After a 10-year break from international soccer, Bruce Arena is headed home and, in this case, that’s the head coaching job of the U.S. men’s national soccer team.

Arena, 65, was officially announced Tuesday morning as Jurgen Klinsmann’s replacement.

Klinsmann was relieved of his duties Monday as both coach and technical director.

U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said there is no rush to fill Klinsmann’s technical director role.

“I’m thrilled to be back with the national team,” said Arena, who is leaving the Galaxy after eight-plus seasons. “This is the greatest honor and I know we have a great challenge ahead, but I’m excited about the opportunity and getting to work.”

Arena’s first stint with the men’s national team lasted from 1998-2006. He’s the all-time winningest coach in U.S. history, posting a 71-30-29 record. Arena led the U.S. to their best finish at the World Cup when he led the 2002 team to the quarterfinals.

“I never expected to be back in this role, the way it came about in the last 48 hours,” Arena said. “Any coach in our country would always be thrilled to have the opportunity to coach one of our national teams.”

Things certainly moved quickly for all involved.

Monday afternoon’s announcement that Klinsmann was being let go was followed by Arena’s name being circulated as a replacement.

Gulati said the deal was finalized Tuesday morning and approved shortly thereafter. He added that Arena’s contract was through the 2018 World Cup.

“This doesn’t happen at the pace that it did without the cooperation of AEG and the Galaxy,” Gulati said. “First, allowing us to talk yesterday and then releasing him from his contract. It is late in the game for the Galaxy, but their response and support for the national team and Bruce was unparalleled.”

After leaving the U.S. job the first time, Arena was hired by the Galaxy on Aug. 18, 2008, as coach and general manager.

He led the Galaxy to MLS Cups in 2011, 2012 and 2014. Arena posted a 125-70-79 record during his time with the Galaxy. He also led the Galaxy to two MLS Supporters’ Shields. He was selected MLS Coach of the Year with the Galaxy in 2009 and 2011.

“The Galaxy had a choice to make and felt that this decision was in the best interest of the club, for Bruce and for the betterment of soccer in the United States,” club president Chris Klein said. “We have been incredibly fortunate to have Bruce (Arena) coach this team over the past eight years and will greatly miss him. He has meant so much to this organization and helped make the L.A. Galaxy into what it is today.”

Klein added the Galaxy has an “internal timeline in place” to fill both roles.

“I think they’re in good shape,” Arena said of the Galaxy.

The U.S. looks to Arena to get the ship turned in the right direction and in a hurry.

The U.S. opened the final qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup with a 2-1 loss to Mexico and 4-0 loss to Costa Rica, leaving them in last place among six teams. Qualifying resumes March 24 at home against Honduras and four days later in a trip to Panama.

“Some of the results we’ve had recently have put us in a difficult position,” Gulati said. “And over a period of time, some things raised concern for us and that’s why we made the change.

“I don’t view this is as Bruce 2, but Bruce 2.0 … he has more experience than the first go-around.”

Arena agreed, saying he believes that he’s more prepared for this second run, mostly due to the years spent in Major League Soccer and learning what it takes to travel on the road and get a positive result, something that he will need to do immediately.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with some talented players and I understand how they work and how to build a team,” Arena said. “And continue to grow on the tactical side, continue to grow on how to deal with players, learning how to plan and playing away from home and playing in big matches. I think 10 years later I’m better prepared to do this job than I was in 1998, 2002 and ultimately 2006.

“You see things a lot clearer and a lot quicker than you did previously. I’m better at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of players.”

Arena’s start date with the U.S. is Dec. 1, just as the Galaxy is preparing for one their busiest offseasons in some time.

The first important date is Dec. 11, one day after the MLS Cup, as teams will have a half-day trade window. The following day, each team’s list of protected players will be made available for the expansion draft on Dec. 13 and the list of free agents will be public.

After the expansion draft, clubs can begin negotiating with free agents.

The offseason already has been an extremely busy one for the Galaxy and the league has yet to crown a new champion.

Since being eliminated by Colorado in the Western Conference semifinals earlier this month, the Galaxy has said goodbye to Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, associate head coach Dave Sarachan and now Arena. It is likely more familiar names will depart as well.

As for Arena, his upcoming days will also be busy as he begins to fill his staff and acclimate himself to the European-based players in the U.S. pool.

“I plan on touching base with our entire pool,” he said. “They need to know who I am and what my thoughts are. We work to build our team to be the best we can be and be ready for qualifying when it comes around.”

Contact the writer: dcalhoun@scng.com