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Report: Klinsmann calls in Wooten for USMNT’s September friendlies

Andrew-Wooten-Getty-Images-13A

 

By AARON CRANFORD

A good month of August just got even better for Andrew Wooten.

According to German newspaper Bild, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called in the red-hot striker to be a part of the U.S. Men’s National Team that will take on Peru and Brazil in September friendlies.

Wooten has scored five goals in three matches for SV Sandhausen in the second tier of the German Bundesliga thus far, most recently scoring a brace against Paderborn on Aug. 14.

The 25-year-old goalscorer has previously been called into the U.S. Under-23 National Team squad, but has yet to make an appearance for the U-23s or the senior team. As such, the German-American is not cap-tied to the U.S.

The USMNT will first play Peru on Sept. 4 at RFK Stadium before meeting Brazil on Sept. 8 at Gillette Stadium.

What do you think about Wooten’s call-up? Think Klinsmann will feature the forward in either game? Or both?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • Interested to see how it works out with Kobe and Wombach wanting to play in the Olympics next year if there will be similar uproar.

      To be clear Kobe loves soccer, but wants to play basketball in the Rio.

      Reply
    • Jozy is not doing well right now (health and mental issues)…but to never ever call in (if he gets over this slide) a 25 yr guy who is the 5th leading scorer in USMNT history and only 3 behind McBride and Wynalda in fewer games belies your ignorance and utter stupidity.

      Reply
  1. Somehow an article on a player most of us have never seen has become a referendum for pretty much every argument that takes place on this site. Must be a Tuesday..,..

    Reply
    • Diego I made a similar comment the other day. No matter what the article it leads to Klinsi, Donovan, Altidore, Xenophobia, and usually the value of MLS.

      I’m pretty sure an article on the womens 7-1 win over Costa Rica would get complaints about why Jill Ellis did not include LD and whether or not Klingenberg was really an American.

      Reply
  2. For now, let’s give some deserving players an opportunity to break in. For the September friendlies, I’d like to see this roster.

    Gk: Howard, Guzan, Hamid

    Def: Cameron, Ream, Besler, Hedges, Lichaj, Beasley, Rogers

    Mid: Bradley, Williams, Feilhaber, Kitchen, Finlay, Yedlin, Johnson, Lletget

    ATT: Johansson, Morris, Wood, Zardes, Wooten

    Reply
  3. Right now it looks like the only likely starters from the Gold Cup squad are Bradley, maybe Bedoya and Zardes. Dempsey and Johnson are injured and a decision regarding Gusan/Howard is still to be announced. (JK may have made the decision, but he is not sharing.)

    Altidore, Chandler, Brooks, Yedlin, Alvarado, Zusi, AJ, etc. either did not have great Gold Cups or are struggling to find playing time at their clubs (or both). Beasley seems OK, but I would hardly call him a lock.

    There are more open starting spots for the Mexico game than anytime in recent memory. So many that it is a fool’s errand to guess which players Klinsmann will select to fill those slots. I suppose you could argue that Bradley and Jones will play important roles and maybe Cameron and Zardes will in the mix, but after that it is anyone’s guess.

    I hope September brings some answers with players performing well.

    Reply
  4. This guy is a good league player who scores goals. If he can help the national team then what is the problem? Why does the MLS have to be the first option when picking the national squad? It’s a worse league than the 2. Bundesliga.

    You fools forget that it’s about bringing in guys who can better the team and raise the level of competition. It’s embarrassing to hear people argue that MLS needs to be the place to pick a team, and to forget about dual citizens. You guys don’t want the USA to grow. You’re not actual fans. Go pick a different sport better suited for your ignorant fandom.

    Reply
      • He should be plenty hungry.

        The question is how good is he?

        How quickly can he adapt or even can he adapt at all?

        Will he be Terrence Boyd or will he be Jordan Morris? This should be fun. .

      • Here is my take from what I can see of the kid…

        He is stronger than Morris, about the same as Boyd.

        He is faster than Boyd, but a tick slower than Morris.

        I think he is smarter than Boyd but Morris is a clever one.

        One factor that we will know right away is if he has the confidence to play at the next level.

        His trunk card is he can be a tendentious defender, Ala Bedoya.

      • Dave80

        Trunk card, you know, something you keep hidden in your trunk until you need it, then you take it out of the trunk.

      • Dave80,

        Thank you for correcting me, sometimes a smartphone can be too smart, specially in the hands of a not so smart person like me that allows the suggested words. I thought it didn’t look right 🙂 but GW is the smart one, he figured it out.

  5. I think the fact that Johnson will probably be still injured called his hand, This will mean either Zardes or Bedoya will play LM and he needs to see others for RM. Wooten can play RW at a very high level on both sides of the ball.

    Reply
    • Assuming it is true, what this means is that Jozy and Boyd , the two guys most directly comparable to Wooten, are still not match fit.

