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Howard critical of Klinsmann’s use of foreign-born players

Photo by Mark J. Reiblas/USA Today Sports
Photo by Mark J. Reiblas/USA Today Sports

Tim Howard says he understands Jurgen Klinsmann’s job was to unearth new talent, but the U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeepeer says the team became too reliant foreign-born players that didn’t bring the passion required to represent the national team.

Speaking to USA Today, Howard was critical of Klinsmann, who was fired in November after losing the first two games of the Hexagonal round. According to Howard, the USMNT lost its identity under Klinsmann, and the goalkeeper believes it will be rediscovered under new boss Bruce Arena.

“Jurgen Klinsmann had a project to unearth talent around the world that had American roots,” Howard said. “But having American roots doesn’t mean you are passionate about playing for that country.

“I know there were players that came in that it didn’t matter as much to,” Howard said. “If you get enough of those players, one or two can get found out, but if you get enough of those players you lose sight of what you are all about. While it was a good idea in theory, it had its flaws. Bruce will 100% get that back.”

Howard went on to state his belief that “80 percent” of the next World Cup roster will come from MLS. The goalkeeper says there has been ” this rhetoric that has been spewed out over the last couple of years” about players heading to Europe, something which he sees changing over the coming years.

The change in attitude is widely expected under Arena, who is almost certainly going to look at MLS harder than Klinsmann. The latter consistently encouraged players to head to Europe in order to test themselves at the highest levels the game had to offer.

Now, following the change, Howard is glad the USMNT has a fresh voice to help guide them through World Cup qualifying and, in hindsight, he believes that voice should have come years ago.

“I think that internationally coaches should probably get a four-year reign,” Howard said of Klinsmann. “It is not club (soccer) where you get to spend $150 million on players, you essentially have the same core of players. You can trim the fat and bring some rookie in or a guy from college or someone who had a good season. But you can’t revamp it too much. What you need is fresh ideas, fresh voices.”

Comments

  1. To due Respect to Howard and what he had done thru all his time with the USNMT, But is an Hypocrite cause now that klismann is not the USA coach he comes out and talk about the foreign players. He too was at fault. After a good performance in the world cup he became a DIVA, going out party to be seem, been in every magazine or late night show not as a soccer player but trying to be a celebrity, heck he even separate from his wife and least and not last he took a time off from from USNMT, why he did advocate for Donovan when he did the same and was left out the world cup roster, I didn’t see anyone complain to JK. Like other people in this forum said not only foreigner players play under performance or lack of attitude but some born USA player also were bad and all this came to a coach who was out of Idea, technical tactics, play out of position. what would of been it this players all performance good and been in first place in the Hexagonal. Different story will be talking right now, He Howard would be quiet like he always was.

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  2. All that chest thumping heart and hustle stuff is nice, but no substitute for actual talent. Wales or Iceland would have won the Euros if you could get by on passion alone

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    • Forgot which Brazilian it was that said this (it was a teammate of Pele’s when they won their third cup), but he commented how the Brazil team in 2014 were TOO passionate int he tournament. That many players were screaming the words to their national anthem, and almost crying during the song. He said Brazilians are passionate, but not that much, and he said the nationalism may be distracting them from playing the Brazilian way. This was right before the 7-1 drubbing they got from Germany.

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  3. I wonder if Howard would admit that going to Man United and the Playing everyday for Everton made him a better player then he would have been playing for his MLS team?

    The question is passion for the national team not where in the world you play. No one can question that JJ laid it all on the line every time he suited up for the US, most would admit we never saw that kind of commitment from Chandler. I would take an 18 player roster of JJ and would also be perfectly happy if a player like Chandler came in and when the attitude was revealed was told tanks but no thanks. On the flip side, I think Wondo tries really hard but he simply isn’t good enough.

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  4. Here’s my thought: Is it possible that USMNT has lost its “leave it all on the field” mentality that was so prevalent at the 2002 WC and with the previous generation because our player pool has become more skilled? I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have both skill and grit, but I wonder that as we have become more technically astute, maybe we have lost a little bit of what used to make us a tough team to play against.

