Bruce Arena's contract as United States coach will not be renewed following the team's first round exit from the World Cup in Germany, US Soccer announced on Friday. "Arena was an extraordinary guy as our coach, but we weighed that against the eight-year issue and decided we needed newness," US Soccer president Sunil Gulati said. Arena, who took over as United States coach in 1999, led the team to their best ever World Cup result reaching the quarter finals in 2002. But the USA team grabbed only one point in there 2006 World Cup campaign, losing from debutants Ghana and Czech Republic and holding eventual champions Italy. Gulati, though, praised Arena for the efforts he contributed to the team. "No one has done more to lift the stature and respect of our men's national team progress worldwide," Gulati added. "We appreciate his services and as we move on we'll be looking for someone to build on the success Arena established with the team." Meanwhile, Arena said that he was very thankful for the fruitful period he spent as national team coach. "I'm optimistic about the future of the sport in our country, and I'd like to thank all the players, coaches and staff who have been with the program over the last ten years," Arena said. Jurgen Klinsmann, who led Germany to the semi finals in the World Cup before stepping down from his position on Thursday, is the major candidate to succeed Arena. The German coach currently lives in California with his American wife.
