \u201cWe had some good conversations about different things, but I knew when he went to LAFC<\/a>; he told me before. So yeah, it was really interesting to see that he goes and makes this move. But also, after it got announced, he texted me straight away and said, \u2018Welcome to MLS.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m really looking forward to play against him. I think there will be a good matchup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n New San Jose standard<\/p>\n

With his quality and global profile, Werner inevitably became the poster child of Arena\u2019s renovation project on arrival. He\u2019s still just one facet of a wider overhaul process at multiple levels of a struggling club that have missed out on the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs four of the last five seasons and haven’t won a postseason game since 2012.<\/p>\n

Arena engineered a 20-point turnaround in his first year in charge, yet the Quakes still fell agonizingly short of qualification, missing the Western Conference\u2019s final berth on the wins tiebreaker.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a different challenge than anything I’ve had,\u201d said Arena. \u201cWhen I came in, I saw an organization that is not prepared to win. It’s not a priority, and I think we’re making that better. I didn’t come to San Jose just to lose soccer games.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Werner signed in January, Arena ticked off a list of areas in which ownership have invested in upgrades, from the German himself to the team dining hall and even the playing surfaces the team trains and plays on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they’ve been pretty stagnant over a number of years, and sometimes accept mediocrity. So you’ve got to inspire them to try to achieve more,\u201d he told MLSsoccer.com of his Quakes culture shift. \u201cWhat’s the point in showing up to work every day to just be average, you know? So in a way, maybe I can have some leadership value in that regard, and try to motivate people to be as good as they can be in their positions. That’s not only downstairs in the building, it’s upstairs as well, from sales to marketing to how you run everything, to facilities, all those things add up.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood clubs have all of that stuff, so we’re learning to do that better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now San Jose are leading or co-leading the league in expected goals (7.55), goals against (0) and clean sheets (3), among other statistics, and they\u2019ve done so with a heavily domestic lineup, too, much of it acquired via the often-overlooked MLS SuperDraft.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s visit from the Sounders, an established powerhouse with a packed trophy cabinet, should provide a useful barometer for the Quakes\u2019 budding resurgence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be patient, but we have enough quality that I think we’re going to be a very competitive team this year,\u201d said Arena. \u201cAnd Timo is going to play an important role in that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI’m still learning all the names of the staff, the team,\u201d he admitted to Apple TV after his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[23826,29202,88,1084,90,89,98583,98582,53488],"class_list":["post-217825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-match-previews","tag-national-writer-charles-boehm","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-earthquakes","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-sjvssea-03-15-2026","tag-sunday-night-soccer","tag-timo-werner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}