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Klinsmann discusses Green’s USMNT decision

Jurgen Klinsmann Julian Green
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdWY6M3v-bc]

Comments

  1. Does Julian Green bump a defender, midfielder or a forward? We also don’t have room in the midfield for both Beckerman and Bedoya/Brek.

    3 Goalkeepers:
    1-Howard, 2-Guzan, 3-Rimando

    8 Defenders:
    1-Besler, 2-Gonzo, 3-Fabian, 4-Cameron, 5-DMB
    6-Chandler or Lichaj
    7-Goodson or Brooks
    8-Parkhurst or Evans
    9-Orozco or Yedlin

    8 Midfielders:
    1-Jones, 2-Bradley, 3-LD, 4-Zusi, 5-Dempsey, 6-Mix, 7-Green
    8-Beckerman or Williams or Edu,
    9-Brek or Bedoya.

    4 Forwards:
    1-Altidore, 2-Johansson, 3-EJ
    4-Boyd or Agudelo

    Reply
    • defenders 6-9 are then Goodson, Evans, Orizco and Yedlin
      midfielders 8&9 are Beckerman or Edu and Bedoya
      Forwards 4 is Boyd simply because he is more of a 1 for 1 sub for Jozy’s role. Not sold on EJ, it could be any of Agudelo, Wondo, Gomez or Magee and Boyd is not certain.

      Bottom line, the big questions regarding the starters are: Who will score the goals? and Which defenders can stay focused and error-free for 90+ minutes?

      Reply
      • We only get 8 defenders and 8 midfielders though.

        Defenders: Goodson is in that is 6. You can choose 2 more. One needs to be a RB. I’d take Parkhust as number 7. #8 could be Orozco or we could stick with 7 and bring in and extra mid or striker.
        Mid’s: 6 is Bedoya. 7 and 8 are probably Mixx and Green. To find space for either Beckerman, Edu or Shea you would need to leave out a defender or striker.

        Strikers- I agree with your top 3, but EJ is still vulnerable if he is out of form to begin the year.

  2. I really hope this is JKs last project. If not and this keeps going, we will need to hire an interpreter for the few native English speaking players that are left in the starting group.

    That being said, who gets bumped out if this kid makes it?

    Reply
  3. Slowleft and boyd want a protected class of players (players who actually grew up in the US) thinking this will somehow help the US develop better players more quickly, but really it will have the opposite effect. Protecting locally trained players from competition from players trained in Germany or anywhere else for that matter won’t make them better or more competitive. Instead, it will just prolong the continuation the old results, that being the development of hard-working, but technically and tactically deficient players who lack creativity.

    Reply
  4. Against Mexico:

    GK: Clark, Sean Johnson, Rimando

    Defense: Yedlin, Parkhurst, Gonzo, Besler, Klute, Goodson, Beasley, Garza,

    Mid: Bradley, Beckerman, Edu, Corona, Gil, Castillo, Dempsey, Donovan, Green

    Forwards: Gomez, EJ, Magee

    —————Magee——
    -Green—–Dempsey—Donovan
    ————-Gil-Bradley—
    Beasley——————Yedlin
    ———-Besler-Gonzo——-
    ————Rimando—

    Reply
    • I’d like it for the most part.

      I think you will see something close.

      – It will be either Evans or Parkhurst at RB not Yedlin.
      – Green will not. More likely Donovan will start at LM and Zusi will be the RM.
      – Striker is up for grabs but my guess is it is Wondo over EJ to start the game.

      Reply
      • I kinda wanna see more of what Yedlin has to offer he’s been stellar for Seattle and he’s the only one who could probably keep up with Brizuela or Pena. Parkhursts speed isn’t one of his strengths we’ve seen him at CB for Columbus so klinsi might use him as a CB to pair with Goodson. I see yedlin competing with evans for the RB spot. We didn’t see Magee against SK and Klinsi loves giving chances so we might see him start and it could depend on if he goes on a goalscoring tear over the weekend. Some surprises that could be called in are Torres, Zardes, or Orozco.

  5. Will Green be tied to the US forever simply by filing for the change (and it being accepted) or does he actually have to play in a real US game (not just a friendly)?

    Reply
  6. Recife, June 26, 2014:

    Green comes to the pitch 83 minutes in, to a locked match between the struggling US and Germany, who are fielding a reserve team after 2 consecutive clean sheet victories which ensured qualification for them.

    Donovan takes a cross outside of the penalty area, Green controls it, dribbles past Grosskreutz and Westermann, and shoots with his left foot beating Weidenfeller, right next to the far post and the ball goes in. GOAL!

    USA is beating Germany and now with this results combination awaits for Ghana to hold the 2-2 draw against Portugal who face elimination despite the 4-1 victory over the US in the last match.

    Reply
  7. The problem with arguing this is that being mostly Americans I assume, we will never agree, and it has absolutely nothing to do with where people were born, how long they were there, what country they feel more attached to etc. It’s because we live in a country where we’re taught that sports are not global. When any of our teams win in any other sport they are champions of the world. Only in soccer the rest of the world has teams (ones that are better than ours that is). It’s still a business. Just like Baseball, just like American Football, Just like Basketball. You go where’s best for your career. If someone chooses to represent us, welcome them, don’t discredit their American-ness. Accepting that they want to represent this country can only make them more attached, more at home. Why would anyone want to ostracize someone for making a likely very tough, lifechanging decision? I’m truly not sure what’s so hard about simply being happy and welcoming?

    Reply
  8. It is possible that Jurgen and Jogi (German Federation) “agreed” that USA would take Green and Germany would take Salelam…

    Julian “training” with the US team in Ukraine and soon after Salelam being called up by Germany for an official FIFA tourney…. these are clear events that something was cooking.

    Reply
    • I thought Salelam is eligible for Germany, but not for the US and it would take citizenship for him to be eligible which usually takes several years so the Ethiopean with a German passport will not play for the US. I believe he did live in the US and does have ties here, but that is not sufficient for eligibility.

      Reply
      • right… it would take Salelam 4-5 years to get a US passport unless is fast tracked by the US State Dept…. As of now he is not eligible to play for the US senior team.

        my point was that if Green committed to play for USA then Jurgen would stop pursuing Salelam.

    • Bad trade.

      Zelalem has very little chance of getting a US passport in time.

      Zelalem has stated he wants to play for the US but neither he nor his family live here anymore so it is would take a while for him to establish a residence and then go through the 5 year citizenship process which means he misses the 2014 and probably the 2018 World Cup.

