U.S. coach Arena won't re-up for 4-year cycle

[October 13, 2017]    The Sports Xchange
United States men's national soccer team manager Bruce Arena said he is not interested in beginning another World Cup cycle after the team failed to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1986.

The U.S. came up short of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia after its 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday. Honduras and Panama leapfrogged the Americans in the CONCACAF final-round qualifying table with wins Tuesday.

Arena, who began his second stint coaching the U.S. last November when he replaced the fired Jurgen Klinsmann, told the Washington Post on Thursday that he will consider his options ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

"Obviously, I have no interest in going on a four-year cycle right now," the 66-year-old Arena told the newspaper. "I'll do whatever is right. That is the approach I am going to take."

Arena told the Post that he spoke with United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati on the team's charter flight Wednesday.

"We know where everything is at, the status of things," Arena said of his conversation with Gulati. "We're all on the same page. We'll talk again."

Arena began his first stint as the U.S. manager on Aug. 1, 1998, and coached the team until July 14, 2006, producing a 75-27-28 record. The team is 10-6-2 under Arena's direction since he took over for Klinsmann in 2016.

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