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  5. I see these comments as really pointing at a certain player or maybe two. Chandler has never looked good for the USMNT. He also held out before committing, I would assume he was hoping for a Germany call but it never happened. Other than him who can name another player that has looked disinterested or not giving 100%. Howard’s comments to me seem like he wasn’t trying to single one person out.

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    • “Other than him who can name another player that has looked disinterested or not giving 100%. ”

      How about M.Bradley? Before we go blaming others, we need to look in the mirror

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      • Dude, whole discussion is about dual nationals born outside of America. I agree Bradley sucks but not relevant to my comments

      • I think he’s making the point that American born players can also look disinterested. Not saying I’d agree with that Bradley looks disinterested, but certainly over the years there have been American born MLS stars who have appeared to not try very hard.

    • And Jones held out and got 8 Germany caps in friendlies before switchin. FabJo one a youth WC for Germany. Are they any less committed?

      This isn’t an argument against Chandler’s commitment, but rather an argument that its impossible to be truly committed to more than one country. Having FabJo and especially Jones hoping they may be good enough to play for their home country (and win a WC) does not mean they wouldn’t bring that same passion to their adopted country.

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  6. He’s saying some, not all. And I definitely respect his opinion considering he’s in the locker room, on the field, etc. And if any of these players disagree with him, PROVE it in games

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  7. Howard’s comments are confusing because he seems to be talking about two different things. On one hand, he makes the case that native-born players bring a passion to the Nats that some foreign-born players don’t. On the other, he seems to be making a comment about what league American players play in. To me, this seems like two separate issues.

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  8. I was born in Uruguay and served retired from U.S. Navy. And I don’t want someone serving for U.S. if they don’t see U.S. as their home, #1 in their hearts and greatest Nation.

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  9. I have to say the response to this story is kind of funny. Where are all the xenophobic accusations and harsh words that usually come from the majority of some of you? Haha. He is basically saying the same thing people like Wambach and Slowleftarm would say but because he is Timmy Howard the harshest comments I am reading are “I disagree with Timmy” and “Howard is wrong on this one”. Talk about walking on eggshells. Be consistent people.

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    • I think Tim gets some more slack because he was actually there in the locker room and on the training pitch. As far as the xenophobe stuff, most of that gets directed at people who say people aren’t Americans because they weren’t born here, which is different from what Tim is saying. Maybe not too different from what Bruce had said, so you might be on to something that there isn’t a big blowup, but certainly different from what some posters have said over the years.

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  10. Not sure if I agree or disagree with his whole comment.

    I am sure I am one of the few Alexi Lalas fan out there…part of this comment was Lalas’ point exactly. If they are eligible use them, but only use them if they have the heart and passion for US soccer. Alexi didn’t say this, but I will…the heart that made Lalas a great player.

    The 1994 team had it. Now we need it.

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  11. See people you all were saying a lot of usa players were sad to see klinnsman go. I feel like players like Cameron, Pulisic, and others were putting on a nice face and hiding their true feelings. Also Tim Howard mother is from Hungry so he needs to stop with this and I do disagree with him. If he had not went overseas and not played in England he would not have gotten the almost world class level and status he has reached.

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  12. If a player isn’t giving his 100% he shouldn’t play regardless of where he was born. There certainly are American born players whose heart has been questioned as there have been players who weren’t born in the US that have had their desire questioned. I think a point Tim was trying to make was JK spent too much time searching for players instead of building up the players that were already here and didn’t need recruited but did need developed.

    I understand the 80% number really just means a large majority, I’m sure Tim didn’t do the math to figure out how many that would be, but its 18 out of 23. When you see that 15 out of 23 were not in MLS during the last qualifiers that seems improbable. I posted Arena, Bradley, and Klinsmann’s usage of MLS players at WC a couple of weeks ago and no USMNT since 1998 has had even 50% of its players based in MLS.

    You have Guzan likely coming to MLS soon, and maybe Cameron after this season, but I don’t see anyway the number in MLS would be more than 12 or 13 at the next WC.

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  13. He is not wrong, and he is explicitly not describing all foreign-born players.