      If he wants to play international ball during his prime years Germany or Ethiopia seem to be his best bets. It is a shame because he looks like a good one

      Reply
  9. Nobody has ever said these players aren’t American enough. Their dad’s hit it and quit it with a German woman which makes them as American as Apple pie.
    The disagreement starts because some of understand that the national team is not about how well you can recruit but how we’ll you can develop players.
    International competitions are a showcase of your player development system and it’s just plain embarrassing to show up with players we had no part in developing and didn’t even know about until their chances with Germany failed to materialize.
    Come to thing of it, bringing Germany’s sloppy seconds to the World Cup says everything that needs to be said about out development system which is really nothing to be proud of.

    Reply
    • I made an excessively lengthy post about just this above. International Soccer represents a Nation and its best citizens/players completely independent of where they were schooled. It does not represent its development system. FIFA has made its wishes regarding who can and will be qualified to represent each country very clear and nowhere in these requirements is there ANYTHING that mandates where and how a player is developed.

      That said, in practice, the over all quality of teams will likely reflect the quality of its development, but this does not preclude even the finest soccer player nations from having players on their nations team who learned the game elsewhere.

      Reply
      • And…. maybe not you, but in plenty of previous discussions, plenty have questioned duel nation players Americaness. Cheers.

      • Your post reminds me of the guy that won a chili cook-off by collecting samples from other participants and entering the mix as his own. It wasn’t against the rules but it sure wasn’t what the organizers had in mind.
        FIFA don’t need to regulate this because serious soccer fans around the world don’t like it when players with no relation to their football are brought into the fold. A lot of people in Argentina didn’t want Messi in their national team because he was never part of their system. Half the fans in Mexico blow a gasket when another Argentine is called into their NT. it’s not agains the rules but people rather watch the kid next door they’ve followed since he was young than some random player they’ve never hear of before.
        You don’t have to agree with us, but not wanting those with no football connection to our country is a legitimate point that has nothing to do with xenophobia. It’s purely about football.

      • First of all, I haven’t and do not use the xenophobia charge. I understand the sentiment regarding wanting International Soccer to be a pure representation of each nations in house soccer culture and ability to develop players, but it has never been so… particularly the US team- not even 50 years ago when the world was a much more partitioned, segregated place. I assure you, with ever increasing globalization there will never will be the nationalistic purity you long for. FIFA has had plenty of opportunity to address this issue and it has addressed this issue clearly defining its wishes. Whether or not I agree with your vision or not, is irrelevant- FIFA does not! and the US Constitution’s definition of who a citizen does not. The rules are what they are and criticizing/asking a manager to fill his roster according to your hypothetical, idealized vision, which has no relevance to clearly stated guidelines, nor how other competing nations operate under it is a bit ridiculous.

      • The fact that you are aligning yourself with those in Argentina who don’t think Messi should have a place on the national team….. speaks volumes. I’ll sign out of this friendly discussion with that. Cheers.

      • Boyd,

        “A lot of people in Argentina didn’t want Messi in their national team because he was never part of their system. Half the fans in Mexico blow a gasket when another Argentine is called into their N”

        Well this is America not Argentina and not Mexico.And I notice Messi is playing for Argentina.

    • Boyd, it’s hard to take arguments seriously when they are grammatical minefields. You forgot the word “us” in your third sentence. Secondly, what’s an “out development system”? Is this some super elite, super sup-par American development practice I’m not aware of?

      Reply
    • “International competitions are a showcase of your player development system…”

      This is where you go off the rails.

      Reply
      • +1 That just isn’t the truth. Never in any competition does the cup reference “player development”.

    • Hey Boyd first off no need to sexualize the argument, when you use hyperbole it is a sign that you have already lost the argument. Second off, don’t sexualize the argument unless you know the intentions and history of those involved– that’s their intimate space which should be respected. Third to address your argument about international sports being a showcase for a countries development of athletes– watch track and field at the olympics and you will notice that almost all of the participants regardless of country are developed at American universities so…

      Reply
  10. Slowleftarm: if you look carefully, you’ll notice that you’ve probably buttoned up your shirt incorrectly.

    On another note, I want JK’s US soccer gear. My personal favorite was his v-neck sweater with the giant US retro-crest on it.

    Reply
    • Slowleftarm has good football arguments…

      …but I don’t get his “who’s more American” logic with dual-citizens.

      was he baptized by a left-handed priest?

      Reply
  11. I just want to put this out there: although I disagree with slowleftarm there is a part of me that appreciates his point of view and his antagonism. Think about how much conversation is generated from one individual having strong views and sticking to them. I think we can all agree that we want to see soccer develop in this country and it is slowly but steadily. I still maintain that there will always be room for people who develop their game outside the US system on the USMNT. Hell it could be argued that Dolo developed his game more in Germany than the US, he played more years there than in the US.

    Reply
    • I stay well away from throwing out serious accusations/labels of xenophobia and the like and try my best not to make it an emotional argument, but a pragmatic, logical one. I could be wrong, but I highly doubt that is where Slow is coming from anyhow. More than anything, I see it as a very literal, legalistic argument and the rules Klinsman is mandated to operate under, set forth by FIFA and the US Constitution are very clear on the issue. Being that I come from a family of recent immigrants, I may be a tad more sensitive to this opinion and feel compelled to respond when I hear it- I think it’s important that personal rights are maintained, clearly stated and not blurred by personal preference, bias and/or opinion.

      Reply
  12. Slowleftarm, if you are still reading. Should Ozzie Alonso be permitted to play for the US ?

    Cuban-American, I guess, although he fled there, so in his mind, probably not…probably closer to jjust American.

    Reply
    • I don’t think Alonso should be allowed too. He played for Cuba in the Gold Cup. By all the other standards we look at, he was committed to Cuba at that point in time.

      Reply
  13. Here is an interesting note: over on mlssoccer.com they are reporting that the DFB (German National Team) contacted Julian to try to talk him out of representing the US. Good indicator for how highly rated he is. On an side note it was Hansi Flick the assistant who contacted him. Whenever I see Hansi Flick I smile because I once lost a game of butts up against him when I was 15 and he was still playing for Bayern Munich. We were juggling and whoever let the ball hit the ground three times lost and then had to walk off eleven meters and let the other take PKs at his backside. He missed me but only by inches, he didn’t say it but we both knew he could of destroyed me. Super nice guy but apparently not a nicer guy than Kinsmann.

    Reply
      • Not true. They have a ton of talent to be world class and none of them are starting. Bumping Ribery and Robben would nearly be impossible for 99% of first team players in the world. So, it doesn’t mean Green doesn’t have the potential to be world class, he just isn’t now.

      • So, you agree he is NOT currently world class.
        “Potential” does not pay the bills. We have heard lots about potential and it rarely materializes. The great players are established as “world class” by 19yo. – see Messi and Ronaldo as just two of many examples. This is not baseball with 27 yo rookies.

      • Messi and Ronaldo are two?

        Messi is considered by some to be the greatest player in the history of soccer.