      It should be interesting.

      Reply
      • Has Boyd played a game yet?

        With AJ and Clint around, Wooten and Wood heating up and Zardes,Morris, Rubio, Jozy, Green, Wondo , Gordon, Bunbury, Agudelo and possibly Davies in the picture, competition for forward spots is getting crowded.

      • Bryan,

        True.

        What non-mediocre names do you have to add to the list? Will Bruin?

        Remember, the US can’t buy Aguero, Robben, Kane, Messi, Bale, Lewandowski, Bayern’s Costa or C Ronaldo.

      • I just don’t see how competition is getting crowded, thats all. We have one proven goal scorer at the international level. One

      • That’s right.

        We have Clint, we have some good keepers and that is it for proven internationals.

        Everyone else is a maybe.

        Mikey is a good player but he didn’t exactly draw tons of interest from good teams around Europe when he was leaving Roma.

        Just remember that when you read about how much better the USMNT talent pool is today than when Bradley was in charge.

      • Bryan you’ll have to excuse GW he generally gets attacked for all his comments by a couple of other regulars (as he tends to attack all of theirs as well) so he can get a bit jumpy.

        I think you are both saying the same thing no one in the forward pool really stands out except Clint.

      • Bryan and Jraz,

        Clint is the only proven, international level forward in the USMNT pool

        But that does not mean there a a lack of competition for the remaining spots. And, in his dotage, he is not as consistently available as he used to be

        Somebody has to sub for Clint when he can’t make it and if the formation calls for two forwards, someone has to play the second spot.

        And just because they are all of dubious consistency and quality it doesn’t mean you just throw their names in a bag and pick out the ones who play.

        The one who really wants to play still has to outplay, how ever low that bar may be set.the other players..

        And these days there are a lot more other players than there used to be..

  6. glad to see him finally called up-he’s been a far more productive Second Bundlesliga player than Wood or Gyau in his career.. then again, we’re fishing in the second tier of national leagues for talent, not even the second tier within the top leagues (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga), or the second tier of the European top leagues (Holland, Belgium, Turkey)… feels like the current crop of USMNT is mediocre-lots of depth, lack of outstanding talent

    Reply
    • blokhin,

      ” not even the second tier within the top leagues (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga), ”

      Doesn’t Wooten play in the second tier of Germany (2 BL) ?

      “feels like the current crop of USMNT is mediocre-lots of depth, lack of outstanding talent”

      Now why do you suppose that is so?

      Reply
      • hahah +1…..

        i love when people act like our NT’s talent level is anyone else’s fault but ours….. haha. fans merely WANTING its NT to be good does not make it good

      • …meaning Europa League and below level clubs within the top leagues… why is it so? no clue, but could be cyclical-no Donovan/Cherundolo or (younger) Dempsey level talent within this squad, they in turn replaced Reyna/McBride/Sanneh-all staples of their respective teams… for years AA had at least half a dozen penciled in outfield starters at decent clubs, and the usual 3-4 keepers to boot.

        or the rest of the world has accelerated talent development above and beyond what US has done, from an already higher level to begin with…

      • I don’t agree. The USMNT isn’t worse than it was 10-15 years ago. The talent level is similar and there is much greater depth. More of these guys just play in MLS and the level of MLS is much higher than it was in those days.

        Look at the 2006 WC squad for instance. Only Timmy, Bocanegra, Reyna, McBride, Beasley, Keller and Gooch were playing in a top-flight side in Europe.

      • slowleftarm,

        You are fighting the wrong battle.

        Today’s USMNT isn’t going to play against the 2006 WC squad. So being better, worse or the same as them is irrelevant.

        This question is given who the US will likely meet in the various tournaments it plays is the US stronger or weaker than it was, for example, in 2006?

        In the Gold Cup it is clear that the other CONCACAF teams are catching up to the US and Mexico.

        For example, in the 2005 Gold Cup something like 15 of the 23 Jamaican players played for clubs in Jamaica. In 2015 that number was down to 2. This has helped make them stronger and you will find similar stories around CONCACAF, with MLS being one reason that this so.

        In terms of the World Cup it seems the US is closer to the big teams than they have been but they are still weaker.

        The questions is not whether JK’s team can beat Arena’s and BB’s teams. The question is can they beat who they have to beat going forward.

    • Following your logic, the US greatly over achieved, especially since it didn’t have one of its best strikers, in the last World Cup and Klinsmann thus must be a very good coach. Looking at the club teams of the players on the teams in our group, there’s no way the US should have beaten Ghana or outplayed Portugal.

      Reply
  7. Bout time, but i hate how klinsi is still in experimentation mode 2 games before the biggest game of his tenure. About done with klinsmann at this point, this side and this federation need a change.

