Photo by Brad Smith/ISIphotos.com
When U.S. Soccer sealed the deal to make Jurgen Klinsmann head coach of the men's national team, it was evident that the federation was making a big investment in Klinsmann and his outlook for the program. Now it's clear just how big that investment was.
Klinsmann is being paid $2.5 million in base salary by U.S. Soccer, according to financial statements obtained by the Washington Post.
By contrast, previous coach Bob Bradley, who was fired a year into his second four-year stint with the national team, made less than a fourth of that amount (before incentives and bonuses) during each one of his years at the helm.
Klinsmann signed a three-year deal with U.S. Soccer in August and will guide the national team through the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
What do you make of this development? Does this change the expectations for Klinsmann in your mind?
Share your thoughts below.
Not exactly a great advertisement for the Columbia Economics Department, unless this is some sort of bizarre experiment on the correlation between wages and results that Sunil is foisting upon us.
Now we know why he is always smiling and upbeat despite posting poor results.
I’d rather have a shift in results than philosophy, and before you add that we have had a shift in results let me qualify myself by saying a POSITIVE shift in results.
Your first point is excellent, how many fewer players will get developed because that additional 1.9 million that is going to the head coach instead of for youth coaches, facilities, and residency programs?
Like an Ivy League college or haute couture … you’re paying for the name and the connections, not the substance.
That said, I expected a salary twice that amount.
Pffft. Whatever.
Personally I’d rather hire you then Klinsman…
Really? Klinsy is a waste of money. He hasn’t done anything good since joining the US except his hair, and that doesn’t even look that good anymore.
Per year?
this is good news. it represents that US soccer is getting in the game. I mean really- $2.5 salary would not get you a mid-major college football coach. look at the ratings for the last WC- this is simply the market, and it’s what the job should pay. whether or not Klinsi is worth it is really a different argument.
He’s worth every penny. Not sure about all those dollars, though.
Actually, USSF is expecting (same documents Goff got his hands on) to post a loss the next two years, primarily from this and the Development Academies. Sunil is literally betting the house on Klinsy and ’14 (when sponsor deals are up) to increase the profile of the team enough to make that back.
For a top flight coach, it’s a steal.
With a coach you are paying for far more than simple managerial skills and US Soccer knows that. You are paying for his rolodex, his pedigree and then his management abilities. Considering he was given control over the entirety of the US Soccer system with reigns to alter, adjust and fix, I’d say that US Soccer (the richest federation in the world) is doing quite well for themselves.
Well done.
Before you guys jump on HS, read his cut/paste. Obviously Avi corrected his piece.
*Shrug*, in my opinion this is a non-story. If they were paying him significantly more than other top coaches in the world, that might seem odd, but they aren’t. Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter to me one iota what they are paying him as long as the results follow.
To me, his salary has nothing to do with my expectations of his performance. I expect any coach of the USMNT to get the team into the knockout rounds of the WC where, as they say, anything can happen.
I’m glad US Soccer finally stepped up to the plate with a coach’s salary that’s not a joke. And yes, I think Senior Bradley got jobbed.
Shouldn’t matter what he makes to anyone except those paying him and Klinsmann himself.
I give the same answer to people who whine about what CEOs make. Nobody’s business except the shareholders and the board of directors in a corporation.
hah learn to read dude
About 500k
I have no idea if this is a maretable salary or not. I think we pay for it by playing hastily called “friendlies” such as Spain or Argentina where we get a good payday and a spanking. I really don’t like the idea of using the national team as cannon fodder to build up the federations’s treasure chest.This amount of money rightly or wrongly will be a cloud and at some point will become the issue. Must balance “market” with expectations and results.
I’d be more curious to know what other international managers make.
This snippet and the WaPo article don’t really delve into that, but that’s a good piece of information to have.
something like half a million I think. But of course that goes a long way in Egypt
I’d say we’re getting off pretty cheap actually.