        Ronaldo is also considered an all time great.

        Those two are so far above world class.

      • And Ronaldo wasn’t world class by 19. He wasn’t considered world-class until his early 20’s.

      • Well, that is what it is going to take for the US to be taken serious – exceptional talent. Call it what you will, we need a superstar – not another meh player with potential.

      • How do you figure?

        He is plying for the spot of either Arjen Robben or Frank Ribery who both could be without much argument considered top 5 wingers in the world.

      • I think it’s a bit early to say world class, but I think the insinuation was “world class potential”, which I don’t think every player has or shows at an early age as Green apparently has.

        Also, there is no shame in not being able to beat out Ribery, Robben, Mueller, Kroos, etc.. Bayern has a wealth of talent and the fact that he has made their gameday squad, played mop up minutes in a CL game, and trains with their first team, leads me to believe that he certainly has the potential to be a very good player — better than most in our pool. Not that it’s a guarantee he reaches that level, but the potential is there and for him to choose at a young age to play for the US when the door for the German team was clearly still open, makes me excited, as I assume it does for most US fans.

      • On the contrary,

        Hansi Flick is the second most important person in the Germany National Team. He is the right-hand man of Low. A call from him is a big deal.

      • I didn’t want to do this but you need to stop spreading BS.
        A call from Flick is nothing compared with a call from Low.
        Please.

      • Not sure I see your point.

        He was playing with the U-18 squad–a full 3 teams below where Low coaches. The fact that someone as important as Flick with the senior team was actually trying to convince the kid otherwise is a huge sign of how much they valued him.

        This is Germany, not… well us. They have a strict structure of how players advance. Our head coach talks to all young players–that isn’t really the case in super powers countries.

      • Of course Low couldn’t promise him anything, so what is he going to call about. Much easier to have an assistant call and say we want you stay the course.

      • I have read somewhere that that is the exact approach JK took. He had Richie Williams give Julian a call and that’s what convinced him to go with the USA

    • Absolutely.
      Any promising player is NOT going to play for the US.
      3 and out this summer kids.
      We have yet to produce a world class talent and I do NOT see any on the horizon – including Green.

      Reply
      • Given that we didn’t produce Green–Bayern did–that might still hold true.

        But you forget our goalkeepers and Claudio Reyna.

      • haha, you must be a joy to be around. This kid is the real deal, everybody who could be considered an expert seems to agree. Unless you know more than world cup winner (Klinsi) and a man who has won multiple champions league, La Liga, and soon to be Bundesliga titles (Pep). You have no clue what you’re talking about, run along now, “kid”.

      • None of those experts, including pep, have a 100% record projecting the success of prospects.

        The best managers in the world have invested (wasted?) millions in young players who never amounted to anything.

      • This kid is “the real deal” – LOL.
        You sound like a college pointy ball scout hyping up a 350lb high school prospect. Your statement reflects everything that is wrong with football in the US. You need to have 20 Green’s in the pipe line if you want to produce (if you are lucky) one world class player. Producing world class players is like gators having offspring who make it past the age of one year old – you need to lay a lot of eggs! Now go play with your Xbox sonny.

      • Meh.

        Landon Donovan, for all the hate he gets, is “World Class”. He showed that pretty clearly in the last World Cup – that goal he scored when he flashed the ball in the Slovenian keeper’s face was Messi-esque, sorry, but it was – and he showed it again when he went on loan with Everton and they went on a rampage that included wins against Manchester United and Chelsea and had Everton fans chanting “USA! USA!”

        Michael Bradley is “World Class”. He’s better than Jermaine Jones – I don’t think anyone would argue this – and Jones is a guy who played and started for years on Champions League teams with Schalke. He worked his way up to Roma and they didn’t want to let him go – they just weren’t willing to offer guaranteed playing time and a $36 million contract, and Toronto was. Such is life on a top team in Europe.

        You can argue he’s slipping, but Clint Dempsey was “world class”. He didn’t fit well with AVB’s system at Tottenham but he still did some damage there, and he was hands-down Fulham’s best player for years. Yes, yes, I know – he’s a winger/forward tweener of indeterminate position…but for cryin’ out loud, we saw him score key goals against the likes of Spain and Brazil, and he scored 20+ goals a season against the best in England in the EPL for years. Give the guy his due.

        Tim Howard’s been the starting keeper and almost lone constant on an Everton team that’s consistently finished #5 or #6 in the EPL for the last ten years, and certainly one of the top five keepers in the EPL through that span. That isn’t “world class”? You got some tough standards, friend.

        At least across the rest of the starting 11, and in a couple places well into the bench, I see guys who are solid starters for EPL/Bundesliga clubs, or guys like Omar Gonzalez/Graham Zusi who certainly could be.

      • “We have yet to produce a world class talent and I do NOT see any on the horizon – including Green.”

        If you are in America, Germany is over the horizon. You might have to look a little harder.

  14. This is more important than Julian Green. ussoccer.com is selling that polo JK is wearing. I’ve been looking to get a nice polo with the US crest on it for ages and all they had was that crappy “vintage” rugby polo. Everything is coming up roses baby!

    Reply
    • I want that man’s wardrobe. He makes athletic wear look fashionable.

      I swear he told them to just give him new clothes to wear instead of hiring a model.

      Reply
  15. I am glad Green chose the USMNT, and it is impressive he did so while the door to the German National Team was apparently wide open for him in coming years. That said, I think it would be very wrong for Klinsmann to name him to the 23-man WC 2014 as part of a pre-arranged agreement, unspoken or otherwise, if he does not deserve it. I guess you just gotta trust that Klinsmann will be smart enough to keep Green off the final WC roster if the kid does not show well against Mexico and in the pre-WC send-off friendlies. If he performs well and gets a ticket, I don’t think there will be any complaints. But if he performs like a 4th-tier league player thrown into the deep end and gets a Brazil ticket anyway, then USMNT fans will not be happy nor will Green’s US teammates.

    Reply
    • I don’t think anyone really disagrees with that. I think we are all fairly confident that he has the skills to compete with Brek Shea.

      Reply
      • That’s the thing about it isn’t it. It all comes down to Brek. I don’t think it has anything to do with any other positions. Just that left midfield slot and the fact we have to hope Brek has a good game(He can have really good ones.) because otherwise he is almost empty space.

      • Take Shea and Green out of the picture.

        Who is going to give width to the attack and have the speed to stretch the defense? Fabian is a fine attacker but he is not that kind of player.

        That is why Shea and now Green are still possible for Brazil.

      • I’ve always thought we needed Shea on the plane to offer that element to our attack. If a team has RB who is struggles with pace then you need Shea to challenge him. Green could steal Brek spot on the plane.