    Reply
    • don’t worry, JK’s line up as always will feature proven vets (playing out of position), unheralded youngsters (to showcase JK’s genius talent finding ability), underperforming German-american namedTimmy Chandler, and a WTF decision:

      Wondo-Dempsey

      Bradley-Mixx-Jones-Cameron

      Beasley-Brooks-OG-Chandler

      Rimando

      Reply
      • I’m not tryin to speak for GW but perhaps it is to point out that other NTs also use proven vets (played out of position), unheralded youngsters (to aid in the search for talent) and sometimes even players perceived as underperforming … essentially GW’s point MAY have been that JK isn’t the only coach that does these things…

      • blokhin,

        The relevance is that your notion of players being “out of position” is a bit off the mark.

        More than a few good national teams and quite a few good club sides, rotate players into a different,new or unfamiliar positions depending upon need.

        First of all the requirements to play a given position, right sided midfielder for example , may not be the same for the national team as they are for the club team. Second of all fundamentally sound soccer players should be able to play a variety of roles equally well. Especially if it is just for a couple of games.

        Ivanovic , Chelsea’s right back for example, plays center back for Serbia. This sort of back and forth is common in Europe, with Cameron, Ream, Vertongen and Eric Dier of Spurs as practitioners you may recognize. I haven’t seen too many people calling their managers deficient for shifting them around.

        National teams are, compared to clubs, often about short term needs. With national teams, because you can’t buy that right back or that left wing that you might need, shifting players around is practically SOP.

        In 2014 even Germany pushed Lahm into midfield when Khedira got hurt and played guys like Gotze, Schurrle and Muller at striker or midfield depending on where they were needed. Germany are fortunate because they have a lot of guys who are very good at multiple positions. And actually they have a tradition in Germany of shifting players around. In the 1990 World Cup final, when JK won his World Cup, Germany played a 5-3-2. The back line had a converted midfielder at left back/wingback,and four center backs.

        Or maybe you saw Fabregas play striker for Spain very successfully for a few games when they won Euro 2012.

        Or watch Man U vs Aston Villa and see Danny Blind play center half.

        The USMNT does it because the player pool in general is mostly mediocre, so the manager is forced to play guys who he trusts to do a better job than the guy who nominally plays that position at his club.

        For example, I believe that JK would rather play Zusi or Bedoya at right back than Tony Beltran. just like Van Gaal, vs. Aston Villa preferred to pair Blind at center back with Smalling rather than McNair.

        Zusi and Bedoya are probably better right backs at the international level, with this team than Beltran even though he plays the position at his club.

        At the international level you have to make do with what you have.

      • This is an example of someone who uses their brain and then takes the time to relate their thoughts.

    • I’m going to venture a guess and say that the 4 world cup games we played in brazil were the biggest games of his tenure… Then I’d say the 2013 Gold Cup final would come in after that. Yes, qualifying for the confed cup 2017 is important, but let’s keep it in perspective…

      Reply
      • How is a B team gold cup in 2013 more important than the last gold cup? At best, they’re equally important.

      • In theory the two have become equivalent since winning the 2013 Gold Cup got them the lifeline of this upcoming playoff.

      • Well, had we made it to the final this year, then than game would have been equally as important as the 2013 GC final. But we didn’t, so I think the 2013 GC final was more important, regardless of whether it was a B team or not. It got us into the playoff game.

      • i agree, If i said we would win either the 2013 or 2015 GC which would most choose? the 2013 since losing the 2013 and winning the 2015 would not have gotten us into the confed cup. slight advantage goes to the 2013 GC since it created the chance for the Confed Cup qualification. seems pretty logical, slowleftarm…

      • Sorry, this makes no sense. A B team gold cup win is not as impressive or important as a win this year would have been. At most, you could stretch it and say they’re equally important. The fact we lost in the semifinal this time doesn’t mean it was less important.

        Anyway, who cares about this pointless hair splitting? JK’s world cup performance was acceptable but the 2015 was most certainly not. That’s the point.

      • Davis, Lennon – if we had lost in 2013 and won in 2015, we’d still be in the same situation, playing in the October qualifier game. So no it is not “pretty logical”.

      • perhaps i read the rules wrong, from what i gathered, we would qualify for the confed cup by winning back to back GCs. again, perhaps i read incorrect info but that is what i was led to believe. would love to hear the official word on this though 🙂

        update- i just read the wiki page for the gold cup (reliability taken with a grain of salt).

