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Klinsmann discusses the club performances of his USMNT squad

Jurgen Klinsmann

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By CAITLIN MURRAY

Just about six months out from the World Cup, U.S. Men’s National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann is keeping a close eye on how his squad is performing for their clubs.

In an interview with U.S. Soccer, Klinsmann discusses how Clint Dempsey, Geoff Cameron, Jermaine Jones and Brek Shea are doing and says the next six months will be about evaluating his players from abroad before making “difficult decisions to leave somebody out.”

Watch the video after the jump:

Comments

  1. IMO he’s looking at it from three perspectives:
    1. what the player is currently doing
    2. what they have the potential to be doing
    3. what players at other top national sides are doing

    Depending on the perspective, any player in our “top 30” is either doing really well or is a disappointment. But it’s healthy to keep each of them in mind, I think.

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  2. The most important thing I learned from the vid is that it’s SHALL-key, not SHALL-kuh.

    Still love JG. Not loving the fact that it is cost prohibitive for the average fan to go to Brazil, especially with that long domestic flight if you want to see more than 1 game.

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    • The schedule is the reason my father and I cancelled our plans to go to Brazil. too much $$$ to see the team. Terrible planning.

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      • Yep. Too much $. Did anyone read that the stadium next to the Amazon will be used to hold inmates after the world cup! I really wanted to go and take my kid, but a lot of things have turned me away. Starting with the riots and Spain being robbed last summer. If security can’t protect them then I don’t stand a chance. I am also wondering if they will have everything done in time and up to code. Hopefully I am wrong and it goes great.

      • Is that what it will take to get JK to stop relying on Jones? I wish Jones all the best, but I also would love to see someone else alongside Bradley: Cameron, Kljestan, or Diskurud.

  3. This seems consistent with everything he has said and done since he’s been the coach. Why would he gush all over a guy who has been a very solid starter for a mid table team when Klinsmann has made it clear from day 1 that his aspiration for the US is for it to become a world power? By American standards, Cameron has had a very successful season so far. By the standards of any powerhouse national team, he’s done “fairly well.”

    Whether you agree with the statement or not, the guy is consistent with his rhetoric and approach and his vision for the future appears to be unwavering.

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      • “he still wants to start Brad Evans at right back next summer.”

        If JK wants Evans at RB next summer then JK is the guy who makes that decision so he has no need to play semantic games in the media.

        It should be clear to you that he would prefer Cameron not be the right back, though he won’t hesitate to use him there if the need arises.

        Geoff himself has said he would prefer to be the center back.

        Cameron has been doing “fairly well”. In EPL terms he has not been outstanding. After all, JK famously did say Clint has not “done s++t”.

        And what Cameron has done in the EPL does not begin to approach what Clint has done.

        He is a regular starter who Hughes seems to view as his version of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, John OShea, Wes Brown, or Vertonghen, other EPL center backs who cover both center back and full back positions on a regular basis. Except that Cameron hasn’t played much CB.

      • I think he’s played at Centerback once all season and that was because 3 other options were injured or suspended. Watching him this year I’d say his defending has been more of question mark then what he gives going forward for Stoke. Perhaps he’ll just be a back up in 3 different positions but if he doesn’t start at right back I don’t see him starting any where else.

    • Birgit,

      JK has made it crystal clear that that is how he wants it.

      And none other than the great LD himself has said that this is a much better approach.

      It means every one of these guys believes he may have a chance to get on that plane and will act accordingly.

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    • Seriously I also felt like he was trying to down play Cameron for some reason. I mean is any other American been a lock starter in a top four league this year? Fabian I guess when he’s been healthy and that’s about it.

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      • Besides Howard and Guzan, of course 😉

        But I really think this is just JK’s “nobody is safe” strategy.

      • He was just running through names. I thought the way he said it was a complement. So i did not take it that way. The whole point was how much they have to keep track of and how they are all over the world.

      • Yeah I watched it again. I’m probably reading too much into it just because of the current right back situation and trying to get an idea of what Klinsmann is thinking.

      • Not certain what he was saying either. But my guess is he was thinking “really well, but not at the position we need him to play.”

      • I am excited to see how things unfold this spring. I want to take it slow and enjoy it for once it is gone we have to wait 4 more years. Enjoy the ride!

      • John
        “Seriously I also felt like he was trying to down play Cameron for some reason. I mean is any other American been a lock starter in a top four league this year? Fabian I guess when he’s been healthy and that’s about it”

        What you are really saying is that dreaded qualifier, i..e. “Cameron is doing really well FOR AN AMERICAN”.

        I think JK is trying to steer his players away from this American inferiority complex way of thinking.

        In other words, what do the other Americans in Europe have to do with this? Cameron should be evaluated as a soccer player, not an “American” soccer player with a built in curve for grading.

        Is Cameron one of the best four or five right backs in the EPL? I don’t think so. Is he a hot transfer target for teams needing a right back? Not that I’ve heard. Maybe one day but not today.

    • His standards really are that high.
      He is not saying anything bad about Cameron, But Klinsmann was a big time player, so it takes a lot to impress him. Cameron is playing well, and has had couple nice assists for stoke, Jurgi was a legitimate world cup hero, and leading goalscorer for many top clubs in Europe. Jurgi was voted top Footballer in England, German Footballer of the year twice, and #3 World footballer of the year during his career. As a player he achieved much more than any American Soccer player ever has.

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      • Well, gee, if you start listing things like that, it makes it sound like JK has not only “achieved much more than any American Soccer player,” he has achieved much more than *every* American soccer player (i.e., combined).

    • Actually, JK’s comment isn’t aimed at Cameron as much as it’s aimed at….Cherundolo, Chandler, and Evans. If Klinsi comes out and says “Cameron has really impressed me, he’s played extremely well” than those other 3 guys here “the RB battle is settled” and they stop fighting and working to improve. And Klinsi has made it completely clear that he wants competition at EVERY position, even GK.

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