    • biff– this is an interesting thought you are getting at . I am curious based on the comments of the last few days how many people genuninely believe that a pre-arranged understanding exists that would ensure Green’s inclusion in the 23 should he file the one-time switch, and how many may just be hinting at an implicit subtext of JK’s sell story that does not actually involve any meaningful commitment or representation. I have seen plenty of folks matter-of-factly express this view using words like “guarantee”, that certainly convey a sense that a very explicit, unambiguous and mutually-understood obligation was knowingly offered via some channel by JK, and that this special consideration was effectively the turnkey factor in getting it all closed.

      Do people seriously believe this? I’m now truly curious — Doesn’t seem like the case to me at all but if it is something that people believe and accept, does it not create a problem? Pragmatic is nice, but I’ve heard so much reverence and rhetoric about the concept of American Identity during the week-long tarring and feathering of slowleftarm, that I’m wondering how this has all started to feel much more like a negotiation than anything involving philosophical consistency I might I have mis-heard him the first 50,000 times, but I could have sworn I heard Klinsmann say “there will be no guarantees of a place” or something like that.

      For my part, I dont’ think JK did anything of the sort. Didn’t need to and never would. But make no mistake– if you believe this happened– even if it was simply a nudge aimed to accelerate a decision that was likely to happen anyway, it does not pardon or cleanse the disease we have allowed through the door. A special consideration for a commitment is flat-out mercenary It might not be Qatar trying to nationalize Adriano using a condo, but it’s carved from the same rotten cloth. Are we welcoming a top talent who simply could not decide if he was American without a little taste of American entitlement?

      Boy… .I’m not spending any more time on this. Seriously. I already miss Steve Cherundolo.

      Reply
      • Ali Dia,

        Every quote I’ve read from both JK and Green says there were no guarantees. Of course, if both sides stick to their story none of us will ever know for sure. It is a he said/he said situation as they say.

        Those of you who want to believe there was a guarantee will build their case.

        Those on the other side cannot since you cannot prove a negative.

        Because no one on this site is privy to the actual facts of this story (you and Green are not friends are you?) and because there are no certified mind readers on this site, then it is simply a matter of faith. Either you believe JK or you don’t.

        In my case I don’t trust anyone and go by common sense.

        JK has spent two years evaluating his winger/forward options. None have been particularly impressive. All come with qualifiers on them when they put on a US shirt. Jozy is the best of the lot and his uneven season, in terms of playing time, may already be over. Everyone despises EJ even though he has been nothing but productive for the US. Wondo has only scored against the Little Sisters of the Poor. Donovan is up and down. Dempsey is a thug and no one likes him anymore. Shea is… well he is Shea. Herc and Joe Benny have disappeared. Gatt is hurt. Magee has poor dietary choices, Boyd acts like he takes crystal meth before he steps on the field. AJ plays in a league where defenders obviously smoke something legal over there before every game when they play against AZ and where everyone on SBI agrees your 12 year old daughter would be among the league leaders in scoring, etc. etc.

        It’s not a comforting sight.

        Green comes along and he is young and unproven but with credentials that are unmatched for credibility and promise. Chances are his paper work won’t be ready for Mexico but then again he will almost certainly get a run of games for Bayern’s first team towards the end of this season. Integrating new guys into a team this late is always a concern.

        Still, a very fast, two footed, goal scoring, forward, who can play anywhere up front is just about the easiest kind of player to integrate late. And he is young but given his back ground it seems that if any kid can cope with the big situation he can. He does not seem to be a worry wart like our friend Jozy.

        Everyone is forgetting Green spent two days training with JK, Deuce, Jones, Fabian, Howard and a lot of the Euro veterans. Maybe JK is an idiot but players always know since it is their money on the line.

        Maybe they wouldn’t know the upper limit on how good he could be but they certainly can tell you if he would be a liability.

        And if those guys thought the kid would be a liability in terms of helping them in Brazil common sense tells me they would find a way to let JK know it. Common sense would tell you that it is in everyone’s best interests to be as strong as possible in Brazil.

        Green will have his shot and he will either go or not. If he goes he will either play well or not. Nothing that happens on this site will affect that process one way or another. .

      • Ali Dia,

        Every quote I’ve read from both JK and Green says there were no guarantees. Of course, if both sides stick to their story none of us will ever know for sure. It is a he said/he said situation as they say.

        Those of you who want to believe there was a guarantee will build their case.

        Those on the other side cannot since you cannot prove a negative.
        Because no one on this site is privy to the actual facts of this story (you and Green are not friends are you?) and because there are no certified mind readers on this site, then it is simply a matter of faith. Either you believe JK or you don’t.

        In my case I don’t trust anyone and go by common sense.

        JK has spent two years evaluating his winger/forward options. None have been particularly impressive. All come with qualifiers on them when they put on a US shirt. Jozy is the best of the lot and his uneven season, in terms of playing time, may already be over. Everyone despises EJ even though he has been nothing but productive for the US. Wondo has only scored against the Little Sisters of the Poor. Donovan is up and down. Dempsey is a thug and no one likes him anymore. Shea is… well he is Shea. Herc and Joe Benny have disappeared. Gatt is hurt. Magee has poor dietary choices, Boyd acts like he takes crystal meth before he steps on the field. AJ plays in a league where defenders obviously smoke something legal over there before every game when they play against AZ and where everyone on SBI agrees your 12 year old daughter would be among the league leaders in scoring, etc. etc.

        It’s not a comforting sight.

        Green comes along and he is young and unproven but with credentials that are unmatched for credibility and promise. Chances are his paper work won’t be ready for Mexico but then again he will almost certainly get a run of games for Bayern’s first team towards the end of this season. Integrating new guys into a team this late is always a concern.

        Still, a very fast, two footed, goal scoring, forward, who can play anywhere up front is just about the easiest kind of player to integrate late. And he is young but given his back ground it seems that if any kid can cope with the big situation he can. He does not seem to be a worry wart like our friend Jozy.

        Everyone is forgetting Green spent two days training with JK, Deuce, Jones, Fabian, Howard and a lot of the Euro veterans. You might question JK but the players always know since it is their money on the line.

        Maybe they wouldn’t know the upper limit on how good he could be but
        they certainly can tell you if he would be a liability.

        And if those guys thought the kid would be a liability in terms of helping them in Brazil common sense tells me they would find a way to let JK know it. Common sense would tell you that it is in everyone’s best interests to be as strong as possible in Brazil.

        Green will have his shot and he will either go or not. If he goes he will either play well or not. Nothing that happens on this site will affect that process one way or another.

      • Good points. Agree it is almost certainly a theoretical exercise as any such formal arrangement would almost certainly be undocumentable. But I’m with you that common sense just tells me this was just not necessary to begin with.

        Also your breakdown of the current US forward pool is both awesome and depressing. Good stuff.

