Klinsmann talking with U.S. Soccer

I'm too lazy to look up the soccer thread.

From AP:

 

This deal should've been signed, sealed and delivered in July. Having said that, I'm thrilled they are at least talking.

 

I think this could be a really good way to get Freddy Adu to come and play for the US instead of Ghana.

 

Jackpot!

 

SHOCKING!

Seriously, Gulati said November was the timetable. This fits right in with that. But I must point out that Mr. Klinsmann's quotes are pretty noncommittal, for obvious reasons.

Not a lot new here, considering Gulati already allowed that he had spoken with Klinsmann. But it's nice that he commented on the record, and it's great that there's enough interest that the story continues to be updated in the media.

 

Hell jeah! I know Klinsmann said he wasn't interested, but I'm sure U.S. soccer is throwing a bunch of green paper bills at his feet, offering him a house in Beverly Hills, a private jet, and who knows what else. Get the deal done. Hire Klinsmann.

 

I think that this is could be a disaster. He didn't have to do the heavy (or even minimal) lifting in Germany. And he had a very talented team and was playing at home. This is going to be a much tougher job.

 

Agreed. The more I think about it, the more I realize that while he should be a slam dunk for PR reasons, attitude reasons, and the reason that he could teach our players to flop with the best of them . . . . it would be a good idea for him to hire as an assistant a gentleman who is quite good at Xs and Os.

Schmid? Bradley? Nowak?

 

The U.S. men will not, in the next 10 years, come close to being competitive on the World stage.
Maybe not in 20, or 30.
But definitely not in the next 10.
Everyone else is too far ahead.
Womens team sports being what it is (parity ridden) made it easy for the U.S. women to excel almost a decade ago in soccer.
Look at women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Lots of nations can compete.
With the men, it ain't happening for the U.S.
Jurgen or no Jurgen.

 

Klinsmann couldn't sign the contract in July. He did not want to snub Germany to coach the US. That just wouldn't be a very good PR move. He needed to play off the idea that he needed a break.

Germany is already playing games for the Euro, so that would have meant continual work. Taking time off before signing on the dotted line gave him the opportunity.

Are you on crack? What team is "too far ahead?"
Did you not watch the US/Italy fixture?
Did you not watch the US/Germany fixture from the 2002 WC?

The US isn't likely to win the whole thing, but they aren't so far from it that they can't make serious noise in the next one.


On Klinsmann... I share Webster's fear but I look at it a different way. Klinsmann is all about offense. Just look at that German team he was coaching. They gave fuck-all about defense and everyone on that team pushed forward and pressed. That is the type of brovado that the US needs to play with.

Getting knocked out playing a 4-5-1 when the team hasn't demonstrated much offense to that point is just poor. That isn't what this team needed.

I don't know about Adu, and I don't think that kid is making an impact on the World Stage anytime soon. So, I'm not too concerned about him. Besides, it is Nike that is delivering him to the US, not Klinsmann.

 

Snub Germany? I thought his contract expired at the end of the World Cup.

 

I'm not exactly sure. But much of Germany wanted to keep him on. The fanbase didn't believe they would go as far as they did, despite being home.

The timing enabled him to not immediately jump into Bruce's seat, provided him some vacation, and allowed him to back out of any German offer gracefully.