Photo by Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports
By RYAN TOLMICH
On paper, the months following the World Cup have been quite difficult for the U.S. Men’s National Team. Struggling for results and highlighted by a series of late-game collapses, the USMNT has seen it’s share of difficulties, but head coach Jurgen Klinsmann says all the difficulties come in the name of progress.
Klinsmann says that the recent months are all a part of an overarching process, one that is reliant on not being complacent with past successes. With the World Cup in the rearview mirror, Klinsmann took the chance to experiment at the cost of results, a decision he believes is all-important in pushing his side to the next level of the global game.
“I am satisfied with our progress,” Klinsmann said in a press conference on Tuesday. “It’s difficult to measure that right now in the past eight or nine months since the World Cup with results because we said we’re going to try things out, we’re going to bring new players in to teach them, as quickly as possible, the style that we want to play. We still have big steps to make. There’s no doubt about it. We still have a big learning curve in front of us in every area. That’s part of that process.
“If we wouldn’t have done that in the last nine months, we would have made a mistake. We would have just stayed where they are. We could have just said that we had a nice World Cup and that it would be nice to contend, but that’s wrong. You have to say ‘What makes us so good that we can get into the quarter and semifinal?’ Let’s kind of set the bar a bit higher, but let’s also start the process as early as possible.”
Here are some more USMNT news and notes ahead of Wednesday’s friendly against Mexico:
GOLD CUP ROSTER SPOTS UP FOR GRABS
For Klinsmann, Wednesday’s friendly against Mexico provides a major opportunity to make a statement, one that can resound all the way into this summer’s Gold Cup.
The Gold Cup is a tournament that Klinsmann has long targeted, an event that the head coach feels is essential in his side’s growth. With a spot int he Confederations Cup on the line, Klinsmann expects to field his best possible roster, one that still has places up for grabs heading into this summer although the head coach does have a picture of his roster going forward.
“Having everybody available makes it a little bit tricky,” Klinsmann said, “but we have a very good picture with the players and where they are right now and over the last couple of months we’ve tried out a bunch of different things, which is the only opportunity that we have in the year after the World Cup where we have that break before the Gold Cup where Miguel Herrera and myself can say ‘Let’s have a different experience laid out for the players and see how they deal with it’.
“We had some players back up a little bit, like Kyle (Beckerman) is a perfect example. I called him after the season and said to give me the opportunity to see some younger players and see what they can do and how they grow over these next couple of months before we get close to the Gold Cup. Then, it’s obviously all about performance and what they’re bringing to the table at that specific time. That’s what we’re going to do, so it’s difficult to say now just how many players are definitely going to the Gold Cup from the roster that you’ll see (against Mexico).”
KLINSMANN NOT ENVIOUS OF DUAL NATIONALS
As one of the most revered players in German national team history, Jurgen Klinsmann knows what it’s like to represent his country at the highest level. Klinsmann undershas endured the difficulty, the commitment and the stresses that come with the international game, but the head coach is glad he didn’t have to endure some of the decisions faced by some of his players.
Klinsmann has always embraced the idea of dual nationals, welcoming into the fold any American-connected player with a willingness to suit up for the USMNT. While the decision to call these players in is easy for him, Klinsmann understands that the choices facing his multi-national players are difficult ones, as they opt to join the USMNT for life.
“It’s not easy for players that grow up in a dual citizenship situation because, sooner or later, if they develop into a real good player they have to kind of make a decision. This is down to them kind of following their heart. It’s down to their families to discuss it at home. It’s down to the future thoughts that they have for their lives. I’m not jealous of that situation. It’s really difficult to make that decision at a very early age at their lives, because it is a decision for their lives, not just for their football career.
Two players that have made that choice recently are Ventura Alvarado and William Yarbrough, who will suit up for the U.S. against Mexico, the country that they play in currently and that they were raised to admire.
Klinsmann is proud to have the duo join up with the USMNT, and says that the two have integrated seamlessly into the team.
