The Americans headed first to Hamburg, then home, convinced they had been robbed by yet another referee here. The penalty call by German ref Markus Merk just before halftime against Oguchi Onyewu was absurd, terrible, unforgivable. It was not, however, the reason the Americans failed here. When the U.S. needed a few goals to stay in the World Cup, there was no institutional memory for such positive play.

The U.S. players would do well to forget Merk’s whistle, remember instead how they finished last in Group E with only one point from three matches. They should let go of the call against Onyewu.

“You rarely see something like that called,” Brian McBride said. “They were tussling. They weren’t even using their hands. It made a big difference, going into the half down a goal instead of tied.”

Well, yes, that is true. But so is the other stuff, too. The futile offense. The nervous ballhandling.

And so the Arena era ends, probably. The coach departed the field in character, with a dismissive wave in the general direction of Merk, and no recognition of an unprecedented pro-American crowd. To his credit, Arena waited inside the stadium to congratulate Ghana coach, Ratomir Dujkovic.

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For Ghana, this was a great sporting moment, a first. Dujkovic promised to make Brazil “suffer” in the next round, a boast he surely would learn to regret.

Arena had suffered plenty yesterday, he said. “That’s a big call, by the way, if you haven’t figured it out,” Arena said, of Merk’s rash whistle. Arena had done his players no favors here, if the aim was to promote this team back in the States. Arena headquartered the Americans in remote Hamburg, then allowed minimal contact between the press and his players.

The result was second-class treatment by the U.S. media, which peeled off the Yanks and focused on other teams. Arena would tell you that’s not his problem. His problem now is finding a job, while U.S. Soccer finds someone who can smile and coach at the same time.