The apparent tension between Fabian Johnson and U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann looks to be just water under the bridge now, as the midfielder explained his exit from last month’s CONCACAF Cup in more detail on Monday.
More than a month after Klinsmann had a “severe word” with Johnson regarding his substitution in the 111th minute of the CONCACAF Cup against Mexico, the 27-year-old midfielder explained why he could not go on any longer.
“I already felt something in my hamstring at halftime,” Johnson explained to ESPN FC. “That’s a decision I had to make for me but also for my team, in my opinion. If we have to defend and I can’t run anymore, it doesn’t help me or the team. I think I made the right choice. We talked about it.
“It was the same feeling I’d had in my calf before, so I didn’t want to risk anything,” Johnson added. “As you get older and get more experience, you get to know your body. I think you know how far you have to go, when you have to be careful.”
Following the USMNT’s disappointing defeat to El Tri, Johnson was sent home by Klinsmann before the team’s next friendly game against Costa Rica. He was then treated for a thigh injury with his club Borussia Monchengladbach.
Since, Klinsmann insists there has been “good communication” between the two parties as the two have come to an understanding with each other’s viewpoints on the incident.
“It’s always tricky for coaches to look inside of a player, how he feels certain things,” Klinsmann said at Monday’s press conference. “You can never say if it’s the fear of an injury or if it’s an injury, because only the player feels that. The level of tiredness, the level of exhaustion, in a game so he goes through that process as well. He’s playing every four days, games in the Champions League and the Bundesliga on the highest level, and he gets challenged. His body gets challenged.
“Then he hops on a flight here, coming down to a World Cup qualifier. This is all very demanding and I try to understand his position all the time, or the players’ position, and then you explain the coaches position as well. And when we say certain things, or do certain things, we do that for a reason. We’re not doing certain things for putting somebody down. That’s not our goal.”
The USMNT is set to do battle with Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday in their second World Cup qualification match (6:30 p.m., beIN Sports).
What do you think of Johnson’s comments? Is this still a lingering issue or is the matter resolved?
Share your thoughts below.
German Pragmatism v American Never say die mentality. Not that Fabian Johnson isn’t an american or that Germans dont have the Never say die mentality (Jermaine Jones) but certainly a cultural difference from where you grow up.
I can’t believe there is people actually defending him, half of the team probably felt the same thing but none of them decided to abandon their teammates, he was afraid of getting hurt because he would get benched in Gladbach as simple as that.
“Half of the team”? You know that for a fact? Nobody knows what him, or anyone else was feeling. His teammates (outside of that scrub Brad Evans) seem like they’re on great terms with him after the incident. I don’t think him subbing out less than 10 minutes before the whistle blew, after running hard for 110 minutes, a few weeks after getting injured, qualifies as “abandoning his teammates”.
The original articles coming from this incident said teammates, that would be plural. Maybe Evans was the only one who actually spoke on record (which I have not seen/heard and direct quotes) but it was inferred that a great many players had expressed their corporate displeasure with one of the team’s most critical players asking out.
His USMNT teammates would disagree. The American ethos is effectively gone now. Klinsmann only spoke up because he was forced to or lose the respect of many of veterans on the team. Sadly it was just a public display for effect and no real repercussions just like there were not repercussions for Timmy Chandler refusing call ups during qualifying.
This guy gets it!
Well said!
Fabian absolutely did the right thing! I said this before, and I’ll say it again: if you know you’re at a high risk for getting injured, why let it happen? Especially when, in the grand scheme of things, this round of games is much more important. If Fabian gets injured on October 10th, the likelihood of him being healthy for these important qualifiers is slim to none. JK essentially used Fabian as a scapegoat to deflect anger being directed at him after the loss. Everyone saying Fabian has no heart or doesn’t care needs to go back and look at all the games he has played for the U.S. He’s consistently been one of our best players, and is in the top 5 best players in our entire pool easily.
Damage control.
Klinsmann did what he was supposed to do. There were other players tired and possible hurt. You don’t ask out of a game like that, especially that game, and especially against Mexico, in a final, no less. FJ and others will disagree, but it’s just not a good look…
If you can’t sprint as a defender you are more of a liability on the field than a benefit. I think Johnson realized his limits and didn’t want the winning goal to come from him not being able to keep with an attacker. I have no problems with this.
he did the right thing.