“We are extremely pleased that Ventura Alvarado and William Yarbrough decided to go with our end and give them an opportunity to be part of our program going forward and hopefully be successful in the future with all these competitions coming up,” Klinsmann said. “We are proud of them that they stay in their postiions at Liga MX. We are following their games, we are watching their games. We watch all the games of our players, so having them now as a part of our program, similar to other ones a part of our program, it means a lot to us.
“They’re fully integrated. They’re part of the group. It’s no problem at all. Whether they’re European-Americans or Mexican-Americans, wherever they come from around the world, there are more than 3 million Americans living abroad, sooner or later they have kids and sooner or later they get into football.”
KLINSMANN PLEASED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF LEFT BACKS
For years, the position of left back has haunted the USMNT. Finding a proper fullback to patrol the left side has long been a problem, leading to some creative solutions.
One of the best left backs for the USMNT in recent memory, DaMarcus Beasley, retired from the international game following the World Cup, ensuring yet another search to occupy the position. That search has seen Greg Garza and Brek Shea jump into the fray, as Klinsmann believes the two have done admirably to this point.
“After the World Cup, DaMarcus Beasley said he just wants to focus on the club level, and he had an amazing career,” Klinsmann said. “I wish, actually, that he could be still with us because he’s just a fun guy to work with. He keeps on playing strong in Houston, but Greg Garza came out of the background. We followed him already half a year before the World Cup when we had a scrimmage with Tijuana at the StubHub Center in LA, but at that time he didn’t play yet before the World Cup, it was Edgar Castillo playing there and he moved on to Atlas, and he’s had a very strong season with Atlas but he can’t be here because they’re playing part of the Copa Libertadores.
“That was the opportunity now with Greg coming in and from that first moment he was a fixture within the group. It was really impressive. With the whole move that happened with Brek Shea, he didn’t break through in Europe, didn’t make it there, coming back and making a decision and the thought process was can we see if he can play at the left back position. Yeah he can. He still has a learning curve ahead of him. There’s still a lot to do and a lot of improvement.”
In addition, Klinsmann says he has options outside of Garza and Shea in the form of Fabian Johnson and Timmy Chandler, who can slot in at either fullback position. Along with Castillo, Klinsmann believes he has plenty of contenders that can fit in to whatever role the team needs to fill when it comes to tactics.
“There you have two players in that position in Fabian Johnson and Timmy Chandler that can both play both sides,” Klinsmann said. “Edgar Castillo, once he’s done with Atlas, in a certain way he’s back in the picture. It gives us more options, more variations in our game system-wise. Some fit better in a 4-4-2, some fit better in a 3-5-2 in more of a winger position. We are glad to have these players on board.”
“there are more than 3 million Americans living abroad, sooner or later they have kids and sooner or later they get into football.”
So is that JK giving us all the blueprint for the future? Go overseas, have kids, get them ready for the USMNT!
Are you volunteering?
Bring back Bora!!!!
“For years, the position of left back has haunted the USMNT. Finding a proper fullback to patrol the left side has long been a problem, leading to some creative solutions.”
for several years now, we’ve had a great left back in fabian johnson–it’s just that either he doesn’t want to play tahere, or klinsmann doesn’t want to play him there. so sure, the situation could be improved, but it’s certainly not like it was when we had to consistently choose between bornstein or boca.
When Fabian first came here he was playing mostly in midfield for Hoffenheim.
And he looked great at left back for the US but I clearly remember him saying he preferred being a midfielder. and, while he has gone back and forth , that is where he has played, for the most part at his clubs
In my view he is the best, most reliably consistent attacking midfielder the USMNT has so I see no need for him to ever go back to LB barring an emergency.
didn’t want to start a discussion on where fabian should play, because i’ve talked about that way too much. my point was simply that we’ve had a great left back for years now.
