Photo by ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
After repeated attempts to call him into the U.S. Men’s National team this year, only to be turned down on more than one occasion, It appears U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has grown tired of Timmy Chandler’s unwillingness to commit to the U.S. national team.
Chandler’s absence from this month’s U.S. roster is not because the fullback denied a call-up, but rather because Klinsmann did not offer him an invitation, sources at Chandler’s club team, Nuremberg, told SBI on Wednesday.
Chandler told SBI last month that he was open to receiving a call-up and getting cap-tied to the United States during the October qualifiers, but Klinsmann apparently did not deem it necessary to select the 22-year-old fullback.
That Klinsmann ignored Chandler for this coming camp may not be entirely surprising given that Chandler has rebuffed call-ups from the U.S. head coach in the past, not to mention previous coach Bob Bradley. Still, Chandler not getting selected when he said he was publicly open to doing so now means he cannot be cap-tied to the U.S. until the 2013 Gold Cup or World Cup qualifiers.
Chandler and Nurnberg have endured some struggles in the German Bundesliga in recent weeks, but whether that is part of the reason for the snub is not clear at this time. What is clear is that the Chandler saga is still not yet over and it won’t be for quite some time.
What do you think Klinsmann not calling in Chandler? Is it the right move given how many times Chandler has turned down call-ups in the past? Do you even want Chandler on the U.S. national team at this point?
Share your thoughts below.