Klinsmann talking with U.S. Soccer

[sportschick]

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

From AP:

Klinsmann talking with U.S. Soccer

Former German national team coach Juergen Klinsmann is engaged in informal talks with the U.S. Soccer Federation that could lead to him taking over as coach of the American national team.
Klinsmann, who coached his native Germany to a surprising berth in the World Cup semifinals this summer, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday that he’s been speaking with USSF president Sunil Gulati.
“We’ve had a couple of conversations. I’m evaluating everything that comes up,” Klinsmann said. “I’ll stay in touch with Sunil and see what it leads to. It’s a very casual and relaxed correspondence.”
Klinsmann resigned as Germany’s coach three days after the tournament, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. He lives in suburban Los Angeles with his American-born wife and is regarded by many as the favorite to replace Bruce Arena, who was told by Gulati in mid-July that his contract would not be renewed.

 

[Football_Bat]

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

 

[Chuck~Taylor]

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

 

[GB-Hack]

Jackpot!

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

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.

 

[kingcreole]

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.

 

[Webster]

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.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

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?

 

[Hed bust]

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.

 

[Pastor]

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

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.

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.

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 ****-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.

 

[Football_Bat]

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

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.

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

 

[Pastor]

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

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.

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.

 

[GB-Hack]

Klinsmann's contract did expire, but the German Fed had a contract offer on the table. I think he remembered how they and the country was looking at the team and the constant criticism leading up to the WC and said "Nah, you can take the job. If I hadn't gotten this far, you couldn't have gotten me out of the door fast enough."

As far as the U.S. not being able to compete, you have to have been on a different planet to not see the U.S. as a major player in the next ten years. The non-renewal of Arena was right because he was so fixed on his way. The possible introduction of Klinsmann should bring a new direction and a coach who will try to play to the strengths of the players he has.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

Just ****ing hire someone already. The national team should not be out of commission for nearly six months. That's unacceptable.

If this deal is done by the end of the year as they say and then we schedule some friendlies, it will be the longest the USMNT has gone without playing a game since the late '80s.

 

[Webster]

I agree -- I would have liked to hire a coach who has been watching every MLS and YA game this season.

 

[GB-Hack]

I'd like the U.S. to hire a coach who has international experience and the ability to move the team forward. But that's just me.

 

[Pastor]

I'd like the U.S. to hire a coach who has international experience and the ability to move the team forward. But that's just me.

I don't have a problem hiring any coach. But, I don't want a coach to come in here and assume that just because a player is in MLS that he isn't as good or better than some guy riding the pine in England.

I want a coach that isn't going to keep going to the McBride well, even when it is dry, instead of giving a chance to Ching, a guy that entered hot.

 

[Hed bust]

Not on crack, just cracking up when I hear folks swearing by U.S.A. soccer.
They DON'T SCORE POINTS.
Period.
In the pre-World portion they went 1-1 with Poland then lost 5-0 or 5-1 a month later in upper Germany.
In the Cup matches, they scored maybe two goals.
The epic with Italy, and some other epic back in 2002?
Every team's got those glory matches up their sleeves here and there.
The U.S. just flat bets out-muscled by the Europeans and out-finessed by most any team they face.
I'm not impressed with U.S. men's soccer and frankly, I didn't understand why year after year they kept keeping dull-ass Bruce Arena around as coach.
The U.S. men are rail-thin when they line up against other soccer teams around the world.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

Who else read this as "Klansman talking with U.S. Soccer"?

Klinsmann will, if nothing else, be a boost for the heads and at least send the message that they want to be players on a world scene; I suspect an in-house type of hire would have been read as conceding first-tier status.

 

[Pastor]

Not on crack, just cracking up when I hear folks swearing by U.S.A. soccer.
They DON'T SCORE POINTS.
Period.
In the pre-World portion they went 1-1 with Poland then lost 5-0 or 5-1 a month later in upper Germany.
In the Cup matches, they scored maybe two goals.
The epic with Italy, and some other epic back in 2002?
Every team's got those glory matches up their sleeves here and there.

You mean like when they beat Portugal in the previous World Cup?

They didn't score a lot of goals in this World Cup. But neither did Italy. In fact, when you are playing the best teams in the world, a lot of goals don't get scored. Last time I checked England generally won by one goal after only scoring 1-goal.

Also, it was the US team that beat Poland 5-0 in a tune-up and months earlier, lost to Germany, in Germany, with a mostly B-Team of players that weren't going to the World Cup at all.

The US can play with the top teams. It is likely that they will lose to France, Italy, Germany, England, etc the majority of the time, but they are knocking on the door. I'm looking at Klinsmann and I think he is the offensive guy to pull the ball in the back of the onion bag.