“I am satisfied with our progress,” — really? When is the multi-year experiment going to be over and results going to be delivered? Anyone can talk vision – we need delivery of consistent results!
I like JK as technical director focusing on our development system but he hasn’t moved the team forward in terms of results and I doubt he’ll do so before 2018. Maybe the next guy will.
Klopp is leaving Dortmund…
…to go straight to man city, i’m assuming.
Two best calendar-year records in USMNT history
Knockout stage appearance from a strong group at the World Cup
First-place finish in the Hex
Gold Cup championship
18-3-5 (W-D-L) record in competitive matches
Those are pretty strong results. What more were you expecting?
+1
Those are good results no doubt. But you have to remember when you use the words “competitive or official”, immediately you are talking about Concacaf opponents (except for the World Cup- World Cup record is 1W, 1D, 2L). We have consistently been very strong within Concacaf for many cycles now. That’s nothing new. Since 2000 we have been a top-two power in Concacaf, arguably the top dog.
What people were hoping for and expecting are the things that Jurgen Klinsmann himself conditioned us to expect: improved play, more attractive/possession style play, more consistency.
I find it funny that during this recent almost-year long run of bad performances, people quickly say, “results in friendlies don’t matter”. But then they love to trumpet that “best calender year in USMNT history”, which consisted of many friendly victories.
The lesson here is, results don’t matter in friendlies if we lose, but if we win then they do matter, and great job Jurgen Klinsmann!
+100
BRAVO!!!!!
I’m just looking forward to seeing us play some competitive games at this point. The back-and-forth is starting to feel familiar!
(I’ve taken part in it as much as anybody, so it’s not like some kind of criticism.)
UCLA I’m sorry your high school soccer career is over. Is that why u r so mad? U try so hard to prove everybody wrong and u end up looking foolish. Do u read what u type and really believe it?
Personal attack about a hypothetical soccer career. Let’s put that in the lame and irrelevant category. Was I supposed to get offended or riled up?
I look foolish after what I write? No I don’t. My comment above was in direct response to another comment. The fact that you came at me with a lame diss instead of saying anything about my comment shows that there was nothing foolish about it. If there was, you would have attacked the supposed foolish thing I wrote and not me.
Thanks for the response though.
UCLA,
I see the context of your argument a little differently.
2013 was full of qualifying and the lead up to Brazil. He had already done a lot of his “experimenting” and narrowed his depth chart by that time
I’d compare the last 6 months to the first year JK took over. It’s just that his experimenting started at the beginning of the CONCACAF cycle back then.. whereas right now we’re in the beginning of a totally new cycle and kinda in limbo. The product on the field has looked very similar to those first 9-12 months after he took over. With 46 different players seeing the field and 13 uncapped guys getting their first look, now has been the time to do it.
Everything doesn’t have to be so black and white or on one extreme or the other.
This is exactly how I view this past seven months. I’m hopeful that Klinsmann’s experimentation will bear fruit when results start to matter, which is exactly what happened during 2013.
+1 for your comment Bac. Only thing I will say is that the Gold Cup is very soon. When does it stop being the experimental phase?
And I still say friendlies are important. I want to see the team win, the players want to win, and JK wants to win also. So when we don’t win it reflects negatively on what the team is trying to accomplish. Seeing different players is just one aspect of the preparation phase.
See u can have a good discussion with a JK apologist!!!!
When does the experimentation end… Answering that is kinda like comparing a destination with a journey.
In the short term, I think tonight’s game was the last of this “phase” of the cycle, next 2 should be about narrowing to the Gold Cup. Overall?? Well I’ll repeat something I’ve said in the past… that despite the commonplace saying that we’re deeper than ever, I disagree. I think we’re “wider” than ever, not necessarily deeper. Too many options, too many soldiers, not enough leaders-performance wise.
I don’t think we’ll see significant progress until we get some skilled attackers on the wings.. I think that’s why he’s stuck on this diamond for now. Rarely do Nat Team coaches develop those guys.. they find em and fine tune em.
