Jurgen Klinsmanns hiring five years ago was supposed to make America a great soccer nation.Didnt happen.Worse, its not going to change anytime soon.Klinsmann talked a great game. He promised skilled, ambitious, attack-minded teams instead of relying on the tried-and-true formula of athleticism, luck and overworked goalkeepers that marked the nations modest climb in the world rankings up to that point. And he smartly looked back to his native Germany for a plan to make soccer sexy in his adopted homeland.He vowed the U.S. teams youth programs would leave no gem undiscovered or community overlooked in its search for talent. He urged fans to hold him and his players accountable. He made clear that anyone with a valid U.S. passport would be welcomed on-board to develop a uniquely American style of playing the worlds game.What Klinsmann left behind, though, is a team with no discernible style that is even less American -- measured by home-grown-or-developed players -- and hardly more competitive than the one he inherited. Dont expect that to change under Bruce Arena, who is even more of a pragmatist than he was during his first stint (1998-2006) in charge.U.S. soccers best hope, at least for the foreseeable future, remains the Immigration and Naturalization Service.Theres no reason to blame either Klinsmann or Arena for that. The problem with soccer in America is much bigger than either man. For all the initiatives and money thats been poured into the game over the last three decades, from kids recreational programs to colleges to Major League Soccer, we still havent produced even one field player good enough to crack the starting lineup for traditional powers like Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Argentina and Brazil.Nothing will change until that does.America still hasnt developed a real soccer culture. It was supposed to happen after the 1994 World Cup was played here, or after the launch of the MLS, or after the U.S. team under Arena reached the quarterfinals in 2002, even after millions began tuning in each season to watch the matches in the Premier League and Bundesliga, and turning out in droves for World Cup viewing parties every four years.But having dedicated fans doesnt necessarily translate into developing great players. Predictions of a soccer boom has done more to hamstring the real development of the game here than all those well-organized, well-meaning parents who became youth coaches with no more than a vague idea of how its played. If you want to know how great a deficit that puts youngsters growing up here, think of it this way.If you gathered a handful of 10-year-olds from the remote corners of Brazil and dropped a ball at their feet in a 10-by-10-foot room, theyd position themselves quickly enough to pass the ball three times before rolling it through the doorway without a hitch. Hand a basketball to a similarly selected group of American kids and make the hoop the target and youd see much the same organization.Whether soccer will ever be on an equal footing with the big American sports is anyones guess. The best athletes in this nation of 300-million plus are still headed to the NBA or NFL first. Soccer is finally competing with the NHL, Major League Baseball and a few other sports for talented youngsters.But the most promising prospects -- like Christian Pulisic, only 18 and arguably already the most skilled player in the U.S. program, and a regular for Borussia Dortmund in Germanys Bundesliga -- only develop by going outside the U.S. national teams grasp.Both Klinsmann and Arena understood that long ago. Ever the optimist, Klinsmann believed he could meld all those different individual talents and playing styles in the short time the team was called in for national team duty, the way the other world powers have always done. He even doubled down on the idea by importing as many German-Americans as he could find, ruffling plenty of feathers in both the squad and the U.S. federation.Arena wont repeat that mistake. Instead of a grand plan to make America great, hell quickly cobble together a team that is long on veterans and will cut down on mistakes. Hell pack the defense, count on good-to-great goalkeeping every time out and take his chances in a sudden counterattack.It wont make anyones heart race, but it may be enough to turn around Klinsmanns disastrous 0-2 start in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and produce the occasional upset, much as the 2002 team did.Toward the end of his re-introduction to the U.S. media on a conference call Tuesday, Arena was asked whether there was an American style of playing.You style is dictated by the qualities of your players, he replied. We are who we are.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke . Brandon Paul Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Manu Ginobili Jersey . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. http://www.cheapspursjerseys.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Tim Duncan Jersey . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. Cheap Swingman Spurs Jerseys . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. OAKLAND, Calif. -- Nobody will argue the Golden State Warriors have a lineup of reliable, superstar scorers. They nearly had a trio of 30-point performers.Defenders, thats still to be determined.Were trying to win a championship, you dont do that simply by outscoring people, coach Steve Kerr said.Klay Thompson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:31 left and another with 3:13 remaining to score a season-high 30 points, Stephen Curry also had 30 points with five 3s, and the balanced Warriors held off the Phoenix Suns 133-120 on Sunday night.Kevin Durant added 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists as he Warriors avoided a second home loss at this early stage that would have matched their total of two defeats at Oracle Arena in each of the past two regular seasons.Thompson shot 11 for 18 also with five 3s and scored 14 of his points in the fourth, while Draymond Green finished with 14 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds as Golden State overcame 16 turnovers for 18 Suns points.Eric Bledsoe and T.J. Warren scored 20 points apiece to lead six players in double figures for the Suns, who hardly looked sluggish in the second night of a back-to-back.You cant let them shoot 50 percent from the field, Thompson said. If we want to get where we want to go, we have to pick it up on that side of the ball.Thompsons 3-pointer with 6:58 to go tied the score at 106 but Leandro Barbosa answered with a 3 against his former team and Brandon Knights free throws with 6:15 remaining made it 111-96 Suns.Devin Booker added 19 points for Phoenix, while P.J. Tucker kept the Suns in it. His putback with 9:53 left tied it at 101, he made a pair of free throws at 9:18 and a reverse layin with 8:40 to play to make it 104-103. Tucker had eight points and eight rebounds.The Warriors own their longest winning streak against the Suns at nine games, including 10 in a row at Oracle Arena.Still, Green insists Golden State must do more on both ends.Fans arent going to bring energy to a game like this because theyre expecting us to comme in and beat them by 30, he said.dddddddddddd.Warren had four steals for Phoenix, and the Suns took 90 shots a day after putting up an NBA-high 107 in a home loss to Brooklyn.BARBOSA IS BACKBarbosa returned to Oracle for the first time since joining the Suns following two seasons with Golden State, but blamed himself afterward for several mistakes down the stretch.I gave the spark for them, the crowd got into the game and it was tough to shut it down, he said.Golden State showed Barbosa highlights on the big screen during a first-quarter timeout and he watched intently with his hands on his hips near one baseline. He smiled and waved in all directions as fans jumped to their feet for a standing ovation.We built up something really special with this team, Barbosa said. Good memories. We built something unique. You can never forget that.Steve Nash also attended the game with his family -- a reunion of sorts for the guard with his old Suns team as he now works as a player development consultant for Golden State.DISHING AND DASHINGThe Warriors shot 50 percent or better from the field with at least 30 assists in a fourth straight game, the first time they have done so since 1994.TIP-INSSuns: C Tyson Chandler rejoined the team but missed his fourth straight game following the death of his mother Tuesday from cancer. ... The Suns played their third back-to-back already.Warriors: Currys fifth basket of the game gave him 4,000 career field goals, the ninth player in franchise history to reach the mark. He made 7 of 7 free throws and the Warriors went 27 for 31 from the line. ... 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