Jurgen Klinmsmann takes over

         The US national team has been lifeless since the end of the World Cup in South Africa. They have been one of the power nations with in CONCACAF however this status has been shaken. In 2011 the played 3 South American teams all on home soil and did not record a victory. US 1-1 Chile, US 1-1 Argentina, US 0-1 Paraguay. Then they were undressed by Spain 0-4 right before the Gold Cup. Sam’s Army had nothing to build on. Confidence was not built up. They then lost their first group game to Panama on home soil. This was with a veteran team. They did manage to make the final against their arch rival Mexico. This started out great. The US had a 2-0 lead and the US would soon tie Mexico with 5 Gold Cup titles and confidence would be restored. However the US gave up 4 unanswered goals. This was the final straw that something had to be done.



Sunil Gulati pulled the trigger and fired Bob Bradley last week. No, Bradley is not a bad coach but it was time for a change. The stagnancy had to be removed from US soccer. Sunil Gulati hired a Europena to take over the American camp. The European is ex-player and ex-German coach J. Klisman. I think this is a great move by Gulati. Stefan Brody has a nice article explaining how Germany was once a methodical defensive unit. Klinsman turned this unit into a smooth attacking one. The big question about this hire will be how much influence Klinsman will have over the US soccer program. There are millions of dollars invested in the youth development. The youth development is enormous that stretches through the country. How much influence will Klinsman have to change the development process.

Well, personally I just wish the US would play with the ball at their feet more. I love how Barcelona, Spain, Brazil and Mexico for that matter play the game. The players play a tight passing, tic- tack-toe, pass and run game. They control the ball and control the game. This builds confidence and demoralized your opponent. The US is almost the opposite. Their best offense is the long ball to a talented, athletic forward and can make one more and over power a defender. This is nice to get a goal but the rest of the game is not as much fun to watch.

This is a significant step in the US camp and I say it was good timing.
“No longer will the success and failures of U.S. Soccer get pinned on the rigid American style of play. By announcing the hiring of Jürgen Klinsmann yesterday, U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati not only nabbed the team’s first foreign coach since 1995, he has given the keys to an offensive-minded showman unafraid to reinvent the system”