    Dual-citizenship players may well be talented; however, if they have never lived here, and/or have no active family relations they at least visit regularly, and/or can barely speak our de facto national language, then there is a cost that comes with employing them on a national team comprised largely of players that have all those things, who identify as Americans, and take pride in representing the rest of us. That cost is resentment, and it rots the identity Howard talks about.

    I think there are many shades of gray in this conversation, and there are absolutely several of the German-Americans that have proven their heart, but Howard generally makes a valid point. The USNT coach should not be aggressively turning over every stone to uncover talented players with no heart-felt connection to our country, when there are already many deserving players that do.

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  14. Well I gotta say that I disagree with Tim Howard on a couple points: (1) 80% of the USMNT should be MLS based and (2) over reliance on foreign born players. Granted, I take it Howard has some insight into the team, but I think that this is a bit of self interest and slight ignorance. On a side note, I completely agree that a national team coach should be a 4 year cycle. Klinsman should have left his role of national team manager after the Gold Cup or this Copa Super America.

    In terms of 80%of the USMNT being MLS, that means that for the World Cup, only 4/5 should be playing abroad. That seems self defeating. A lot, (not all) of your best players are playing abroad whether its Liga MX, Bundesliga I/II, Eredivisie, Premier League or Championship or SPL. A good chunk of your U23 talent is abroad. MLS has improved greatly, but the top 5 leagues are better. On top of that, they generally pay more. Lets me honest, as a professional, you are a free lancer who has to make as much money in a 10 year period (if you are elite). I am all for playing the best player you have available no matter where you live, but if our best players are playing against and with the best competition, odds are they would not be here. Now part of it may be his personal interest because he is in MLS. I am old enough to remember that 10 years ago, Arena actively encouraged his best players to play abroad at the highest level they can.

    In terms of over-reliance of foreign born players, I am of the belief that an American is an American no matter where born. They are not all a product of the system, but many young players are not totally a product of the US system. While there are some which have loyalty, even he admitted that they can be found out. The culture of the team will always change. It has and will change a lot as US soccer moves away from a relatively small community to just a detached business , which is undoubtedly happening. I wonder if there is some self interest there with Arena calling in Frei (foreign born and not even a US citizen yet) and William Yarborough on the radar. Like I said, simply being born in a country does not make one a citizen outside the Americas. In Europe, Asia, and Africa simply being born and raised in a country does not make you a citizen.

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    • One way to assess this issue is to look at what other countries do. Obviously, countries with a top 4 European league are quite happy with their players playing in their home league. But, outside of that, I think most every other country encourages its players to play in a higher league abroad. Which league is better, MLS or Argentina, Brazil, Holland? MLS would be at the bottom of that list and yet most of the national team players for those countries play in a top European league. The French league is only a tick behind the top four and so many of their best players play in a top 4 league. Also, I see many players who aren’t born in a country playing for that country. I think Mexico is probably the only other country that makes that a real issue. Here in the US people are so insular and don’t even bother to look at how other nations around the world handle an issue. If every other country in the world prefers its top players to play in a top European league, why should the US be different? And why assume that a person’s commitment is based on where they were born? That is a terrible case of stereotyping. Each player should be judged individually.

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    • Puh-Leaze! Pulisic was eligible to play for Croatia because…wait for it…one of his grandparents was born there. Yedlin has a passport from a Baltic nation (Latvia?) for the same reason.

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      • I assume that you are referring to the statement I made “Like I said, simply being born in a country does not make one a citizen outside the Americas. In Europe, Asia, and Africa simply being born and raised in a country does not make you a citizen.”

        I stated in a previous articles articles that there are generally 2 theories of citizenship/nationality: (1) jus soli and (2) jus sanguinis. Respectively, that means citizenship by being born in a country and citizenship through blood/parents’ nationality. Again, in the Americas, citizenship is primarily Jus Soli. In Europe/Africa/Asia it is primarily some form of jus sanguinis. I know FOR A FACT that Latvia has jus sanguinis. As such, simply being born does not make you a citizen. Yedlin got a passport because one or both of his grandparents was a Latvian (simply not just born there). Most places who practice jus sanguinis will allow it to travel from grandparent to grandchild (sometimes there is a restriction on the grandparent being a paternal male – like the Germans used to have). Pulisic got a passport not because his grandparents were born there, but because they were ethnic Croatians. Pulisic is a Croatia name!

