NEW YORK -- Bruce Arena was a decade removed from the U.S. national team when he received a telephone call from U.S. Soccer Federation Secretary General Dan Flynn on Sunday asking him to meet with USSF President Sunil Gulati the following day.By midday Tuesday, the winningest coach in the teams history regained the job he had not wanted to give up.I never expected to be back in this role the way it came about over the last 48 hours, Arena explained. I hate to say this now to Sunil: I wouldve done this for free.A day after Jurgen Klinsmann was fired following two losses that began the final round of World Cup qualifying, Arena agreed to a contract running through the 2018 tournament in Russia.With the Americans 0-2 at this stage for the first time, the USSF wants to spark a turnaround when competition resumes March 24 with a home game against Honduras followed four days later with a match at Panama. The 65-year-old Arena, inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010, starts work Dec. 1.We need to build the chemistry of this team and have a common goal and really work on a team concept, he said during a telephone news conference. I really believe individually and positionally we have good players and weve just got to get them working together as a team.There are no real secrets on how you build good teams: It takes a lot of hard work, it takes communication, it takes discipline and it takes some talent, and I think we have enough talent to build a good team and end up in Russia 2018. Its going to take a little time, a little bit patience and a lot of hard work.Arena first took over as national team coach after the 1998 World Cup and led the U.S. to a 71-30-29 record. Gulati fired him, failed to reach a deal with Klinsmann and then brought in Bob Bradley.I dont view it as Bruce 2, but sort of Bruce 2.0, Gulati said. I think hes got far more experience than he did when he had the national team the first go-round. Hes proven and re-proven many times at all levels of the game in the United States that hes an extraordinarily capable and successful coach.A wisecracking Brooklynite known for blunt talk and sarcasm, Arena coached the University of Virginia to five NCAA titles from 1978-95, then led D.C. United to championships in Major League Soccers first two seasons before losing in the 1998 final. He guided the Americans to the teams best World Cup finish since 1930, a 1-0 loss to Germany in the 2002 quarterfinals.Arena was let go after the teams first-round elimination by Ghana in 2006. He coached MLSs New York Red Bulls from July 2006 to November 2007, then was hired the following August by the Galaxy. He led that team to MLS titles in 2011, 2012 and 2014.I think 10 years later Im better prepared for this job than I was in 1998 and 2002 and ultimately 2006, so Im hopeful the experiences I had are going to benefit the program, he said. One of the things you learn from experience is you see things a lot clearer and a lot quicker than you did previously, and the game has slowed down a bit, where I can see as a coach in my position how things are happening on the field.Hired by Gulati in 2011, Klinsmann coached the U.S. to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and the second round of the 2014 World Cup, where the Americans lost to Belgium 2-1 in extra time.Gulati cited three disappointments that led to Klinsmanns firing: not qualifying for the 2017 Confederations Cup, the under-23 teams failure to reach this years Olympics and the poor start to the final round of qualifying in the North and Central American and Caribbean region.The U.S. would have reached the Confederations Cup by winning last years Gold Cup, but Jamaica upset the Americans in the semifinals, and the U.S. lost a playoff to Mexico.Really starting at the Gold Cup, weve had some very up-and-down results, Gulati said. The Gold Cup was a big disappointment for everyone: for Jurgen, for the players, for our fans.Two weeks ago, Gulati said he expected Klinsmann to keep his job through the 2018 World Cup. But Mexico won 2-1 in Columbus, Ohio, the first U.S. home loss in qualifying since 2001. That was followed by a 4-0 defeat last week in Costa Rica, the Americans first four-goal loss in qualifying since 1980.None of us expected the two results we got, Gulati said.He held a series of conversations with USSF board members after last Tuesdays defeat, made the decision Sunday and joined Flynn for a Monday meeting in Los Angeles with Klinsmann.While Gulati returned to New York, Flynn remained in Los Angeles to negotiate Arenas contract, which was agreed to at 11:30 a.m. EST Tuesday and approved by the board 15 minutes later. Arenas return was announced at 1:21 p.m.A star forward for Germany in the 1990s, Klinsmann was criticized by some -- including Arena -- for his use of foreign-born players. Five German-Americans were on his 23-man World Cup roster.If I made those comments, I certainly dont believe that thats my attitude, Arena said. I believe anyone that has a passport in the United States is certainly eligible to play for our national team, and I embrace all players that are eligible to play. I just want to make sure their heart is in the right place and when they place that U.S. jersey on theyre playing for that crest on their shirt. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments. Discount MLB Jerseys . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseysmlb.com/ . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. China MLB Jerseys . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Cheap Baseball Jerseys . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. PHILADELPHIA -- Hit or no hit, Maikel Franco was just happy the Phillies won.Franco drove home the winning run with one out in the 12th inning on a play that eventually was ruled a single to give Philadelphia a 5-4 victory over the struggling San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.Ryan Howard homered among his three hits and Cameron Rupp also connected for Philadelphia. Franco finished with three RBI, including one on the unusual sequence that ended the game.With the bases loaded and one out, Franco lined what appeared to be a clean single into right-center field. But young teammate Aaron Altherr, who was on first base, got so excited about the Phillies winning that he rushed out to right field to congratulate Franco without ever touching second base.Giants catcher Buster Posey noticed the blunder and took a throw at second from right fielder Hunter Pence -- and second base umpire Dale Scott signaled that Altherr was out. Franco did indeed cross first base, though, so Tommy Joseph scored easily from third and the Giants had no chance at an inning-ending double play.When I saw (Hunter) Pence run out to center field to get the ball, I was like, `Whats going on here? Altherr said. Then when I saw him throw to second I was like, `Oh, (no). I feel terrible about it. Im just thankful we still got the win.Altherr said he would buy Franco dinner if the mistake cost his teammate a hit, but after a long delay following the game, the official scorer credited Franco with a single.Its more important that we won the ballgame, Franco said before the ruling. I got my RBI, we win the ballgame, thats what this game is all about.Posey singled, doubled and drove in three runs for the NL West leaders, who have lost 13 of 17 since the All-Star break. Denard Span had three hits.George Kontos (2-2) started the 12th by hitting Joseph with a pitch. He went to second on Luis Garcias sacrifice bunt and Philadelphia had runners on first and second with one out after Kontos walked Cesar Hernandez.Giants manager Bruce Bochy called on Jake Peavy for his first appearance since being demoted to the bullpen when the team acquired left-hander Matt Moore from Tampa Bay on Monday.Peavy induced a grounder by Altherr, but he reached to load the bases when third baseman Eduardo Nunez bobbled the ball for an error.Franco then drove the next pitch from Peavy into right-center.Anytime you win in extra innings, its a great win, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. When you lose, its terrible.Garcia (1-0)) pitched a scoreless inning for the win, capping an impressive performance by Philadelphias bullpen.dddddddddddd Six relievers combined to pitch seven shutout innings while allowing two hits.That was difference in the game, Bochy said. Their `pen shut us down completely.The teams combined to use 14 pitchers in a game that took 4 hours, 2 minutes.Franco hit a two-out, two-run single in the eighth off Giants starter Johnny Cueto to tie the score at 4 and complete Philadelphias comeback from a 4-0 deficit.FOR STARTERSGiants: Cueto was cruising along until giving up a pair of homers in the seventh and Francos hit in the eighth. He was lifted after allowing four runs in 7 2/3 innings while recording his 12th career double-digit strikeout game by fanning 10 Phillies. He gave up seven hits and walked one.I felt normal, Cueto said through a translator. I made all my pitches. The only thing I can say is they beat me.Phillies: Phil Klein recovered from a shaky first inning in an emergency start and lasted five innings, giving up four runs and eight hits. Philadelphia scratched scheduled starter Aaron Nola 4 hours before the game and placed him on the 15-day disabled list with a strained elbow.Prior to Wednesday, Klein made eight relief appearances for Texas this season and had pitched 36 games in his big league career. He was a 30th-round selection by the Rangers in 2011.Klein was optioned back to Triple-A after the game.NOLA SIDELINEDNola (6-9, 4.78 ERA) said he felt discomfort after his most recent start on Thursday in Atlanta.But I really didnt think it was anything, he said. It just kind of got sore a little bit. It kind of prolonged for the next couple of days and I told the (Phillies staff).The 23-year-old righty has been struggling for nearly two months and has a 9.82 ERA in his last eight starts. The Phillies skipped him once in the rotation before the All-Star break, but Nola said his struggles have had nothing to do with his health.No, no, I never felt any pain or any soreness, he said. I guess it just kind of flared up in that one game.Nola hopes to return this season, though the Phillies could be cautious with a young pitcher who is considered one of the key cornerstones in their rebuild.UP NEXTThe teams conclude their three-game series Thursday afternoon when Phillies RHP Vince Velasquez (8-3, 3.32 ERA) opposes Moore (7-7, 4.08). Cheap Authentic Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store China Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Cheap Stitched Jerseys China NFL Hoodies Cheap Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Camo China NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China ' ' '