        “The Gold Cup is held every two years. Prior to 2015, when the Gold Cup did not fall on the same year as the FIFA Confederations Cup, the winner, or highest placed team that is a member of both CONCACAF and FIFA, qualified for the next staging of that tournament. Beginning in 2015, the winners of two successive Gold Cups (the 2013 and 2015 editions in the first instance) will face each other in a playoff to determine the CONCACAF entrant to the next Confederations Cup. If the same team has won the Gold Cup on both relevant occasions, there will be no playoff and that team will automatically qualify for the Confederations Cup.[2]”

        so by winning the ’15 but losing the ’13 i believe you are correct and we would have played the ’13 GC winner for the berth.

        fwiw, i’m in the group that feels the only thing that really matters is the World Cup…… take from that what you will…

      • TheFrenchOne, I agree with you that the World Cup is most important, but why are you already trying to lower expectations/soften the blow for Klinsmann in case the team doesn’t get it done in October? When it comes to a national team, the things that matter most are A-level tournament football. That means World Cup, Gold Cup, and Confed Cup/Copa America if you can get it. Add to that the fact that this is a game that counts AGAINST MEXICO!!! It is a must win from a USMNT perspective.

        Also, as Slow pointed out, the fact that you bring up the Gold Cup that we won (while Concacaf A-teams were in the midst of World Cup qualifying), but ignore the one we lost (with A-teams playing) shows that you are being favorable towards Klinsmann.

      • You make decent points, but here’s the thing: I’m not the one trying to lower expectations for the qualifying game in October. Sunil has already done that, saying that JK’s job is not in jeopardy even if we lose in October.

        And I stand by my statement that first round games at the world cup are far more important than any game at the Confed cup. And WC knockout round games are ranked even higher. Very few people will remember who won the confed cups in the past. I had to google it to be reminded that Brazil has won 4/7. That tournament just doesn’t carry the same weight as the WC. I think we can all agree on that.

        But I agree that a confed cup title would be worth more (at least in bragging rights) than any GC title. That’s a given.

      • Yes we agree. I will add that qualification to the Confed Cup is waaaay more crucial to the USMNT than say European or South American teams, because we need that experience more than they do. Concacaf Gold Cup and Concacaf World Cup qualifying does not compare well to that of Uefa’s and Conmebol’s.

        Having a Copa America in 2016 and a Confed Cup in 2017 should setup Klinsmann and the players well for the 2018 World Cup.

      • Agree with you. Would also add that Confed Cup represents a superb late chance to make up ground in FIFA rankings, which are used for WC seedings.

        Had we qualified for Confed Cup 2013 and gotten a couple of good results, it might well have been enough to get us a seed.

      • You are correct. The Confederations Cup is only important because Klinsmann made it so. The US didn’t play in it in 2013, but did okay in the World Cup. Klinsmann compensated by having a lot of players go down to Brazil and practice/play in Brazil. Klinsmann made the next Confed Cup a goal, but it isn’t a necessity. I think he was pretty devastated by the US performance in the last two games of the GC–witness the silence from the normally voluble coach in the time since. I imagine he now wishes he hadn’t have emphasized this so much before. He obviously felt we were very likely to win. However, the only way to measure a national team coach is if he gets his team to qualify for the World Cup and then how well he does once they play in the World Cup. Does anyone care that Uruguay had to win a playoff to make it to the 2010 WC, or do they care about the fact that the team made it to the semifinals? Likewise, do Mexican fans care that they had to beat New Zealand to get in, or do they care more that they got out of their group? Which was more important–that the US beat Spain in the Confederations Cup, or that Spain won the World Cup the next year? I could go on.

      • +1…. million

        The World cup is what matters, the rest is just ‘the first hour of a movie…’ or ‘the first 3 quarters of a football/basketball game’ lol 🙂 i.e. i could care less what michael jordan shot from beyond the arc in the 98 NBA finals in the first 3 quarters. i care about that last shot over Russell. I could care less about how many catches Lynn Swann had in the first 3 quarters of SBXIII, i just care about the catch that mattered, the last one that won the game.

        now this is all just my perspective and i don’t ridicule others for debating the smaller things of sport, but when people try to say that the smaller moments have more importance than they should then i may jump in to defend the notion that the big moments are what really matter.

        Charles Barkley was great and all but…….

      • Why are all of you preaching to the choir!? “The World Cup is what matters most” .. well duh! That’s not exactly insightful stuff. The fact that the World Cup matters most does not take significance away from other tournaments like the Confed Cup, Gold Cup, Copa America and Olympics. The Gold Cup is our continental championship, so obviously we want to win it. Winning the Gold Cup gives you a chance at the Confed Cup, so obviously we want to play in it, and once we play in it, we want to win it. A Confed Cup victory would be the USMNT’s first non-Concacaf championship. Any tournament that gives us a chance to win something and improve is important. All these “Confed Cup isn’t important” rants are silly. In that case the Gold Cup, Olympics, Euros, Afcon, Copa America, etc aren’t important either because they aren’t the World Cup.

      • UCLA: It all started with Chris W’s comment that JK is still experimenting “before the biggest game of his tenure” (the confed qualification game) coming up. That’s what I was taking issue with, to that overreaction. As USMNT fans we want our team to win every game, whether it’s a friendly against Belize or the WC final

    • The confederations cup is not nearly as big a deal as many want to believe. JK’s tenure won’t be defined by whether the U.S. qualifies for it. He’ll ultimately be remembered for how the U.S. performs at the World Cup.