      • I think we are all on the same page here. JK didn’t need to explicitly promise anything, because Julian went out and trained with his competition. He and JK both felt pretty good about his chances at that point.

  16. What I don’t get is how we had a little group of Germaricans in the 90s — Thomas Dooley, David Wagner, Michael Mason — but then none of them again until the late Bradley/Klinsmann era? It seems that after that early group, we had no Germaricans until Bradley got Jermaine Jones and Tim Chandler. Is it because Arena wasn’t interested in any sons of US servicemen/German moms? Is it because none of the Germaricans in the Arena years were international standard? Did Arena/early-years Bradley try and get rejected by some Germaricans, while Klinsmann (as a Germarican of sorts himself) is more successful at recruiting? Or is it just that only Steve Sampson, later-years Bradley and now Klinsman were picking them? Because I think we’ve had a consistent presense of American military personnel in Germany since WWII ended, so you would think we’d have a pretty constant pipeline of soccer talent that can be eligible to rep either Germany or the USA, right?

    Reply
    • Interesting point.

      To answer as best I can–Bruce Arena is to coaching what slowleftarm is to commenting. Arena is very outspoken in his dislike for non-MLS, non ‘pure’ American players.

      Bruce Arena is the Chivas Guadalajara of MLS.

      Reply
      • A person who played with Guisseppi Rossi told me the same thing. Rossi’s dad wanted him to play for Italy but Rossi originally wanted to play for USA. Rossi and Arena got into a spat and Rossi chose to play for Italy. Not sure if its true or not but the story seemed somewhat credible.

      • That has to be glossed because Rossi was an Italian YNT player who past a certain point was playing in Italy as a youth and professional. That was trending in a pretty obvious direction.

        I think the fairer example is Subotic, who was a US kid at some youth levels, in Bradenton, etc. Rossi had left the pipeline and would have had to been coaxed back.

        Over time with both their injuries I’m not sure Rossi or Subotic are that big of deals. Good players but on and off the shelf.

      • I posed that same questions to the person who told me this about Rossi. He said Rossi was only playing for the youth Italian teams for experience and because of convenience. Again I’m not saying this as a fact, just what he told me.

      • Arena got us out of the group stage once, lets see what JK does with the German-American team he’s building

    • There was, generally speaking, a lack of talents in German soccer from 1998 to 2006. In 2002 the German youth development system was completely overhauled. As a result there are now tons of quality players emerging in Germany. Many of them have foreign roots.

      Obviously, the more talents German youth academies produces, the higher the probabilty that some of them have American roots.

      Reply
      • Dooley, Mason, Sommer, Wagner, Earnie are children of WWII-era vets. Boyd, Johnson, Morales, Parker, Green, Chandler, Williams are offspring of servicemen stationed there afterwards.

      • Also, one generation earlier, Erwin Kostedde and Jimmy Hartwig were the first two black players to play for Germany. Both sons of American servicemen.

      • I wasn`t denying that there are/were a lot of German-Americans in German football. However, in the late 90s Germany was barely devoloping any talents. The German NT struggled to find quality players and I can`t think of any German-American player who was developed during that time (1998 to 2006) with the exception of JJ.

      • Yeah I know you were not denying. I was pointing out that the “jump” is also generational. Depending on the status of servicemen in Germany

      • No no no no!

        The FIFA laws had changed and it wasn’t until after they changed back that it became easy again to change teams. Remember there was a time when a youth team appearance (in competition) cap tied you, until the recent changes, right?

      • The rules changed in 2003-4. The present rules are a response to the idea that when you are a teenager and and are capped by the Under 16 Klingon team, it might be that when you hit 21 you might have changed your mind and realized that the Romulans or maybe even the Federation had more to offer.

        FIFA was under the strange impression that maybe teenagers might not always make the best decisions and wanted to give them a chance to change their mind.

    • I think maybe it was that the Bundesliga (including Bayern) at that time began to think it may be a good idea for them to push their brand into the American market.

      Reply
    • One interesting aspect here is Berhalter and Wagner/Mason have signed some Americans or MLSers when coaching abroad. Is there not some value to even a fairly “passport” player who nonetheless “spreads the gospel” by signing Americans when they go back to Europe?

      Reply
      • There’s always an advantage to having former players who identify at least somewhat as Americans (passport or Green Card). Heck, if Steve Potts had done some homework, Dan Potts could have had the American passport we all thought he had.

  17. I think my favorite Klinsmann story is when he was playing for the Orange County Blue Stars in the PDL (Robbie Rogers, Kljestan, Dan Kennedy, Brad Evans, etc. all played there at one point too) under the fake name of Jay Goppingen and was just owning everybody as an old man.

    Reply
    • I find it hard to believe that Klinnsmann would own such technically superb players like Klesjtan, Rogers and Brad Evans. I mean there tough and skill is world class.

      Reply
      • He’s not saying they played together or against each, only that they all played in the same PDL (at different times).

      • Haha, calling those guys “technically superb” players was funny but you made the joke too obvious by adding “world class” skill at the end….

    • Klinsmann has always been a troll. It is funny though. I wonder how long it took people to figure out who he was. It wasn’t pre-internet but early days.

      Reply
    • He’s Bayerns key to selling jerseys in America. They’ll be careful and easy with how they treat him when it comes to NT games.

      Reply
      • He could be an American Olympic hero. That sells jerseys. (That being said, it might not be wort the risk in their mind.)

      • He will be sold by Bayern in the next two years. They aren’t going to keep him and bring him along into the first team, they are going to take the money and run.

      • There are many clubs that develop players and sell them as part of a business model. Bayern is not one of those. They buy the best players to win. They only sell players who they have no use for. So they may sell him, but not because he will bring a profit.

    • If Bayern really wants to develop a US following, they will let him, in fact, I would go so far as to say they would encourage Green to play in the Olympics and thereby raise his visibility in the US to those who are now only a little interested in soccer..

      Reply
      • If they believe that JG could help the first team, Bayern might be very reluctant to let him go to the Olympics. And even Bayern`s marketing department might think that breaking into Bayern`s first team helps Bayern`s brand in the US market more than his participation at the Olympics.

        Everything that could be seen as an obstacle to his development at Bayern should be secondary,IMO.

      • Bayern just opened a office in Manhattan. Their sole purpose is to spread Bayern’s marketing influence in the United States. I’d think using Julian Green to do this is an immediate feather in their cap.

        It makes too much business sense. They will allow him to play in the Olympics if they really want to grow their brand in the USA.

      • But if Bayern thinks that this could hurt JG`s chances of breaking into the first team, then it wouldn`t make business sense,would it?

      • sorry. I just got confused a little bit. I thought the Olympics would be in 1 1/2 years. I somehow mistook the Olympics for the Women`s WC. Mea culpa!

