Filip Bondy

NUREMBERG, Germany - Now that the U.S. team has been whistled out of the World Cup, it is time to start thinking about a successor for coach Bruce Arena — who may go willingly, or may require a swift banana kick out the door.

This is not to say that Arena was a bad coach during his two-term, eight-year tenure. Quite the contrary, at times. He led a U.S. team all the way to a quarterfinal in Korea, an almost impossible accomplishment aided just a bit by the luck of the draw. He also seemed to understand the complicated rhythms of the qualifying process, the nuances of his talent pool.

At the same time, he failed to develop a cohesive midfield, or finishers of any consistence. His caustic ways wore thin with several players, including Kasey Keller, DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey. At times, too, he seemed to go out of his way to avoid promoting the sport at home, to be just a bit too cranky.

He had his favorites, who didn’t always return the favor. Arena would always live and die with Claudio Reyna, a possession player whose style in many ways contradicted the team’s countering strengths. A team of Reynas or Donovans would work better, it seemed, than a team with both.

He was a mixed bag, right to the end — assuming this is the end. Nobody would swear as much after the U.S. was bumped from the tournament, 2-1, by Ghana. Arena said that if he had to make a decision right now, he wouldn’t come back. “If you ask me now, probably not,” he said.

Arena said he had several career options, but didn’t elaborate. If he didn’t get great offers in 2002, when he truly deserved them, there are probably fewer now. He has a contract until December, so there is time for this decision. But Sunil Gulati, president of U.S. Soccer, said Arena’s status and other matters would be studied immediately.

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“We’ll sit down and evaluate everything, beginning in about 15 minutes, informally and with Bruce,” Gulati said. “This is not a situation where anyone is panicking. We have a coach, and we’ll have a coach at the end of the year.”

A change is essential, of only for some fresh air. The only reason, even, to consider keeping Arena is the absence of an obvious successor. There are no American geniuses waiting in the wings. One of the potential applicants, Bob Bradley, made the mistake a few years ago of accepting a job with the MetroStars.

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Juergen Klinsmann, now the German national coach, sounds great in theory. He’s affable, smart, experienced and lives in California. But it’s impossible to predict at the moment how his romance with the German people will turn out, in the next few weeks, or whether he would be available.

In any case, some of Arena’s favorite players will no longer be playing for the U.S. Brian McBride announced his retirement after the match from international play, and Reyna is finished, as well.

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In the loss to Ghana, Reyna was stripped of the ball by Haminu Draman in the 22nd minute, a goal for Ghana. On this one play, the aging Reyna demonstrated all his vulnerabilities at once. He not only lost possession for his lack of urgency, he also was injured and later required replacing.

And again, Arena went to one of his guys on the bench, clumsy Ben Olsen, not the more accomplished John O’Brien. He would also not use Eddie Johnson, the team’s most explosive young attacking talent, until the 61st minute — despite chants from the crowd to give the swift Floridian a longer run.

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