      Reply
      • foooo,

        The Confederations Cup is important mainly because it is undoubtedly the best preparation for the 2018 World Cup.

        Some country, same stadiums, similar travel schedule, maybe even some of the same opponents; what could be better preparation?

        Other than that no one really rates the tournament.

      • True, Brazil was won all three Confed Cups and they’ve done great at the subsequent world cups right? I think the confed cup is the most overrated tournament in the world, a totally pointless FIFA money grab. We did exactly as well in 2010, having reached the confed cup final the previous year as we did in 2014 having not played in it at all.

      • That’s apples to oranges. The real question is whether or not we did better in 2010 than we would have if we hadn’t played in the Confed Cup. Or, could we have advanced further in 2014 had we played in it the year before. (I know completely unanswerable). It’s not reasonable to assume any conclusions in comparing the two tournaments.

      • It is a lot about the money you are right, but it does give the host nation a chance to test out stadiums and traffic plans, security issues, housing, travel and the like so its really more important for those things than the actual soccer. My guess is the host country loses money on it.

    • Amen. This is outrageous. Right now is the time to bring in your best for the Mexico game and you can get back to the never-ending tryouts afterward.

      Reply
    • Wow, I’m surprised it took this long before we saw this comment, as predictable as the morning sunrise. Just yesterday I argued that Klinsmann should use the two friendlies to get ready for the Confed Cup playoff and was shot down by a poster. This time I’m on this side of the argument. These friendlies are not the time to experiment.

      Reply
  8. Ugggh another one. As long as he leaves Jozy off I’d be mostly OK with this but still, there are players in MLS he could look at too. I don’t believe 2’d tier German soccer is better than MLS

    Reply
    • Striker is pretty thin for Americans even in MLS. You’re top goal scorers are Rolfe, Bruin, Davies with 9. I guess you could look past the numbers and give some one like Agudelo more time. I just hope he doesn’t bring in Zardes and continue to play him wide.

      Reply
    • Jack, you must be new to this site. Anytime a new passport American joins the player pool, you’re supposed to celebrate like we just won the World Cup while spouting open-minded sounding inanities about how they’re actually more American than everyone else because their Dad served in the military. At least Wooten actually lived in the US for a year as a teenager which is more than many of JK’s callups can say.

      Reply
      • I don’t think I’ve seen anyone argue that children of servicemen are more American – only that they are as American. If anything, you seem to be of the opinion that they are less American.

        While I believe there are dual-nationals out there who care more about career achievements and might not give a rats ass about truly loving the country the choose to play for (and that living in the given country for a significant period would certainly foster that love) – it’s pretty unconscionable to look down your nose at someone who’s father (and/or mother, by the way) possibly risked their life for the USA, and then say they’re less worthy than someone born and raised stateside.

        I’d ask you to look a serviceman stationed in Germany in the eye and tell him/her how less of an American their child is compared to yours, and that they aren’t deserving to represent the USA. Hopefully you have a low deductible.

      • Don’t waste your time trying to have a reasonable conversation on this topic with slowleftarm. Apparently playing for a national team is less about sports and more about how much of a citizen you are.

      • Steve, I certainly have seen the “more American” argument made on this site. I’ve also seen the “tell it to the serviceman’s face” argument made too. Neither are convincing. I’m not saying you need to have been born and/or spent your whole life here but if you’ve never even lived here, you shouldn’t be representing the US. Take Ashton Gotz for example.

        I’ve spent more time as a resident in both England and France than Wooten has in the US. Should I be eligible to represent those countries (my lack of footballing talent notwithstanding)? Of course not. Plus, with the exception of Fabian and Jones, none of these guys are better than the guys we already have.

      • slowleftarm,

        Just being a resident of England and France would not be enough to make you eligible to represent those countries.

        I don’t know their rules but I don’t think residency alone is sufficient. Under FIFA rules you still have to get a passport.If you can get an English or French passport I’d be happy for you to get called up by England or France.

        Dwyer and Nagbe have lived in this country longer than Gotz has but they still can’t play for the USMNT until their passports come through.

        If Gotz has a passport now then yes he can play for the USMNT.

        I don’t have a problem with any of that but if you do take it up with the people who make the rules, FIFA.

        The credit or blame falls on them not the USMNT or Gotz. Ives, Steve or anyone else.

      • At the risk of reviving a frustrating debate that will never have a “winner”, I would only point out that without some sort of bright line for determining who is sufficiently tied to the U.S., it will be impossible to tell who passes the test and who doesn’t. You could require some residence time in the U.S., but then you would have to decide how much is enough — a week? a month?