        You see, Super Nintendo Chalmers, you are trying to make a counter point, but you fell flat. Neither one of these guys got citizenship because they were born there, they got passports because their grandparents were citizens and the citizenship passed down by jus sanguinis.

  15. Love ya, Timmy! But I don’t get it. If Howard was so passionate about the issue, why not go public while Klinsmann was still the boss? I’d have way more respect for raising concerns that way. Instead, it comes off like he’s kissing Arean’s regime. A guy who owes his career to playing abroad. A guy who went ballistic on Brad Friedel for allegedly sabotaging his move to Manchester United. Whatever.

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  16. You can hear the good intentions under his comments, but it doesn’t disguise the fact that he is wrong. Why even bring where a player was born into the discussion? Bring all available players with exceptional talent into camp, dismiss the ones that don’t have the required passion/enthusiasm/whatever you want to call it. They could be foreign born or not. In other words, let the camps evaluate the players, as they are meant to do. It’s up to the coach. No further discussion is really needed. Have Timmy rewatch Jermaine’s goal v Portugal. That might help.

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    • I agree Jermaine is not the problem, but if Howard hints that some foreign players don’t give their full heart, that suggests other foreign players don’t have Jones’ fire. He played in England and I don’t think he’d be inherently xenophobic or flapping his gums for no reason. He is hinting at where the problem lies, and can do so because he’s hurt and doesn’t have to be part of the chemistry right now. I assume he figures by the time he’s back it’s fixed.

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    • One of the ironic things about this discussion is that Benny Feilhaber, who most thought Klinsmann unfairly dissed and is now in camp, was ignored by Klinsmann specifically because of his selfishness and lack of commitment. So, if we know that Klinsmann left out players we know failed to show enough commitment (remember Jozy about 4 to 5 years ago left out of a qualifying round as well as other instances) Howard’s criticism that Klinsmann ignored this area doesn’t ring true. Benny, BTW, wasn’t born here and played in Europe for most of his early career. According to Howard’s logic, Feilhaber shouldn’t be in camp and Dax McCarty should be a starter.

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      • Sorry, but that’s a terrible comparison. For starters we don’t know the real reason why Benny wasn’t called in, but to let JK tell it Benny was behind several players in his position(which i think was ridiculous). Benny was born in Brazil but has lived the majority of his life in America and has played in a WC with America under another manager. His commitment back then, i don’t think, was ever questioned, some would say that he was too passionate thus his tantrums on the field back in the day.

        People are misconstruing what Tim is saying, he is not saying that all foreign born players are tanking it but that he’s noticed that a few don’t seem to be as passionate as the american born players, which quite frankly is not surprising at all. Dual nationalism has been a thing in soccer for a long time and there have been instances where the term “mercenary” was thrown around to depict players suiting up for their adopted country for purposes of playing international football period. Not saying that any of our players are that, but if TH is saying this then who are we to discredit him for doing so. He has earned that right because of his service to the game and our country and to see some one who not putting the commitment forth that he is can be unnerving.

        I think this is the perfect time to get this out there because of the transition away from JK, who did over look alot of players from MLS who were seemingly deserving of an opportunity. It’s one thing to want players to push themselves in a european environment but to overlook players because they are not in europe is comical. At the end of the day this teamhad lost it’s identity under JK, Bruce will get that back by making sure everyone who wears the jersey is all in, and if you don’t think BA has an eye for that i think you’d be underestimating his character

      • Not sure about Gary’s overall comparison, but Benny wasn’t particularly favored by Bradley either. As I recall he was left off several times before JK’s arrival too.

  17. I love Howard but wow, it’s so disappointing to see him jumping on the Wambach train. And how funny is it to hear him, who spent the majority of his career in Europe, say that going to Europe is overrated.

