Well, nevermind that previous post, I guess. Again, I don't hate Bradley. But I still find this annoying. I feel now that he's perhaps hit his peak, that the team under his direction has hit its peak. Don't we want more? And if we do, doesn't it make sense to make changes? I'll still support them of course, but...sigh. And now I want to find a little birdie to tell me what the hell went on in that discussion between Gulati and Klinsmann. I keep imagining it ending with a resounding, German-accented "I said good day, sir!"

(Hey look, I'm not dead! Aren't you thrilled?) Okay, they were probably in an office. And likely not kissing, although you know those Europeans. But whatever the environment and level of affection, ESPN tells us that Jurgen Klinsmann met with US Soccer President Sunil Gulati yesterday. Details, they are scant:

The source indicated Klinsmann, who turned down the Yanks' job after the 2006 World Cup, met with U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati and said Klinsmann is interested in the position, but gave no other details. A U.S. Soccer spokesman declined to comment. Klinsmann did not immediately return an e-mail message.

I've mentioned before that I am not a member of the Bob Bradley Is History's Greatest Monster Club, and as the article notes, his record since taking the helm at the USMNT in late 2006 is 38-21-8. Maybe I'm really nice (I'm kinda not) but that's not terrible. That being said, I do think after a World Cup is the most logical time to look into coaching changes. I think the team performed decently in South Africa, and obviously was much improved from four years earlier. I think Bradley has been overall a fine enough coach, but I also have come to think that perhaps he's shown us what he can do, the point to which he can take this team, and now it's an appropriate time to let someone else have a go. Klinsmann has been the obvious choice for a while for those wanting a non-MLS coach, and perhaps he's had a change of heart (and Gulati a change of brain) since 2006. My caution on this subject has always come from hearing people talk about Klinsmann in particular or foreign coaches in general as though they are all Footie Jesuses (Jesi?) who will forgive our sins of poor marking and endless long ball and save us from the damnation of embarrassing struggles against teams ranked miles below us. Foreign coaches can suck, too - if they didn't, every other country would be tied for first in the FIFA table - and we just need to be rational about the possibilities. I would expect that Klinsmann might be stronger in some areas of coaching than Bradley or other MLS coaches, but he'll also be working with the same player pool and within the same system. Limitations will exist, no matter who is pushing against them. So what do you all think? If Klinsmann does take over, what would you expect to see in the coming months? Improvements, restructurings, etc...where do you see US Soccer going if this meeting proves fruitful?

If any England fans are still wondering what went wrong in South Africa, allow Sir Alex Ferguson to illuminate you:

With inquests continuing into England's lacklustre showing at the World Cup, Ferguson lamented the continued absence of a mid-season break from the English football calendar (which would need the approval of the Premier League) as a major contributing factor to the struggles of Fabio Capello's side. "(The FA) has to give the country the best possible chance of doing well in the World Cup and because of the nature of our game and because of the demands from television to have a programme every week, the idea of a winter break, which I was first talking about 30 years ago in Scotland and have done since I came down to England, nothing has happened about it," Ferguson said. "They must realise that, going into the World Cup, they have handicapped their team."

It's certainly possible that taking a short break mid-season could be beneficial. A little rest and recuperation could help prevent some injuries and strains and keep players at peak performance levels - I won't argue with that. But it's also possible it wouldn't do jack shit if you've got players who are, for example, so accustomed to being the stars of their club teams that they forget how to play as a full squad and blunder around the pitch, communicating as badly as Palin's Twitter feed. Besides that, it's simply no guarantee that taking a couple of weeks off six months before the World Cup would have any impact whatsoever, so while it's fine to say that maybe this is an idea to think about, it seems a little egregious for Ferguson to essentially say the failures are the FA's fault because they have not granted him his birthday-candle wishes for 30 years. It is not definitive that the team is "handicapped" by not having a winter break. It is far more definitive that Ferguson misses having officials on the pitch to complain about and just wants it to be mid-August already, guys! Plus, even if the FA did kneel before Zod SAF and implement a break, we all know it would either be too long or too short for Fergie, depending on how United played in their games following resumption of play.

I hope you're sitting down because this is totally the most shocking thing you're going to hear today or any other day for the rest of your damn life. Rafa Benitez is leaving Liverpool. I'll give you a minute to collect yourselves. As The Gaffer notes, Benitez had some major successes with the club, but this past season was not just "not as good" - it was a major downturn (as our own Marc has woefully said). They barely squeaked out a 7th place finish and missed out on all of the goals Benitez threw out there (We're going to win the league! Okay, well...we're going to win the Champions League! Okay, well...we're going to win the Europa League! Okay, well...I made some awesome peanut butter cookies! Except they're kind of stale and I forgot you're allergic to peanuts.) Obviously something wasn't working well anymore, and whether it's a manager issue or a player issue or both (I always lean toward the last option) it's not really something you can keep ignoring for the sake of sentimentality. There are injuries to contend with, there are players who seem to lose interest or ambition or ability, and rosters can be reworked and revamped. But eventually you have to make a bigger change, and I would have been quite surprised had this not come about this summer. I would honestly, though, be interested in hearing arguments against his departure, taking everything into account. The interesting bit in this news to me is the speculation that he's apparently headed to Inter Milan to take over the manager's seat, recently vacated by my fantasy Portuguese football manager husband Jose Mourinho. I have to wonder how Inter fans feel about that, the joy of the treble still fresh in their minds as they peruse Liverpool's results table.

This is interesting:

Guus Hiddink has opened the door to a possible return to the Premier League after revealing that he retains a strong appetite and passion for English football following his successful caretaker spell at Chelsea. The Russia manager plans to take a break after next year's World Cup finals but he described England as a "very attractive" place to work and admitted he is missing the country where he spent the final four months of last season.

Hiddink seemed well suited to coach an elite team in England; he certainly added a toughness to the Blues that didn't exist under Scolari. His lame decision to bottle up in the first leg against Barcelona in the Champs semis may have been bad for football, but it gave Chelsea a chance to win that only the officials could take away. Given the tense relationship between Rafa Benitez and the shoddy Liverpool owners, along with the fact that few managers stick around as long as Benitez has if they continue to come up empty, I've been trying to determine who I'd like to see replace him if he were to step down.

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