      • Brain Guy,

        There is already a line. It is called a passport. The FIFA rule is you have to have a valid US passport, end of story.

        And just so you know, if you weren’t born a US citizen getting a US passport is pretty hard, very hard in fact. It’s not like getting a Sam’s Club card you know.

      • Thanks, but I’m not the one that needs convincing. I know there’s currently a line. I was responding to slow’s implicit call for a different standard.

      • Actually, FIFA has established an even clearer line. For non-naturalized players, parents or grandparents born in the country, player born in the country or live 2 years in the country. You have passport holders like Desevio Payne’s younger brothers who have US passports, but aren’t eligible to represent the US because they don’t meet the requirements.

      • Fair enough. I’m sure there have been those who have used the “more American” argument – and I would disagree with that, as well.

        You’re treating the children of those who have sacrificed more than most for their country like second class citizens (perhaps not even citizens to begin with). I’m one of the least PC guys out there, but that’s nothing but disrespectful – to both parent and child. If you can’t see that….

        As for “tell it to the serviceman’s face,” that’s not meant to convince you – it’s an honest request to field test your fight or flight response.

      • Why do you assume servicemen would respond to a perceived slight with physical violence? Sounds like you’re the one who doesn’t think much of our men and women in uniform.

      • Perceived slight? You still don’t seem to grasp how insulting/demeaning/infuriating your stance appears.

        And it’s not what my opinion of them is – it’s whether or not you have the courage to say those things to a man’s (father’s) face – tell him his son is less of an American as yours. Tell him his son doesn’t deserve to represent the USA. Tell him his son isn’t even truly and American. They probably wouldn’t react physically, but would you have the guts to roll those dice? If you don’t, your opinion on the subject is without merit.

      • Like most people who are set in their opinions, I don’t suppose you even want to learn more about the subject, but if I am wrong about that, google the Supreme Court case Wong Kim Ark vs. United States and read the decision. It is on line. It tells you all you need to know about citizenship. Also, you might try a course in constitutional law and one in international law.

      • I think the question is more about the international game being a reflection of a countries player development and ability to id talent. Wooten is 100% a product German football development and coaching.

      • Jack,

        Clint is probably our best player.

        Would you say he is 100% a product of US football development and coaching?

        What about Mikey? What about our keepers?

      • He said Wooten is 100% German product and he’s right. Clint and Mike developed mostly in America although they certainly both played abroad for long periods. You know the difference.

      • I suppose Thomas Dooley, Ernie Stewart, Fernando Clavijo, Roy Wegerle, Hugo Perez, and Frank Klopas shouldn’t have been allowed to play for the 94 World Cup team as well. And of course Joe Gaetjens who scored the winning goal against England in 1950 had only lived in the US for three years and of course was born to a German father and a Haitian Mother.

      • This is absolutely beyond silly. Clint and Mike and goalies grew up and formed as players in the US. They are products of the US youth and adult soccer systems. Some of the Germans playing for the USMNT had never even been to the US before putting on the US team jersey. If you don’t see the difference between the two sets of players, it’s really pathetic.

      • it still doesn’t mean the kids of a US SERVICEMAN (or woman) aren’t “American enough” to play for the US.

        do they have a passport? yes? then they can play for the US. it’s that simple. I have faith in the US Passport process to determine if a person is “American enough…”

        so if they are able to get a US passport then I, being an american, should back my country and support the person my country has said is able to get a passport and thus represent our USMNT….. why people get so caught up in “how many minutes have they lived in the US” will never cease to amaze me…

      • By that line of thinking, anyone who came up through an academy not of their birth country would be in question.

        Imagine Messi on Spain…wow.

      • Based on the photo, his ethnicity is also of color. That doesn’t fly with 100% of German football.

      • Sounds like keithbabs has a super outdated view of Germany. There are plenty of “of color” people living in Germany these days.

      • So Messi should play for Spain then? Should Deco not have been allowed to play for Portugal? Kevin-Prince Boateng disallowed for Ghana? A number of German-Americans have been involved in the US U-20 or 23 system before then got cap-tied. Should that count as “football development?” What about Bobby Wood, who lived in the US until he was 15? Does he count? There are probably dozens, if not hundreds of examples of internationals with ties to multiple countires. What line would you draw?

      • I recall it was Bob Bradley who called up Jermaine Jones and Timmy Chandler. John Brooks has played in the US system since 2010. Alfredo Morales has been in the US system since 2009. Bradley was in charge then also. Did Bradley have a German bias? What about German-born Tom Dooley from the 1998 US World Cup team? Who should we blame for him? In fact, Fabian Johnson and Danny Williams are the only two JK “German” caps that did not live in the US or play in the US system BEFORE getting a JK cap. Julian Green was born in Tampa. Bobby Wood was born in Hawaii and lived in the US until he was 15. Terrance Boyd lived in Queens as a child. Slow, you really need to drop this — these players are eligible, period, and the US team is hardly the only team around who uses players with multiple-country ties. Its reality, and its been that way for a long time. Get over it.

