Arena met with Gulati and US Soccer secretary general Dan Flynn here at LaGuardia Airport for more than four hours on Thursday and spoke twice to Gulati Friday before the announcement.

"I've reached the decision that we will not be renewing Bruce's contract. We will start an immediate search for someone to guide the program going forward," Gulati said.

"Bruce Arena didn't become a bad coach in the games. It has much more to do with eight years and us looking for a fresh approach.

"He has given us credibility worldwide. He cetainly left the program a lot better than when he found it.

"The difficult part is we have an extraordinary guy as our coach. We weighed that against the eight-year issue and decided we needed the newness.

"We've not talked to any potential coaches. We will start that process now."

Arena, who may take over at Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls, insisted in a statement that he leaves with football in the US in good shape. He said: "I would like to thank the players, coaches and staff who have been with the program over the last eight years.

Their tireless effort has helped transform the national team program into something we can all be proud of.

"I am extremely optimistic about the future of the sport in our country. As for me, I am planning to take some time off to weigh my future opportunities."

US officials will now begin to consider options for a new coach for the team looking ahead to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Jurgen Klinsmann, who led hosts Germany to third place at the World Cup, has been mentioned as a possible successor.

He resigned from the Germany post on Wednesday and lives in Southern California with his American wife.

In 2002, Arena sprung a surprise by guiding the US squad to the World Cup quarter-finals, but they were unable to get past the first round in Germany this summer.