Land titles, a position in the new government, and a herd of camels, which are in dwindling supply apparently.
hahaha 😀
does this mean we could afford Gus Hiddink or Capello for World Cup 2018? They’d only demand 4-5 million a year
Just one more way Bob Bradley got screwed by Gulati.
So shouldn’t we expect 4x the wins?
how much is bradley getting from egypt?
Sounds about right for a “name” foreign coach, even if his coaching credentials are somewhat short.
You are just ignorant on this, the “reclamation progject” was already mapped out and underway. Klinsmann just adds the necessary stature for everyone to get behind. He has synced the U20 and U23 programs with the senior team, but the important work at the youth levels has been going on for several years. Klinsmann has even admitted this.
Considering the reclamation project the US system is from bottom to top, I’d say he’s under paid.
Does this change the expectations for Klinsmann in your mind?
NO, good for him to make as much money as he can. The expectations are on US Soccer for paying him that money. They have set the price for managers moving forward, so after Klinsmann we can expect the best possible manager available because clearly the salary is not the issue.
So we pay him 2.5 mil because he likes the USA and is not biased against USA players? I can do that.
Kidding aside, the point about the training stints in europe for MLS players is good, but I’d like to know who’s paying for it before I’d concur it helps justify the salary.
I base my criticism now based on what I’m seeing in the form of MLS players easily finding training stints with German clubs or other EPL clubs abroad. Not only that but he so far has aligned all youth ranked coaches with what he expects at the senior level something that we were lacking. Anyways sure you could get a big name European but it just doesn’t work here in the USA for the exception of Bora Milutinovic they all come with the bias that USA players suck. That’s why you have to travel abroad or ask you foreigner friend or coworker who roots for another nat team and you’ll see. Being a statesman is te biggest handicap in world football. Fortunately Jürgen has been here in Cali over a decade watching MLS and watching his son play in the AYSO his son chose to play in USA ranks as a goal keeper but he could have said not. If that’s not clue enough as to how American his family is and how he has embraced his new home then tell me what other coach of European origen and that played for another nat team with the best club team and coached one of the best nat teams that will be more understanding and non biased to USA players.
He can use Johnny Blue as a disinfectant.
And here we were thinking he was coaching for free…
His pay only matters to me in the sense of what it prevents US Soccer from spending money on otherwise. If it’s not hurting overall US Soccer development a huge amount, than what’s the big deal? It already feels like there’s been a shift in philosophy in soccer here, and it’s not like he had a different pool of players than Bradley had.
I agree. I don’t know why where is confusion about the 1/4 ratio being an issue. HS and nam should go back and re-read.
I’ll save my judgement on his salary until after the World Cup….
Thats criminal tbh. We could of hired a real international pedigree manager for that $$.
By contrast female professional cheerleaders are paid an hourly wage. Someone alert the feminists.
That’s like 1.25 mm per win. I’d like to offer my services to the USSF–I’ll work for, say, 400k a year.
On one hand I say we could get a great coach for 2.5 mil + plus the perk of living in SoCal not to mention I think Jurgen would be a much better “Oversee’er” of all things soccer ala:
Jurgen = Uli Hoeneß of US Soccer
Sunil = Karl Heinz Rummenigge of US Soccer
^
And they would require a much less pay scale for instance last yr. Uli Hoeneß only made 500.00 euro.
So if your actually wanted too you could still hire a top X’s & O’s coach while letting Sunil run the administration stuff and let Jurgen run the soccer stuff.
What Ives lacks in math skills you lack in simply analytical and critical thinking. First thing I did after I read that was divided by 4. Lol. And that’s 600k plus.
It makes it easier for me to criticize him knowing that he can go home and cope with a bottle of 40-year-old Macallan.
If Avi was good at math he wouldn’t have been a writer.
That’s the price you pay for winning soccer….oh wait.
‘By contrast, previous coach Bob Bradley, who was fired a year into his second four-year stint with the national team, made less than four times that amount (before incentives and bonuses) during each one of his years at the helm’
So he made less than $10m? Shouldn’t that be ‘less than a quarter’?
Meh…