Jürgen Klinsmann

Would have rather had Bielsa. At least we would have scored goals and had a fun team to watch.

 

That's a nice starting XI.

The quote you posted is a fair point, but I think even the patient fans expected Klinsmann's system would provide us more goals than we scored under Bradley's defensive system. The losses would be easier to understand if we were scoring lots of goals but conceding more.

I actually liked the opinion you wrote yourself better than the article but that's one of the reason's I love this forum

 

I must say with the appointment of Caleb Porter as the Olympic coach, I have done a complete 180 on Klinsmann and am now totally in his camp, armed with plenty of patience. Before I didnt really understand his talk of "we need to find the US style of play" or why as the senior team coach he needed to be involved and talk so much about the youth system. I thought you needed to be able to play different ways based upon whether you were facing Haiti or Spain. I also thought our youth system has been steadily making progress and going in the right direction with the US Dev. Academies and the appointment of Reyna and involvement of McBride.

But now I get it because I have watched Akron first hand over the last several years. Porter's teams play a certain way, mostly based on possession and movement. He can loose his best players and still go out and get guys that can play his way and compete with the best teams in a relatively short time, and he can do this even after the top recruits are gone (i.e players had already committed to their college of choice after Porter lost his best 8 players to the draft last year). I can only imagine what he can do when he can pick and get any player he wants. I also finally see the benefit this will have to the senior team team considering the small amount of time Klinsmann gets with his players. If the top players have been playing in the same style at the U20 and Olympic levels, they can fit right in to a senior team that plays the same style. I almost feel stupid for not seeing this before.

Does it mean we can beat Spain and Germany with this style, no, but I think it might mean that the toll on the team through qualifying rounds and group stages of tournaments might not be so high. Then we will be in better shape to face the top teams.

 

Interesting interview with Klinsmann done by the Sporting News. Worth a read.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/soccer/...n-klinsmann-explains-his-vision-for-us-soccer

http://aol.sportingnews.com/soccer/...ws-conversation-with-jurgen-klinsmann-part-ii

 

Thanks for posting Mo.

 

Article on Klinsmann in Wall Street Journal. Read and enjoy or get more disgusted with the guy like I did. Mediocrity not tolerated? How about looking in the mirror coach. Those were some nifty WCQs you just managed.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323940004578258072832363036.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

Interesting article. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Klinsmann yet, but I see what he's trying to do. But we need results. Good, consistant results, and then I'll maybe become a true believer.

Thanks for posting Mo.

 

HD, I almost fell out of my seat when you mentioned Jol taking over, but thankfully saw that word 'almost' typed twice

I'm still in the camp of the undecided about Der Kaiser, and not very pleased about his choice of words on more than one instance in that piece, but for the sake of discussion I don't have a problem with him trying to push the envelope on how the team is going to get better...by the players striving to be the best they can be. He should of kept his trap shut about Dempsey since he and Michael Bradley are the examples of what every US player should look up to and try to emulate. The truth finally comes out a little bit about his feelings with Donovan, and he is obviously miffed that Landon needs an extended vacation. I'm sure he includes the young German American players on the squad in terms of having them push themselves, but was talking directly about the MLS players that are off for 5 months. He didn't mention one player by name, but he didn't have to since from the sounds of it JK was instrumental in getting Brek Shea over training with Stoke (negotiations fell thru). Here is a youngster that has immense talent, but from the looks of it needs a fire lit under his arse.

There is no way this current talent pool will play the way he wants in his tenure, since he will be done by next summer at the latest. However, he is trying to raise the bar of expectations and I'm not going to fault him for that.

 

Don't you blasphemy in here! Don't you blasphemy in here!!

Der Kommissar walks on water. Why can't everyone see that?

Still, I'm with the undecided crew - I think we'll qualify for Brazil, but I fear that may be it...qualification. Not exactly sexy, is it?

 

im clearly in the minority. I enjoyed that piece and he has me buying in even more. I like that he's challenging even our top athletes to better themselves. And they're responding. I like his ambition and drive. There is no reason that the US can't someday compete at the highest level.