    • That’s a general concern that affects much less heralded prospects similarly. It impacted the 2012 side and should be taken for granted in composing the team (ie, the primary emphasis should be on the qualifying unit because its success is required for the Olympic team to even come to pass…..). It didn’t start with Green and will continue until FIFA addresses it.

      In fact, this was my response to the recent roster prognostication for 2016 U23. The whole exercise is dependent on qualification and it’s almost two different teams, or two teams with limited overlap. The quali team is massively important so glossing over the people trending towards that side is almost myopic even if the team might look different if it can call upon others at the Olympics.

      Reply
    • They will absolutely let him go. Grant Wahl is in Munich and reported that Bayern’s interest in expanding into the US market is part of why they supported Green’s decision. The Olympics could be a great showcase for him and for Bayern with American audiences.

      Reply
    • My wife works in a major public school system, with a majority hispanic population. She hears different groups talk about the National teams from where they are from, but nearly all of them refer to the USA as “our team.” I like it.

      Reply
    • Listen to Klinsmann, an German born and raised yes, but I get the sense he really likes USA. Not just as a coaching opportunity, but obviously he lives here with his family. This is his home. To hear the players talk about how they’ve never seen someone so pumped up as when the USA was going to play Germany in that friendly. He was leading us against Germany and he was excited to do it, excited to have us beat them.
      He doesn’t just say play for the US National team, he first says: “to join the American Side”

      Reply
      • Before he refused to move back to Germany when he coached the German national team. He wanted to stay here. I know he is a “foreign” coach… but not really. I get the sense he feels like this is his home he is coaching.

      • My mom and dad’s family were immigrants and very quickly became Americanized. The USA are full of people just like them, true Americans, each and every one.

        Klinsmann is an immigrant too. He married an American girl and has lived in LA since like 2001. He should be filing for full citizenship soon. When he coached the German Nat. Team during the 2006 world cup he commuted from LA.

        This caused no small stir-up in Germany, especially when he didn’t attend the World Cup coaches meeting just before the start, he sent his asst. Jogi Löw in his place, Klinsi said he had more important things to do. He had to go back to LA for a visit.

      • Here is where my predictions get tricky, difficult, sehr schwer. I think Klinsmann will soon announce a new asst: coach has been appointed.

      • Klinsmann might face the same problem, Zelalem has to deal with. If he applies for US citizenship, he might lose his German one.

      • Eh, Germany would never let Klinsmann lose his German citizenship.

        He’s a legend in every sense of the word.

      • Yes, under German Law, if Klinsmann files for US citizenship he will lose German citizenship. Unless some major exception would be made.

      • It’s certainly possible to retain your German citizenship when you naturalize. You have to go through a process and request permission to keep you. You have to show that keeping the citizenship is “in the good interests of Germany.”

        He would qualify pretty easily, by most accounts.

      • I remember a few years back there was an article in the German press, Süddeutsche Zeitung I believe, where they asked Jürgen about it. He said at the that he hasn’t filed for U S citizenship yet, that he would take that decision in a couple years.

      • Joe, it`s a little bit more complicated than that. Klinsmann would have to prove that he acquires US citizenship in order to avoid “tangible and grave” disadvantages.

      • Daniel, I tend to agree although I only hold a Niederlassungserlaubnis

        I seems to me that if Jürgen would have know that he could keep his German citizenship he would have filed for his U.S. citizenship years ago.

      • This is correct. He can only hold dual citizenship if his parents were foreign nationals who were naturalized, otherwise Germany makes you relinquish the other. His kids probably have duel though. And as I’ve mentioned before, he wears white sneakers, 100% Merican. US citizenship would otherwise be symbolic or for tax purposes.

      • His wife is American, his kids are here, he was living (and playing amateur) in LA.

        Far as the rest goes, Holden was born in Aberdeen, Scotland — which is why he’s never had to worry about work permits — but Johannson was born and raised for a few years in Alabama. The first has been treated like an All-American for years but the second gets tossed in with passport players.

        I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some pure mercenaries in the bunch but it’s all basically a subjective line drawing exercise regarding who is sufficiently American, which is a tad dubious when I don’t think anyone even gets to the jersey without at least the citizenship commitment. In other words, everyone on the roster is at least a “Passport American.” Everything after that is splitting hairs.

        I am worried that the current surge is covering up weaknesses in domestic youth development, but that’s a different issue which impacts anyone growing up here regardless of how many generations they are off the boat.

      • “Holden was born in Aberdeen, Scotland —but Johannson was bornin Alabama. The first has been treated like an All-American but the second gets tossed in with passport players.”

        Slam Dunk

      • I think youth development is getting better. The pace of improvement is the issue.

        And the criminally stupid college rules have to change.

      • I was at a Big 10 game last year and had completely forgotten about the unlimited substitutions and players can come off and on and the timeout rule.

        I was so angry I just stood up and left.

        Embarrassing that our college system lets you TAKE TIMEOUTS.

      • you make some good points and have reasonable concerns about domestic youth development. however, have you seen our U-17 results over the last year? impressive for sure, and the new opportunities for playing time for MLS young talent is better than ever now. we’re getting there.

      • I see the biggest issue as beginning at or after the age group you are talking about. We are now signing HGPs and youth players in their late teens, some as early as Adu and Gaven were. You then shift responsibility for development of those players from colleges that would surely use their talents, and Bradenton that could centrally train them before college, to dispersed pro teams whose emphasis is on the first team. Only LAG has a second team to develop the players in house.

        The basic problem is taking 16-18 year olds and making senior players out of them. My experience watching Dynamo rosters is we are horrible at it. We don’t want to play risks. People don’t like college but there you will play and grow (albeit at a lower level with a shorter — but higher game — season). Houston’s HGPs just seem to disappear into the reserves and are often cut within 1-2 years. Only player I’ve seen take off from that age here is Holden who was a Sunderland player and in traditional club and college here before pro ball.

      • This is a good set of points. I wonder what the real logic of the HGP concept is sometimes. Seems like a romanticized idea that doesn’t work really, based out of an admiration for the one model where it has remained functional in Barcelona. Sure there are Steven Gerrard, John Terry and Francesco Totti but these guys are outliers and their clubs seem to have given up on finding the new homegrown “flagship” player. Maybe there is a developmental purpose to come…I guess it’s too early to call time but haven’t seen it make consistent sense anywhere yet.

        One notable (if indirect) domestic comp I can think of is the “Franchise Player” tag that the NFL introduced with decent motives a while back. It has turned into a hilarious joke compared to the original goal. Just another weird tool to game the cap. Always a laugh to see what player is currently holding each team’s “Franchise” tag.

      • Certainly anyone paying attention realizes there are weaknesses in domestic development, but also that recent changes in MLS have done much to address them in a VERY positive way in a short amount of time. The reality is development is a generational thing- that it will take years for these changes to really manifest themselves and begin to bear significant fruit.

