Fire Jürgen

Always like to be on the cutting edge

At least we'll have to figure out where the umlaut is on our keyboards.


For those of you napping, Jürgen Klinsmann has been named the new US National Team head coach.

Any thoughts on what USSoccer gave up? He had previously said he wouldn't take the job unless he got more power than previous coaches.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/938375/jurgen-klinsmann-has-been-appointed-the-new-manager-of-usa?cc=5901

Ha. Geez, you and I were thinking alike. Same topic at the same time!

Looks like you beat me by the minute hand rolling over

Here's the translation from a German rag on the appointment.

Quotes from Cherundolo and Keller.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tagesspiegel.de%2Fsport%2Fder-projektleiter-ist-zurueck%2F4448242.html

Purplegeezer wrote:Here's the translation from a German rag on the appointment.

Quotes from Cherundolo and Keller.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tagesspiegel.de%2Fsport%2Fder-projektleiter-ist-zurueck%2F4448242.html

A fairly literal translation.

up7587 wrote:

Purplegeezer wrote:Here's the translation from a German rag on the appointment.

Quotes from Cherundolo and Keller.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tagesspiegel.de%2Fsport%2Fder-projektleiter-ist-zurueck%2F4448242.html

A fairly literal translation.

Yeah, well...

Google translate doesn't turn Goethe into Shakespeare, either.

I really like this hire. I feel like we need a foreigner as a coach who really preaches playing with a more technical style than what´s practiced by the US Men´s National Team and the MLS. I didn´t like some of the formations the US team used in the last World Cup. There were definitely a few thrilling games, however, I felt like the coach put Cherundolo and other players out of position a few times and the team paid the price. I look forward to the change...

Lots of inspiring sound bites, not very much substance. The conference will be on the web later. I'll post when it is up.

About the only thing of substance is that it's a three year deal, so through the next world cup in Brasil.
I can't imagine he would stay beyond that.

On another note, he has a year or so before the USA plays a game that counts. Here is the announced qualifier format:

[WORLD CUP 2014 DRAW] The USA was placed in a semifinal group with Jamaica and the winners of two second-round groups that will play this fall in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Concacaf will send its top three teams to Brazil, and the fourth-place team in the final round known as the Hexagonal will face the Oceania champion in a playoff. For the Concacaf draw ...

SECOND ROUND
(Sept. 2-Nov. 15, 2011)
Group A: El Salvador, Suriname, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic.
Group B: Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, Bermuda.
Group C: Panama, Dominica, Nicaragua, Bahamas.
Group D: Canada, St. Kitts & Nevis, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia
Group E: Grenada, Guatemala, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Belize
Group F: Haiti, Antigua & Barbuda, Curacao, U.S. Virgin Islands.

SEMIFINAL ROUND:
(June 8-Oct. 16, 2012)
Group A: USA, Jamaica, Winner E (Second Round), Winner F (Second Round)
Group B: Mexico, Costa Rica, Winner A (Second Round), Winner B (Second Round)
Group C: Honduras, Cuba, Winner D (Second Round), Winner C (Second Round)

FINAL ROUND:
(Feb. 6 – Oct. 15, 2013)
Three group winners and runners-up from Semifinal Round comprise a group of six teams.
(The top three teams qualify for the 2014 World Cup with the fourth-place team advancing to the intercontinental playoff against a team from Oceania.)

And Jürgen is on sports center NOW

Enjoy:

Yeah, I don´t picture this hire going beyond the next Cup either. But, I think that this hire could pay big dividends...at least in terms of style of play. If we can learn to play with a more technical style...with occassional one touch ball, it would really help us to develop as a team. I think that Tony DiCicco achieved that with our women´s team, however, no one has been able to do it with the men. Of course, talent helps, but, I believe that success starts with the style of play. Continuing to improve our counter attacks would also work some wonders...since we probably won´t have a lot of world class finishers...if any...on the next national team.

Since Jurgen seems to kind of go for the quick hit of work followed by a burn out him staying beyond the current WC cycle might be optimistic. But then again, this time he won't be dealing with having to fly 12 hours back and forth between his job coaching in Europe and home in LA. I could see him doing the hands on stuff for the next 3 years and then move into a more directorial job helping with youth development more long term (Since that seems to be one of his talking points anyway). The expectations obviously go way up by hiring a coach with such an impressive resume as a player and coach, but really as of right now he really seems the only man for the job.

While some tactical switches might help, those don't really do much good without the right personnel. His big thing is going to be finding those next players that are going to carry the mantle for the next 8-10 years as Donovan, Dempsey and Howard have. It will be interesting if we will see a greater influx of players like Jose Torres, Freddy Adu (No, seriously...) and whatnot that lend toward the more technical side of the game as opposed to the physical. I mean we have plenty of midfield physicality in Michael Bradley (Awwwwkwaaaard...), Maurice Edu, Jermaine Jones, etc. But not so much in the other side of the ball. Not only that but, pure speed isn't exactly there in spades (esp with an aging team), it will be interesting if he could sway someone like Steve Zakuani who possess both the raw speed and technical talent that the team kind of lacks going forward to join the national fold (Zak technically could still play for the US as he has only played in a friendly for the Congo.) But the big deal is also finding scoring, it seems any goalscorer we have had was a converted midfielder, with the exception of Brian McBride...

He has a lot of work to do ahead of him, and has a year to both assess and develop before the next big game, haha good luck Mr. Umlaut.

Random asides: You gotta wonder if he will move the US training base from Brandeton to the HDC as well, for his own convenience (Although that might add a burden to European based players, so probably not). Plus I'd love to have a high altitude permanent camp in Colorado or Utah or wherever for training purposes. (I know they go there before the Azteca games, but a more permanent camp could be an awesome thing as well. Think of it as legal blood doping before we play our sea level CONCACAF rivals from the Carribean)

The whole 38+ minutes of the Jügen introductory press conference is up on Youtube
There are several successively shorter versions as well, but i think this is worth listening to.

I really like Jurgen's approach, he does a good job of tempering immediate expectation, while kind of outlining how he plans to go about developing not just a style but an "American" style. His approach seems almost scientific with regard to involving extensive research about that style, bringing in different coaches over the course of months to find the right fit as he puts together a staff, and really not just saying this is my system, this is how we play. In a way he sounds like a guy interested to learn as much as to lead, and given his stature/resume? Pretty refreshing. (Hahaha somehow I don't thing Bora Multinovic had that approach....)

I found it interesting how his rhetoric seems to have been tempered a bit between the Famous ESPN diatribe during the last WC and what he said yesterday.

Last year, he was just incredulous that we thought you could produce good players and still expect them to get educations. One of his big talking points was that you cant expect the college scholarship be the goal for youth players, and that if you want to be a top professional, it has to be the goal even at the expense of an education.


The Monday press conference had a different tone, and part of him saying you have to recognize a National way of doing things was about accommodating the American culture that says that education and athletics aren't exclusive.

AH yes.... THAT. I'd like to think he has taken the last year or so to observe what the college game might provide and see if it is something he could work with, but then again, maybe he's just calmed his rhetoric a bit for a room full of press/bloggers so as not to get off on the wrong foot. It will be interesting how he chooses to proceed with that in mind.

It would be interesting what he would have thought about a coach of Clive's caliber in the college coaching ranks, or if he would have even recognized it (Not that Mr. Charles' gifts were ever in any doubt.)...