 

Agree with the others. I'm mixed on Klinsmann (leaning towards against) but I don't have an issue with him trying to raise the standard. I question his method and how effective it will be. The last player on the USMNT I'd cite as an example of resting on laurels and not raising the bar is Dempsey. I'd be afraid that I risked losing the message by using such a poor example. I also think you lead by example, and I wouldn't describe his tenure with US Soccer as living up to this standard. His approach to a number of the WCQ matches was uninspired and overly cautious against weaker sides. If it felt like we were "going for it" in every match, that would lend more credence to what he's saying now.

I do sense an element of what Don's pointing to.

I don't think Bob Bradley is the answer either. I'm actually more inclined to side with what Mo has said before that we need a younger, dynamic coach, like a Porter, to oversee this period. It seems soccer has gained a greater foothold recently with the greater access to watching the world's best leagues. It's this current generation that will be inspired by that and having someone who is innovative, can relate to them and appeal to them would likely pay the greatest dividends, imo. I sense a disconnect with Klinsmann, at least from a fan and media perspective.

 

I am going to take the opposite view point of most of the posts regarding the Klinsmann article and say that if I am the head coach and I think the USMNT is underperforming and the bar needs to be raised I am going to look my best players in the eye and tell them you have to be better. Top down, everything has to be better. If Klinsmann can't step up to the mic and say that Dempsey and Donovan has to bring it harder week in and week out then he spitting in the wind when he tells the rest of the squad the same thing. It is exactly what Jol ought to be doing with Berbatov. After all, if Klinsmann can tell Dempsey, who works his socks off in matches, that he has to step up his game and Dempsey as a team leader puts in the extra work and extra effort that he asks for then everyone else should be expected to follow Dempsey's lead. Enough of the coddling. If there is not another thing I agree with Klinsmann on this will be one thing we see eye to eye on.

 

Back in the day (before my time) Red Auerbach would yell at Bill Russell to do better, play harder ect. Red later said if the other players saw Russell getting yelled at they knew no one was off limits. Russell knew why Red was doing it and never said one word about it.

 

Thanks Jim, I used to read a lot of sports biographies when I was a teenager and Auerbach was one of my favorites. Looking at it in that light changes my stance a little. Not necessarily overall, but on these comments.

I don't know that setting less of a perfectionist (and more realistic for where soccer in the US is) bar is necessary coddling, but I wouldn't argue that our approach over the last 20 yrs has probably been too soft.

 

I cant agree that our approach has been too soft. The US teams have always been considered among the hardest working teams around. You see it with your own eyes on the field. Danny Murphy said in an interview that he has never seen anyone work as hard as Dempsey. It makes no sense to call him out on that issue and everyone knows it. Klinsmann pushing our players harder, if he sees it is necessary, is not a problem. What is a problem, is doing it publicly in the way that he did. "Dempsey hasnt done shit"? Come on, it's insulting him publically. You dont think Bob Bradley wants to get more out of his Egyptian players? Sure he does and sure he is trying do that but he is not publically calling them out. Klinsmann has done this for his own personal gain so that when he fails everyone will remember he said our players and our soccer culture is too soft and content. I see evidence that Klinsmann is loosing our best players and Gulati knows it. I dont think it's long before he gets the axe. The Hex is not going to go well.

 

Article on JK's coaching influences throughout his playing career, didn't know he played for Wenger. Also interesting to read about him observing Phil Jackson and Pete Carroll.

EDIT: Thanks for posting the link Mo, copied it but forgot to paste it :doh:

 

You didnt post a link so here it is, http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/soccerusa/id/1196?cc=5901

I'm happy for him that he was influenced by some great coaches, but none of what he says anything new to coaching in the US. You dont think Bob Bradley encouraged his own son to expand his soccer experience to a different league? I would feel better about this article if Klinsmann talked about how he was influenced by the tactical minds of guys like Wenger and Trapattoni.