Soccer fan Obama makes call to MLS champs

President Obama rousted LA Galaxy soccer coach Bruce Arena out of bed in the wee hours on Wednesday morning to congratulate him for winning the MLS Cup. Arena, whose team is in Jakarta, Indonesia, for an exhibition game, was happy to get the call from Obama, according to the Galaxy website. Like many professional sports teams, the LA Galaxy was extended the traditional invitation to celebrate its recent championship with a trip to the White House, but this was the first time a sitting president has called to congratulate a cup-winning coach, according to the Galaxy. Obama played soccer as boy in Jakarta.
"The president said, as a soccer fan, he wanted to let Coach Arena know that the team inspired a lot of young soccer players, including his kids," according to a White House readout of the call.
The Galaxy are led by international soccer stars Landon Donovan and David Beckham, and Arena, a former U.S. national team coach, is also the club's general manager.
Obama commended Arena "on all that the team has done for the game of soccer and asked him to pass along his congratulations to Landon Donovan, David Beckham and the rest of the team," according to the White House.