NEW YORK -- Bruce Arena opened a binder to a page with 48 names, his depth chart for the U.S. soccer team.Back in charge for the first time in a decade, he views the Americans state as urgent following losses in the first two games of the final round of World Cup qualifying and already has plans.Were fighting for our lives starting March 24. Were behind the eight ball, he said. Weve got to close the gap, and we get six points in the next two games, the gap is closed.During an hourlong session with reporters Tuesday, Arena said comments he made in 2013 about foreign-born players on the national team were aimed at the U.S. player development system, not a criticism of German-Americans who made up almost a quarter of the 2014 World Cup roster under Jurgen Klinsmann.I was told today, somebody, they referenced me in Spain as the Donald Trump of soccer, Arena said. I think that Im at fault obviously for those statements, but I would like to clear that up. Its absolutely ridiculous. Its no way in the way I think.I think the phrase foreign nationals is a very poor term, whoever uses it, and I will not use it. I will not use dual citizens. Theyre national team players, he explained. The comment regarding foreign-born players, at the time I believe was referencing player development. And I was simply saying that if our senior national team program consists of a large minority of players, large majority of players that were born elsewhere, where are we going with our development? It has nothing to do with who should be playing on the national team, who should not.Now 65 and a member of the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame, Arena coached the U.S. from 1998-2006 and is the winningest coach in team history. He led the Americans to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals, their best finish since the first tournament in 1930, then was fired after a first-round elimination in 2006. He took over from Klinsmann last week following a 2-1 home loss to Mexico and a 4-0 rout at Costa Rica.Mexico certainly came out and took control of the game early, and I dont think that should happen at home, Arena said. I think the game in Costa Rica was not good from start to finish. In general, I think the theme in both games: Our back line played poorly, and I dont think theyre poor players. I think they can play better, so weve got to get them organized, get the right players in the right spots and get them playing better as a unit.Arena plans to open training camp in Carson, California, around Jan. 8 and follow with a pair of exhibitions with a roster mostly from Major League Soccer. Qualifying resumes March 24 with a home game against Honduras, followed four days later by a match at Panama.Arena says goalkeepers Tim Howard and Brad Guzan need competition from the rest of the player pool, 31-year-old midfielder Benny Feilhaber likely will get an opportunity to return after playing just three games under Klinsmann and 35-year-old midfielder Jermaine Jones certainly still has something to offer.He views captain Michael Bradley as a defensive midfielder rather than a playmaker, a role Klinsmann encouraged Bradley to assume.He plays an important position and at his best hes a key figure, and weve got to get him at his best, Arena said.Settling on the center of the field is one of Arenas keys.We need a better passer in the midfield than we have. We need to have a player in the attacking half of the field that can deliver the right ball at the right time, he said. Who that is remains to be seen. Theres a couple of domestic players that are very good at that that well look at in camp in January, and that to me is an area that weve got to identify. And that will help establish how we play. Do we play with one striker, two strikers? Do we play with three? How do we define our midfield shape based on that.Arenas office at the StubHub Center moves only about 30 feet from his previous job as coach of the LA Galaxy, and his parking spot remains the same. As he takes over, he wants to change the Americans mentality and consistency.Too many peaks and valleys, he said, moving his hands up and down. Weve got to get them to level out their performance a little bit more.A former German star player and coach, Klinsmann criticized the level of play in Major League Soccer. Arena said it has come a long way.MLS isnt on the level of the EPL or the Bundesliga or La Liga, Serie A. We know that, he said. But right after that, were in that area below that, and it will get better.Arena doesnt tweet and isnt that interested in statistics.Im not a person that digs deep into analytics because I dont think the sport of soccer is an analytic sport, he said. I think baseball clearly is. I think football can be, obviously, basketball a little bit more. I think soccer is a hard one. Youth Blazers Jerseys . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. Authentic Blazers Jerseys . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. http://www.cheapblazersjerseyschina.com/ . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. 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British star William Fox-Pitt produced a stunning performance on day one of the Rio Olympics eventing competition to take pole position in Deodoro.Fox-Pitt, who was placed in an induced coma just 10 months ago after suffering head trauma following a cross-country fall, leads overnight on his 2015 Badminton Horse Trials winner Chilli Morning.A dressage score of 37.0 penalties for the multiple major championship medallist meant Britain enjoyed a dream start in their quest to not only secure a fifth successive Olympic eventing team medal, but first gold since Munich in 1972.And with 15th-placed Gemma Tattersall -- Britains other team member to ride during the opening day -- producing a solid score of 47.2 aboard Quicklook V, it meant an impressive opening ahead of Pippa Funnell and Kitty King riding their tests on Sunday.Fox-Pitt, 47, only returned to competitive action in early April following a lengthy rehabilitation process.He was unable to drive for several months, and at times could not even climb the stairs at his Dorset home, which makes his Rio exhibition all the more astonishing.Stallion Chilli Morning is among world eventings top performers, and Fox-Pitt coaxed a brilliant test out of his ride in searing heat to lead the field.Australias Christopher Burton and Santano II are second, just 0.6 penalties behind Fox-Pitt, with reigning Olympic individual champion Michael Jung third aboard Sam FBW and his fellow German Sandra Auffarth fourth with Opgun Louvo.Germany, seeking a hat-trick of Olympic titles, lead the team competition at its early stage, from Australia in second and Britain third.Ireland, meanwhile, lie sixth folllowing consistent displays by Padraig McCarthy [Simon Porloe] and Clare Abbott [Euro Prince], who lie 12th and 13th in the individual event.dddddddddd