      • If you think JK does not have a preference of GAs over born and trained in the States… you are just crazy and refuse to look at the facts…

        If it is a GA vs a Stateside raised player of the same calibur… JK will take the GA… he thinks they are exposed to better training… he may be right but I am sick of the mercenary days… Jones won me over… he moved here, loves America… I am not sure about the others…

        Just my personal feelings…

        And he still refuses to give Lichaj a decent look… Polish xenophobe…

      • Are we are talking about the same Klinsmann who keeps calling in Chris Wondolowski and gives him playing time? Or Brad Evans? Or the one who left Terrance Boyd off the World Cup roster and did not play Timmy Chandler one second there, but found time for Brad Davis and made DeAndre Yedlin a budding star? That Klinsmann?

      • Adam M.

        Andy in Atlanta has shown his curiously twisted logic before accusing JK of “xenophobia “(?) against Polish players as the reason for him not picking Lichaj when JK was pretty instrumental in the careers of Podolski and Klose, two German players who were born in Poland. And I know Wondo has a lot Native American roots but c’mon, Wondolowski? That’s not Polish?.

        Now Andy accuses JK of being partial to players who play in Germany based on the idea that they might be better. Which strikes me as what a manager is supposed to do; you know bring in better players?

        The best is Andy’s idea that JK is anti-Semitic and this accounts for why he does not bring in Benny whose Jewish Austrian grandparents emigrated to Brazil to escape the Nazis. Benny is Jewish and according to Andy, JK hates Jews.

        Which must come as a surprise to my favorite Jewish USMNT player after Bornstein, Kyle Beckerman. And I don’t know if Yedlin considers himself Jewish but his mother is.

        You should bear this intellectual inconsistency and ignorance in mind if you want to debate with Andy in Atlanta.

      • dear fellow soccer fans,

        please read these two quotes very carefully:

        Andy in Atlanta said: ”

        If you think JK does not have a preference of GAs over born and trained in the States… you are just crazy and refuse to look at the facts…

        If it is a GA vs a Stateside raised player of the same calibur… JK will take the GA… he thinks they are exposed to better training… he may be right but I am sick of the mercenary days… Jones won me over… he moved here, loves America… I am not sure about the others…

        Just my personal feelings…

        And he still refuses to give Lichaj a decent look… Polish xenophobe…”

        and an excerpt from GW.

        GW wrote: “The best is Andy’s idea that JK is anti-Semitic and this accounts for why he does not bring in Benny whose Jewish Austrian grandparents emigrated to Brazil to escape the Nazis. Benny is Jewish and according to Andy, JK hates Jews.”

        ——————————————–

        my dear fellow soccer fans,

        perhaps i am missing something?

        did andy in atlanta make some additional statements earlier of which i am not aware?

        if not?

        on the face of it,

        it appears to me that

        at the very least,

        GW mistakenly accuses Andy in Atlanta of something which he did not say.

        and perhaps owes andy an apology.

      • israel has imprisoned palestine. and the palestinian people are semites. (their language is called ‘semitic’!)

        and all arab people are also semites. and israel makes war with the arabs!

        i think that no other nation on earth attacks the semitic peoples of the world as much as israel does.

        so, how can pro-israel supporters call people “anti-semitic?” when israel seems to be the most anti-semitic of them all!

        you should bear this intellectual inconsistency and ignorance in mind if you want to debate with GW.

      • Aambio, Israel is anti semtic.

        If you care to read my post carefully you will see that I say that JK looking for players that he feels are better is the job of a manager. AIA criticizes JK for doing his job and I am merely pointing that out.

        No apology is necessary for that.

        As for AIA’s his feelings as to the reasons behind JK’s exclusion of Benny, AIA made those in a previous post. Such a memorable display of naked vitriol is not easily forgotten.

        You can look it up on SBI if you care to check.

        .

        To the best of my knowledge has not retracted those sentiments. Given his continued posting on JK being a xenophobe when it comes to Lichaj’s Polish heritage, there is no reason to assume AIA has changed his stance on the cause behind Benny’s exclusion.

        As for my use of the term anti-semite to describe those who are anti Jewish, I apologize to those of you who feel that the usage was in error.

        What I meant was Andy in Atlanta has posted in the recent past on SBI that JK does not call up Benny Feilhaber because he is Jewish.

      • You can add homophobe to the list as well… considering he basically mentored Robbie Rogers and then the moment Robbie came out… JK pretends he does not exist… not just on a soccer level but a person level…

        The guy is a very small little man…

      • GW, i see. can you do me a favor? share a link to one of his recent posts? i want to read his exact words. cheers!

        this was important to me. i wanted to know why you reacted the way you did. thank you for your time.