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  18. Extraordinary….. Coming from someone who I respect greatly. This time, I disagree with him. The development for European players and American players are clearly a gulf apart. So I believe that if there were American born and raised young talent worthy of being competitive with the best on the field, Klinsmann would have included him on the team. He already have. The name is Christian Pulisic. Sorry to say this, the caliber of Pulisic is a rarity in our country while in some of other countries, that type of talent is almost a common occurrence.

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  19. coming from a player that developed as world class talent in europe, how ironic. btw, feilhaber was not born in this country

    taking a group of mls players to the WC, is like taking a bunch of double A baseball players to the world series. sure they are going to play hard, but talent will always overcome

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    • This has nothing to do with where you were born or where you developed into a world-class talent. It has everything to do with where you grew up, which is what Timmy is talking about.

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      • No David. It doesn’t matter where you grew up. It’s about about playing like you want it. That’s what Howard said.
        “Jurgen Klinsmann had a project to unearth talent around the world that had American roots,” Howard said. “But having American roots doesn’t mean you are passionate about playing for that country.

    • The point is I have never seen a US team quit like in that Costa Rica game. Game before that they seemed lost for ideas of how to come back. I agree with Howard, the fighting mentality has changed. I don’t think it’s purely reducible to MLS vs elsewhere but I do think his argument is Arena needs to assess the ones that really care because we need that fighting spirit. If there are malcontents who just like free-riding to World Cups but not putting the work in, they go to the curb even if they are strong technical players.

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      • The problem with your argument here is that I thought the worst player in both those games and the one who showed the least heart in Costa Rica was Omar Gonzalez who was born here, played most of his career in MLS for the Galaxy, then moved to Mexico and never played in Europe. People need to be careful with their generalizations as you can usually find as many exceptions as examples. Personally, I doubt anyone played with more passion than Jermaine Jones over the last 5 years or so for the US.

      • Gary Page: Setting aside the rest of the argument, I’m fairly confident that Brooks was the worst player over those two games. He blew his mark on Marquez on that corner kick and he got burned on at least 2 of the goals against CR. I’m not saying that Brooks isn’t committed enough to play for us, just that I think you’re focused on the wrong CB…

      • Question: how much was our “fighting mentality” built around Dempsey? Just seeing Captain America gutting it out for almost the entire Ghana match with a broken nose, was enough for me. MB 90 has not projected that kind of leadership besides being a turnover machine.

    • And this has very little to do with where you grew up. A guy like Jones shows more heart and commitment to the team than a lot of the guys who were born and bred in the U.S.

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  20. I disagree with howard, for the simple fact
    that some players not born in the United
    States are indispensable for the team,
    Brooks, Johnson, green … among others, the
    question of klinsmann being wrong was not
    in bringing these players but in not To know
    how to merge with players capable of
    representing the country well, according to
    Howard, Carter vickers, Zelalem and others
    should not be taken to the national team
    and this would be a great loss because they
    are good players and the MLs can not
    compose 80% of the national team.
    , guzan, yedlin, Johnson
    Brooks, Cameron, kitchen, hyndman, pulisic,
    green, Arriola, johannsson … let’s give up
    half of them, because of howard’s opinion,
    with all the respect Howard deserves By his
    past, if he has to give up some player is his,
    Howard

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    • I guess what raises my eyebrows is this type of comment has always come from drunk buffoons like Abby in the past and never really from someone currently on the team.

      I do worry about someone like CCV seeing this and thinking USMNT maybe isn’t the type of inclusive environment he would want to be a part of.

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      • My sense is the USNT would be a welcoming, “inclusive environment” for any player that identifies as an American, and values representing the USA, first and foremost.

        So, why worry?

    • You’re misreading what he’s saying. He’s not talking about quality. He’s talking about heart. I think we do need to figure out who is going to bleed for the team as opposed to who just shows up. You go to Honduras for a game and it’s not all technical, often enough it’s grinding out a result because you want it badly. If you are looking for players to win those kinds of games, you may need some guys with heart and not just the best 11 players on paper.