Example: If you put a gun to my head and said, Ok Bac, everyone is healthy (except Stu), gimme your starting 11 w/ 3 subs… I think our current pool would support the 5-3-2 best. I’d play a back 3 L-R of Besler, Omar, Cam. I’d play Shea & Fabian as wingbacks. I’d play the 3 in midfield with MB and JJ sitting behind Mix, w/ Deuce and Jozy up top. I’d see Nguyen for Mix, Yedlin as a wingback, and Bedoya as a utility sub.
I’m 50/50 on Besler/Brooks/Orozco/Alvarado. Same with Shea/Yedlin…, and we don’t have a lot of guys that put the ball in the net.
But that’s if you put a gun to my head NOW… I’m nervous we don’t have enough skill on the wings..and I don’t think JK would ever say that publicly. I think that’s why there’s so much experimentation… because he’s trying to get our best 11 on the field at the same time, like fitting square pegs into round holes.
Example: MB and JK were criticized without mercy for him at the top of the diamond.. but nobody can answer this.. who would you have sat? Jones or Beckerman?? Both answered the bell in Brazil… It’s all debatable but u see my point.
Therefore u see fans with 10,000 lineup configurations, the analysts hate JK etc… I don’t think we have the horses. Until that happens I analyze us as a team on a journey they may never reach, but has gotta go from one destination to the next the best way possible.
I actually could go much deeper with reasoning and more examples that have driven my thoughts.. take too long…
I will stand by the notion that friendlies don’t matter much. And I would have said the same in 2013 as well. As it turned out, Klinsmann actually led USMNT to a 13-1-2 record in competitive matches during that year, so your third paragraph is not really true. In fact, I don’t see why any Klinsmann supporter would point to his record in friendlies. Klinsmann clearly shares the view that winning is not the highest goal in a friendly. The most important goal is to prepare your team for the matches where results are important – i.e., competitive matches – and in those competitive matches, Klinsmann’s record is superb. Of course, he has to continue to meet the expectations fans have for him. My expectations are and have been based largely on results in competitive matches, and so far, he’s exceeded those expectations. As long as he continues to do so, I couldn’t care less whom he calls up and gives minutes, what formation he deploys, what he says in press conferences, or how many friendlies we win or lose.
I still say friendlies are important. I want to see the team win, the players want to win, and JK wants to win also. So when we don’t win it reflects negatively.
But I will +1 everything else you said.
Brandon, UBG,
Friendlies are not meaningless and they are important. However, that importance is in a lot more than the final score.
It is obvious that JK and his staff who are rebuilding the USMNT, value them highly.
They use them to see how Player X works with the others, how well they follow directions, how well they adjust to different situations. Can you figure out how to beat your defender or mark your man over a period of time given you?
Can you keep your head after a nasty foul or having some opponent bait you constantly?
How do you adjust to being beat on for 10 minutes straight?
.
Can you and your teammates execute their set pieces properly? Can you maintain the discipline of when to attack and when to defend and can you and your partner work out the coverage for that on the fly?
In other words there are a lot of little things that added together make up a good performance for a team.
We like to talk about team cohesion all we want but the truth is a national team for most countries will never have a lot of time to work on it ( unless you are Barca/Spain) and that some players fit in with others faster and better for any number of reasons.
Obviously that matters in a learn on the fly national team environment.
No team sets out to lose but to JK and his staff the final score, it should be clear by now, is less important than what they learn about the players and how they work together and most important of all, what things the players are good at and what things need to be fixed.
It is a lot to look at and that is why JK schedules so many friendlies.
Winning is always important but the negativity of losing a whole bunch of exhibition games can immediately be wiped out by winning that first competitive game.
There is no rule that says in order to win your first competitive game, you have to win a preceding friendly.
In fact there is plenty of evidence to suggest that there is little if any relationship between winning friendlies and winning competitive games.