        Slowleftarms archaic scale of “Americaness” very much aside, I do sympathize with his concerns and wishes that US development could produce world class talent. I’d point out that in spite of the influx of duel nationals, we are certainly making strides in putting a viable system in place. Why? Because totally independent of Int’l soccer, MLS clubs are smart enough to know it is in the clubs best long term interest, both on the field and in their profit margin to do so. The best nations players get the bulk of their development through clubs, not a national development program such as Bradenton. It’s a proven model to follow. Neither Barcelona, Bayern Munich are self serving- they develop players for Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Neither were implemented with their national teams in mind- it just happens to have reaped great benefits to their respective national teams.

        As well I would add…. International soccer represents each country and its soccer playing citizens. It does not represent, nor is it subservient to its development system. Even a nationally based resident program such as Bradenton serves/ is subservient to US Soccer, not the other way around. The bottom line is a countries most talented citizens are entitled to represent their country, completely independent of where they were schooled. Seems a pretty free market, American ideal to me. Cheers.

      • Clairfontaine? Not so sure.

        I think the issue is more one of dealing with reality, which is that if clubs are going to sign people that age, it becomes their deal. I don’t see that changing.

        But if they take that responsibility they need to be as good or better than college programs and Bradenton that can focus on the players as ends in themselves.

        I think it’s simply the new reality, the question is what they can do about it. I see the loans as a half step and tacit admission they can’t do the job in house yet. The Galaxy appear to be the only team so far building up their own bridging infrastructure.

        I mean, Ajax doesn’t raise kids up (or claim to) from U10-U18, sign them, then hit some gap at 18. You need a U20 or U23 bridge and surely what makes sense long term is “II” teams or a true minor league system, or a mix of lower division adult sides with U23 teams like Germany or Spain.

        But when young players from Germany are coming in wiping the floor with domestic players, and their adult peers are displacing domestic products, self assessment is called for.

      • There was a problem with domestic youth development, and the problem was pretty simple – we didn’t have professional academies to finish developing players once they hit their high school years and were ready to start getting seriously committed. Plain and simple…there just wasn’t a PATH for the seriously committed soccer player. Once a player hit high school, they’d usually split their calendar year between their high school team and club team, and then add something like ODP on top of that to get noticed, usually by colleges. Then even the best ones who went that path – Dempsey and Holden are perfect examples – had to go play at least a year of college (Dempsey went to Furman University right here in Greenville, SC, and Holden went right up the road to Clemson), to get noticed…whereupon they were THEN drafted by a random MLS team. Whereupon they THEN – and only then, after a bunch of coaches, teams, and different development philosophies, with no continuity between any of them – got a chance at Europe.

        That’s durn convoluted, and it’s now being changed with the MLS Academies starting to churn out a growing wave of “homegrown” players.

      • No one will convince this guy. He doesn’t get it. Several “German-Americans” have U.S. related tattoos, there twitter accounts have them in their U.S. jerseys, and I truly believe they all want to play for the U.S.. This is very different from what teams like France, or even Ireland does. France takes most of the players from the African nations, but no one gives them crap about that. I mean, half of the France national team could play for another country and they weren’t developed in France either.

        Klinsmann is pretty American, and I truly thinks he loves it here. He is doing his job. We are behind the rest of the world, in terms of academies and the league, so its only obvious players will choose a more well-known club in a different country to develop. I mean, if I had the choice to develop at Arsenal or NYRB I would easily choose Arsenal. It doesn’t make me less American than the next guy. It is just a better club, and has better youth development.

      • First of all, Green is born in the United States which makes him American. Slowleftarm has no clue what he’s talking about.

      • Maybe that’s because by calling him slowleftbrain you would be implying that his right-brain functions normally, which nobody is willing to believe.

      • Slowleftarm does not what the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution says, he should be embarrassed.

      • I cannot speak to Ireland, but I can speak about France because I lived (so I heard a lot of the talk) and I knew someone who played in the youth system. France does not “take” players from the Africa. These are dual nationals who can play for either country ( a la Zidane). A lot of French, non-European immigration comes from Franco-phone Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Central African Republic etc.). Virtually all of these players were developed in France.

        The issue is that there is (probably) a stronger identification with their background due to larger, concentrated populations in certain cities in France (Marseille and Paris) and (frankly) the increased antagonism towards immigration in the last 30 years ago (France was more open to it before). Although, from my time there it seemed like Muslim immigrants (especially from north Africa get the brunt of it – there is a complex Algerian-French issue in France).

        Funny thing, the FFF has always been a home for the sons of immigrants. The great “Équipes de France” of 50’s (’58 WC semi & 60 Euro semi), 80’s (WC Semi 82& 86, Euro Champs 84), late 90’s (96 Euro semi. 98 WC champs, 2000 Euro Champs, ’06 Finalists) all had A LOT of immigrant (or sons of immigrants).

    • better to keep your comments to yourself and have others doubting your intelligence…than to type your words and confirm said doubts…

      Reply
    • Dude get over it. Everyone does it! France 98 had Marcel Desailly (Ghana), Lilian Thuram (Guadeloupe) …Christian Karembeu he’s from an Island close to Australia!!!!!! Lucas Podolski and Miroslav Klose are from Poland!!! We’d be stupid if we didn’t take advantage of anyone with talent and an American passport. The highest all time goal scorer in a WC wasn’t even born in that country. If anyone of our dual nationals can even get to the leave of Marcel Desailly I’ll be happy its for the best of soccer in the US thats all that matters. Same way foreign born people can fight in our army (Alfredo Morales father) they can play on our national team.

      Reply
      • All the players you mention learned to play in the countries they represented in the WC. Most Germans we add don’t even speak English, never represented the US at the youth level, never kicked a soccer ball in the US an didn’t feel American enough to represent us until it was painfully obvious Germany wasn’t calling them.
        Other than that, yeah, it’s the same thing.

      • Every single American based out of Germany that we’ve added speaks English or enough English to comfortably speak to the press.

        Stop demeaning people based on different circumstances than your own.

        Boyd has an actual American flag tattooed on his body. He can speak dead Latin for all I care.

      • My in-laws fled their home country (Cambodia), nearly died in refugee camps, somehow landed in Michigan, and then proceeded to run their own businesses for 35 years while raising three daughters. They hardly speak English. My mom in law isn’t even literate in her first language, Khmer. But I don’t doubt their citizenship, abilities, humanity, etc. WTF did you do, except pop out of a womb and cry?