      • GW, thank you for your kind reply

        Here’s the link:

        http://www.sbisoccer.com/2015/07/klinsmann-besler-feilhaber-absences.html#comments

        This is the quote.

        “Andy in Atlanta says:

        July 13, 2015 at 5:21 PM

        DING DING DING on the Lichaj comment… fact is I have said here before and been crucified but Jurgen is xenophobic… Lichaj’s Polish background and Feilhaber’s Jewish Austrian background…

        YUP… I said it folks… prove me wrong…”

        Being a pretty open forum , people say a lot of crazy and outrageous things on SBI and it is the internet, but some things stay with you.

        I have never forgotten this particular one along with AIA’s earlier posts regarding JK’s alleged xenophobia towards Polish players and lately, JK’s alleged homophobia against Robbie Rogers.

        I don’t know JK personally and have no idea if he is any of the things AIA says he is but if you are going to accuse someone of such a thing, even on the internet, I like to think someone would have a little more substance behind such a heinous accusation than the fact that the JK has left a player off of his team.

        AIA hasn’t done that and I’ve seen nothing anywhere that would support his accusations. I do know as, I mentioned , that Beckcerman is Jewish and that Yedlin’s mother is Jewish, which would, on the surface, seem to me to put a lie to AIA’s words. If I know this about them then l guess is JK does too. And of course Wondo does have at least a little Polish heritage to go along with his native American heritage. I’m sure JK is aware of this as well..

        In my reply, further down I use the phrase “Klinsmann’s alleged anti Semitism”.

        Apparently some people, who are more familiar than I am with the proper usage of that term, take exception to how I used it so I will take it back and amend what I said to “ Klinsmann’s alleged prejudice against Jews”.

      • Andy in Atlanta,

        Re JK’s alleged homophobia towards Robbie.

        How do you know JK didn’t know Robbie was gay before he capped him?

        And how do you know JK hasn’t capped RR since because Robbie came out publicly?

        Do RR’s performances at left back tell you he should be called up before the other left backs who have been called up? And how do you know that none of them are gay?

      • Where is the reply button??? i want to reply to GW.

        GW, thank you for sharing the link and quote to aia’s comments.

        aia, thank you for your link and reply as well.

        i have read the linked posts, and several more, especially from anthony. and i saw linked story about rr/gay announcement.

        i think i have all of the information i need to understand the comment exchanges recently. thank you, especially gw.

      • andy in atlanta,

        is it true was GW says? that in a previous post, you claim that the reason that JK doesn’t include BF is b/c he is jewish (or has jewish ancestry)?

        i am trying to evaluate GW’s response to you in these comments.

        who am i? nobody. just a soccer fan like you who also posts here.

      • Jesus, SHUT THE HELL UP, Andy!

        Why do you guys insist on entertaining this moron? I shut his messages out a long, LONG time ago. He makes unsupported accusations then wants you to take them as holy grail. Even dares YOU to back your logical conclusions/statements when they contradict his UNSUPPORTED illogical statements.

        JK has favorites, like all coaches. One Polish kid is a favorite (Wondo) one Polish kid isn’t (Lichaj). One Jewish kid is (Beckerman) another isn’t Feilhaber. He is not anti-semitic/polish, just plays and makes exceptions for his favorites. Hell, he called up Benny as late as the January camp before the 2014 World Cup. Benny is a good player, but is still a give away machine against higher level competition. AIA, are you going to say he is anti-Asian because he doesn’t call in Lee Nguyen, but ignore the fact he calls in Wood.

        As far as Poldolski is concerned, JK is not the only guy to bury him on the bench. He was buried at Arsenal his last season and a half there and did not impress at Inter-Milan. He was completely buried at Bayern before JK got there because Ottmar Hitzfeld didn’t rate him and actually play a some for their reserve team as well. JK played him behind Klose & Toni. He also brought a young Thomas Mueller into the team and Landon Donovan to compete (who let him down). Even then, Poldolski was the first forward off the bench behind Klose and Toni. Let’s ignore the fact, that JK BROUGHT Poldi into the Mannschaft/National team.

        He’s got talent, but it sometimes does not all come together with him. I lived in Koln/Cologne and Podolski (Poldi) is REVERED there, but even they say he does not live up to his potential. There was talk that he kinda has to be the main man, etc. Btw, Poldi is also German. His grandparents on one side (forgot which) had Aussiedler status because they were German citizens, They were part of Germany that was taken away after the war (like Klose’s parents). My friends in Germany explained it to because I never knew of it. Both he and Klose’s families are from the same area (Silesia) which was part of the kingdom of Prussia through German Unification around 1870.

      • GW,

        That Dailymail link encapsulates Klinsman’s attitude. He loves players with grit. Those without grit, he views poorly, no matter how talented they are. I assume that he views some USMNT pooll players that way (including some more famous former ones).

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