After 6 years, the Jurgen Klinsmann era is over for the US Men's National Team, but in what state did he leave US Soccer? Klinsmann was hired in 2011 to succeed Bob Bradley and lead the United States to the next level of international competitiveness, but he has failed in this endeavor.

Since emerging on the international scene in 1990, the US has quickly established themselves as a regular fixture at the World Cup and has recently come to expect a place in the round of 16 with aspirations of making even deeper tournament runs. However, under Klinsmann, international success for the United States stagnated. The USMNT showed no discernible improvement from when Klinsmann took over in 2011 to now. The US fared no better in the 2014 World Cup (Round of 16), managed by Klinsmann, than they did in the 2010 World Cup under Bradley's management.

American fans demand results and anticipate improvement, no matter how unrealistic their expectations may be. So after 6 years of plateaued progress and a recent string of poor results, capped off by a humiliating 4-0 blowout loss to Costa Rica in the Hexagonal, it was not too surprising that Klinsmann was sacked. However, what was surprising was that US Soccer tabbed former USMNT head coach, and current LA Galaxy gaffer Bruce Arena to be Klinsmann's replacement. Hiring Arena marks a decisive step back from the bullish, forward thinking, mentality of the selection process that brought in Klinsmann. It reveals that the goals of the USMNT have shifted from reaching the latter rounds of the World Cup to merely qualifying for the tournament.

Arena is not the long term solution for the US to grow and thrive in the upper echelon of global soccer, but rather a temporary option to get the United States through CONCACAF qualifying. At present, the US sits in last place in the final round of qualification for the 2018 World Cup and is in jeopardy of snapping their consecutive World Cup streak, which dates back to 1990. The popular belief is that Arena was hired because of his experience navigating CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying and his familiarity with the MLS and his Central American and Caribbean opponents. But for a team like the United States, who has come to, and should, dominate its regional competition, this realization appears not only desperate, but alarming that the US's qualification status has become so dire.

Arena has long been a proponent of the MLS and has an extensive resume to prove so. His disposition is in stark contract to Klinsmann, who favored his player pool playing abroad in top European leagues rather than domestically. We can expect to see a roster shake up, and a much more MLS-oriented squad, in the coming months as Arena will seek to guide the USMNT through the Hexagonal with little margin for error and even less experience with the team's foreign based players. Bruce Arena's appointment as manager is not sexy by any means, but given the sad state of affairs for the USMNT, it may be the best temporary solution we have to qualify for Russia in 2018.