      • Do you mean the tattoo he got after he realized Germany wasn’t calling him and had to settle for the US as his last option?
        If that doesn’t make him worthy of a spot in the USNT I don’t know what does

      • He’s an American. You can go complain to the State Department if you don’t think the children of American’s or those born in the US should be citizens. If they don’t qualify as American’s to you, talk to your senator. American’s can and should play for team USA. Immigration is part of America, and unless you are 100% native american, you are no more American than they are.

      • Yeah, and they’re all the children (90% sure on this), the children of American servicemen. Anyone find it a little ironic that we’re having any debate about their ‘American-ness’?

      • Awful argument. I wouldn’t get a tattoo of anything on my persons. Plenty of people reject tattoos altogether.

      • People keep saying that “they only play for us because that can’t for Germany.”

        Germany could certainly use Fabian Johnson as a left back. They have Lahm but… who is their leftback? Fabian is just as good as what they have out there right now.

        Heiko Westermann?
        Schmelzer? -(Way unperformed for Germany)

      • Westermann is rubbish, Schmelzer far from perfect – but Schmelzer has played in a CL final half a year ago. He is quite decent, IMO.

      • The Green decision is huge, as is Brooks. I mean, both of them could well turn into stars and could have been German stars, but now they will possibly be American stars instead. That’s a bit of a bigger deal than Jermaine Jones deciding to join at his age.

        But in any case, if you meet the requirements then welcome aboard.

      • I can show you a youtube video where Brooks admits (in German,2 years ago) that he is in favour of playing for the USMNT as getting into the German starting line-up is far more diffficult.

        The possibilty that Germany will one day regret losing out on JG and Brooks exists, but chances are very low.

      • Ya Schmelzer is good but I couldn’t say he is better than Fabian. He is clearly Dortmund’s weak link in the back 4.(Well when everyone isn’t injured)

      • It shouldn’t matter where you develop. I said above, if I has a choice between NYRB and Arsenal I would pick Arsenal. They are so far ahead in development in this country that there isn’t even a comparison. That Ben kid at barca is American, but because he developed there he is Spanish? It doesn’t make sense.

      • I think Messi joined Barcelona when he was 11. So, does that mean he shouldn’t be allowed to play for Argentina? The arguments of the xenophobes are laughably ridiculous and just plain bigoted.

      • So is kicking a ball in a country the standard for being qualified to represent that country at the international level or having a valid passport?

      • One of these days someone needs to go through and compare the set of people saying we need to field solely domestic born players for “country” with those who feel like you need to go to Europe for “club” development and success.

        With the exception of native Americans it’s a country of migrants so the line drawing exercise seems at odds with the basic national premise. And there is a long line of players on various World Cup teams and even before 90 that were immigrants. Historically we have not had a Home Nations or Chivas or Bilbao premise. Why start now?

        Ideally, this generation then goes on to either settle here — Klinsmann — finish their career here, or perhaps at least have an open mind about Americans at some job abroad, eg Earnie Stewart in Holland. I do think we need to be mindful of the productivity of domestic development going on — what the team would look like without the influx, and whether we are doing right by the players we develop — but if this moves the general American soccer program along, makes the team better, I’m fine with it.

      • This will always be an issue. Top teams worry about bringing in immigrants to the squad and even Spain & Italy have players they didn’t develop. As players have long careers in multiple countries, their children are often going to be eligible for multiple NTs. Zidane’s son was raised in Spain, but is going to play for France after a tug-of-war. I suppose neither side should have tried to convince him to join them.

        The drawback to starting behind is that it’s hard to catch up. We spend a generation developing better players, but the competition has spent the same time getting a little bit further ahead.

      • I asked this question yesterday and will ask again. All these players that Klinsmann persuaded to play for the US were American citizens on the day they were born. What do people have against American citizens playing for the US? Why shouldn’t we have our own citizens, not even naturalized, but naturally born citizens,play for us? Do these xenophobes not want the US to follow its own laws? Are they against the US succeeding on the international stage?

      • Gary, you can’t reason someone out of something they were never reasoned into. Understand, many dislike/hate those that are different.

        Because these players don’t meet their “definition” of what an American, they don’t want them on the team. BTW, what is an American? We all came here from somewhere else at some point in history…including Native Americans.

    • Slowleft as far as I am concerned you are the solitary awesomest guy on SBI. This stuff is obviously giving you ulcers at this point, but you still drag yourself to the table every day to get after it. Don’t have to agree with a dude to respect the abuse he is willing to take to defend his position.

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      • Hear, hear. Probably safe to assume most posters are liberal-leaning and thus prefer to shut down any voice of dissent. Fwiw I am thrilled Green chose the US.

      • I believe you meant dissent. So called liberals are very open with those that agree with them. With those that don’t follow their line of thinking? Not so much.

      • Most people are really open to those who think like they do and less so with people that don’t.

        When did you discover this?.

      • Bookit, statistically speaking the soccer athlete and audience is more intelligent than other comparable big market sports.
        just a fact.(and we are talking minutia in percentage differences)
        Personally I like many sports, curling, not so much.

      • GW to answer your Question.
        Many studies throughout the years have been conducted on all the major sports and their audience.
        This is essential to sports marketing, branding and development this kind of thing, as well as developing a greater player/fan experience.
        You know anything from what they eat,
        to what they wear, and read, things you may do for entertainment and leisure etc.
        Now more intensive studies like university research projects in statistics, sports management, sociology and psychology etc.
        Check out MIT/Sloan, Elias Sports Bureau and so on.
        Now for decades Soccer fans and players have had on average a slightly higher intelligence quotient based on X amount of data and factors, criteria and what not.
        An example, could be what percentage of player/fans have either a college degree or some college or higher education.
        what percentage of professionals prefer A over B or C etc.
        Picture this stereotypical image:
        Joe six pack watching, NASCAR or Soccer?.
        Now:
        A random academic, NASCAR or Soccer?.
        This is not to say I have never met an intelligent redneck or a clueless professor,
        as well as everything in the middle. way beyond or outside the box.
        It is common knowledge that to posses the ability to think openly, critically, analytically, and independently is fundamental to ones over all culture and enrichment as well as mental and cognitive development.

        People who argue bigoted, prejudicial, non factual or ignorant viewpoints either willfully ignore these fundamental principles of basic intelligence or are just trolling, the other option is that they are not the sharpest tool?.

      • I’m going to go ahead and pretend nobody just started talking politics on friggin SBI. Yahoo! is the other direction, fellas.

    • I have tried to give you the benefit of the doubt in the past, but what is embarrassing is your increasingly moronic comments. Everything Klinsmann says is spot on and is indicative of why he was the best choice ever to become the US coach. He thinks long term, has a ton of experience playing at the highest levels, has previously coached at the highest levels, has tons of very important contacts around the soccer world, and obviously loves this country, all of which is more than I can say about all of the posters here and especially about those who don’t seem to want to see the US succeed.

      Reply

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