Next entry: Or…perhaps not
Previous entry: Arsenal: The Vice-Captain Dilemma
(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?
------
Registration is required! Don't forget to Login or Register using the links in the upper right menu before starting to write your comment.
Posted by
Alison on 03:26 AM •
Permalink
A friend of mine made the comment that the USSF seems content to be the best in North America. Bob Bradley can do that. But some of his decisions in South Africa were real head-scratchers. (Ricardo Clarke against Ghana, for example.) Klinsmann would represent a desire to compete at the next level.
the USSF seems content to be the best in North America
Wow, I’ve never heard it put that way, but yeah - that’s a very succinct summing up of their view of things, isn’t it? Sadly enough…
Sometimes it takes a foreign coach to make hard personnel descisions. I would like to use Fabio Capello as an example of this….but I can’t.
No idea what Klinsi would bring besides being a big-name coach. We have to recognize that Klinsi, when he was coach of the German national team, basically fulfilled expectations and little more. He’s not going to work miracles with a limited player pool. Unless he suddenly morphs into a serviceable fullback or a center-back with speed, or somehow recovers his 1990 striking/diving form, I don’t see how he’ll help that much.
LOL Sancerre 
And Jeff - I tend to agree with you, and I think it’s an area where people have a bit too much pie-in-the-sky thinking going on.
A good, teaching coach can bring a lot to the national team if they can teach us how to play better possession football and how to play better as a team. If we could get Guus Hiddink to coach the US National team, the sky is the limit. Look at what he did for South Korea and Australia, now let him loose on the talent in the United States…
@James: And for Russia… oh, wait. 
Hiddink’s been in the right place at the right time. South Korea, of course, has done well at the Cup without him, almost beating eventual semifinalists Uruguay in the second round this year despite not being at home like in ‘02. And the Aussies this year were a questionable handball call away from advancing out of a much tougher group than the one they had in ‘06. He’s a good coach, and I’d take him in a heartbeat - but he’s not a miracle-worker.
The only thing that’s going to take us to the next level is consistent player development, and to that end I’d just as soon have a national team coach that’s fully invested in what the US soccer landscape is going to look like 10 years from now, not just in 2014.
Put differently - Gulati is far more responsible for the fate of US soccer at the next two or three World Cups than anyone he hires will be.
Oh, I’d agree with that. But I don’t necessarily think those are mutually exclusive.
(Hey look, I’m not dead! Aren’t you thrilled?)
While, yes, we’re thrilled, I had to call Michel Platini and cancel the moment of silence I had arranged for the beginning of all the champions league matches, in your honor, and also had to tell Landon he didn’t need to give that eulogy.
Page 1 of 1 pages
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.
A friend of mine made the comment that the USSF seems content to be the best in North America. Bob Bradley can do that. But some of his decisions in South Africa were real head-scratchers. (Ricardo Clarke against Ghana, for example.) Klinsmann would represent a desire to compete at the next level.