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      • I think you’re nails in all respects except I don’t like the characterization of heart versus no heart. Everyone’s got heart. The question isn’t whether but for whom the heart bleeds

      • Yeah. Europe or not. If you play for the USA you better sure as heII be passionate about it. I’m pretty sure we can all agree there. And that goes for dual nationals too. Give me the passionate loss over the indifferent win any day. I want to see them fight. As it should be.

    • Pulisic is not a foreign born player. Yes he is eligible to play for Croatia, but is not a player Howard is referring to. Pulisic did play at a young age in England a lot of people do not know that. I was arguing on so Fifa about it. I know most of his development happened in Pennsylvania though. Also Pulisic was born in the States.

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      • That’s not what antonnynoronha was referring to when he mentioned Pulisic. He brought up a list of US players plying their trade outside of MLS, whom Howard believes 80% of the WC roster would be comprised of:

        “guzan, yedlin, Johnson
        Brooks, Cameron, kitchen, hyndman, pulisic,
        green, Arriola, johannsson …”

        those are all players Anton. mentioned playing outside of MLS that stand a solid chance on any US manager’s roster.

      • I got you Brett, thanks for clarifying, was sort of confusing switching back and forth between the two topics of foreign born players and US players only playing domestically and not abroad. I remember with Brazil back in 2006, their was a complaint about Brazilians playing in Europe only being called up verses Brazilians who play domestically, If we were producing the type of talent Brazil was in their domestic league I would def agree with Tim Howard, since we are not I completely disagree with him. Playing abroad in my opinion, raises a players level and passion I feel.

      • Without knowing what the person is thinking at all times it’s hard to claim their heart isn’t in it100%. I felt most players repping the US appear devoted however each player has a temperament that is different and not everyone wears their heart on their sleeve

        Personally I think a lot of the issues stemmed from a loss of respect in the locker room. I’ve never seen a IS team give up or struggle to work as a team as we’ve seen recently. Occasionally we would show up but most of the time it was a shadow of our former selves.

        There are players that simply shouldn’t be on the pitch and there are players in mls that should be given a chance. I fully suspect come qualifiers we will see a very similar roster with a few changes. But overall I believe it will boil down to a change of mentality

    • Who knows? it could be anyone. Jones, Johnson, Brooks, Green, Chandler, Iceman, Williams, Morales, Wooten, Picault, etc. And just because Howard and others feel that way doesn’t mean it is true. But it could be true.

      The more interesting thing is that time is proving that all the rumors about Klinsmann and how the players viewed him over the years are turning out to be true. Players just didn’t speak out so they wouldn’t lose their spots on the team. I’m sure by the second cycle he was probably disliked by most of the squad.

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      • No way Jones. That guy fights too hard. Unless it was the foreigh-born players never tried to fit in. Never try to learn the language or didn’t try to get to know the states-side born players.

      • Players come in all shades of temperament. Some are always WFO/leave it every time they are on the field. (JJ,CD) Others…. not so much. (Shea, Gonzo…)You get one who is, in general…. a not so much on the NT… that happens to be duel nationality, perhaps you tend to attribute it to that, whereas a US born, you question his heart. There have been more than a few of those too.

        Tenacity, drive, competitiveness, heart should always be a huge factor when considering a player. Those with these inherent qualities won’t have a hard time finding motivation in a friendly ping pong match.

      • Every great adult player I know of is extremely competitive. Once a competition is underway, they do everything they can to win. (Often doing things they might regret later.)

        That said, professional athletes also are businessmen and know that if the are too reckless and get injured, it could harm their earning potential for years to come.

        There is a real tension between those two motives when playing for a National team while your day job is your club career. I suppose whether you grew up in a country or not might change that tension and effect things.

      • Dennis. Eh.In my opinion, not so much. Once the game starts, the typical hard driving player is intensely IN the game, isn’t even thinking, let alone in those terms. If they are, I’d venture to say it has much more to do w/ being a “not so much” player as referenced above than place of birth.

      • That is not true. I remember Ricky Watters, running back for the eagles about 15 years ago, saying “For who, For what” when he made a business decision about going for a dangerous high pass. Some players, not all, some players make business decisions.

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