San Jose – When the San Jose Earthquakes introduced new head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena on Wednesday, along with their two latest signings—attackers Josef Martínez and Cristian “Chicho” Arango—they marked the dawn of a new era at PayPal Park. It’s a transformative moment the team hasn’t fully experienced since the stadium’s opening in 2015.
Since Arena’s arrival, the Earthquakes have shifted from being the defending Wooden Spoon recipients to a club determined to turn things around—and fast.
“We want to build a winning team and get back to that at San Jose,” Arena said. “Traditionally, if you go back to the start of the league, they’ve been one of the more successful teams in (Major League Soccer) in the early going. There’s no reason to believe that we can’t build a team back into that kind of position. The immediate goal this year is to be a better team than we were in 2024, and I think we can accomplish that for sure.”
Statistically, San Jose was the worst team in MLS in 2024, earning them the dreaded Wooden Spoon for the second time since 2018. The Earthquakes managed just six wins, finishing with 21 points in the standings. This total was nine points fewer—and one win less—than the Chicago Fire, who ended at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table in 2023 with 30 points (7-18-9).
San Jose’s minus-37 goal differential was the club’s worst since their minus-45 differential in the old North American Soccer League (NASL) back in 1982. While they scored 41 goals in 2024—two more than their tally of 39 in 2023—it was still their lowest total since netting just 32 goals in 2016.
This is where two of the club’s most significant new signings come into play.
“Expectations are high, both for me and Josef and the club that’s here,” Arango said. “We hope to be at the level of those expectations.”
“It’s a new year,” Martinez added. “What happened last year is not my concern. We came here for a new project. We came here to win.”
Both Cristian Arango and Josef Martínez are among the top strikers in MLS, a distinction the Earthquakes have lacked since Chris Wondolowski led their attacking front. Arango had an impressive 2024 season, scoring 17 goals and contributing 12 assists, despite missing time in the second half of the season due to a suspension in mid-July.
Martínez, now 31, led CF Montréal in scoring in 2024 with 14 goals across 26 matches. He ranks seventh in the league’s all-time scoring charts, with 116 goals in 184 regular-season matches. In 2018, Martínez spearheaded Atlanta United’s run to the MLS Cup title during the club’s second season, earning both MLS MVP and Golden Boot honors.
Over his career, he has claimed four trophies: the 2018 MLS Cup, the 2019 U.S. Open Cup, the 2019 Campeones Cup, and the 2023 Leagues Cup.
Like Martínez, Arango is also a decorated player, having won the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield with Los Angeles Football Club in 2022.
“I’m a very ambitious, competitive person,” Arango said. “So is Josef. …Whatever experience we can bring to the table, that’s what we’re going to do. We know that every single team wants to accomplish the same goals, but we’re here for one reason, and that’s to win.”
The acquisitions of Martínez and Arango headline is unusually active winter for the Earthquakes.
Before these marquee signings, head coach Bruce Arena brought in several familiar faces from his recent tenure with the New England Revolution, primarily bolstering the defensive side. Joining San Jose are midfielders Mark-Anthony Kaye and Ian Harkes, defender Dave Romney, goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr., and former Homegrown defender Nick Lima.
The defensive core arrives in San Jose following the Quakes’ MLS-record 78 goals conceded in 2024.
“Defensively, we’ve got to get better,” Arena said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
The Earthquakes will soon get their first taste of action under Arena. Following training camp, which runs until their Feb. 22 season opener against Real Salt Lake, the team will head to Southern California for a closed-door match against LAFC at BMO Stadium on Jan. 25.
They’ll follow up with another closed-door against Monterey Bay FC of the USL Championship before participating in the Coachella Valley Invitational at the Empire Polo Club starting Feb. 4.
At the invitational, San Jose will face the Portland Timbers on Feb. 5, the MLS Cup runner-up New York Red Bulls on Feb. 8, and close out the event against Chicago Fire FC on Feb. 12.
Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes