Fabian Johnson will not take part in the U.S. Men’s National Team’s upcoming friendly with Costa Rica.
Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann revealed Monday that he has dismissed Johnson from the team ahead of Tuesday’s friendly. Klinsmann’s frustrations stem from Johnson removing himself in the 111th minute of Saturday’s CONCACAF Cup clash with Mexico despite not dealing with an injury.
“I had a very severe word with Fabian Johnson, and I sent him home today,” Klinsmann said. “He can rethink his approach about his team.”
Johnson’s dismissal leaves the USMNT roster with just 20 players, six of which are listed as defenders, ahead of Tuesday’s friendly with Costa Rica.
The 27-year-old fullback has made 40 appearances for the USMNT.
What do you think of the Johnson dismissal? What do you expect the fallout to be going forward?
Share your thoughts below.
When FJ becomes a problem we should all be concerned. Of course we don’t know the full story. But FJ is one of our very best, most reliable, most experienced players. He has also, unless I’m missing something, never ever been a problem. So let’s imagine FJ quit on us. Shame on him. But why would he quit? He has no history of that kind of behavior. What would inspire such a top flight player to just give up? And then there are all the other scenarios shared above. Recently recovered from injury, about to go down again, recognizing that he had become a liability? Does that merit the treatment it looks like he’s received? What you have is either way a problem that looks to point beyond FJ. When JK sent LD packing so many of us gave JK the benefit of the doubt. Clearly we could have used LD in the WC, but the honeymoon was still on and a lot of us wanted to believe in a long-term project. Send a message for the future. Okay, we got it. There have been other smaller fall-outs along the way that many of us have looked the other way on: should Feilhaber and others get more of a chance? Should we have just gone with Tim Howard when his request for the sabbatical year appeared to be with JK’s blessing? And so on. But now this fallout: with the posterchild for everything JK’s been bringing and preaching, with one of the few players not too old or too young, with one of the most reliable and committed players during the JK years… What’s going on here? To be nothing but a JK apologist under circumstances like this looks a little suspicious. Rather than deflecting attention from his arguably poor performance of late, JK’s latest move should only bring much much more heat. This one deserves some serious scrutiny. I’ve never been a JK hater but for the sake of the USMNT, I hope we get some serious investigative reporting on this one.
nicely put.
Dr Varela thank you, very well put I also believe this deserves a closer look. FB is a key part of our future. By the way the team played very badly with giveaways and passes to the other team plus thumping the ball out that I am concerned they quit on JK.
Johnson did the right thing — feeling that he was becoming a liability not being 100%, he asked to be subbed.
In the process, Klinsmann manages to humiliate his starting goalkeeper by revealing that he wanted to save a sub to replace Guzan with Rimando for the penalty shootout. So, Klinsmann doesn’t trust his starting goalie, who, by the way, has stopped a bunch of penalties in his career, including four in just one FA Cup game!
Spot on. Once again, Klinsi opening his stupid mouth for no reason whatsoever and in a way that undermines the team and individual players. Nothing good comes of it—AND just as importantly–it reveals strategy without any need to if in fact down the road he wants to use Rimando for that purpose. Just completely dumb and unnecessary.
If only Klinsmann asked to be subbed for the good of US soccer!
I think there was a lot more going on between Fab and JK than just the incident in the Mexico game. Fab hasn’t looked good in a while…definitely some slack in his game no matter where he’s been played. Looks like he’s going through the motions.
There might be some ruffled feathers in the locker room,especially if it’s true that some players were hacked when he came off. Maybe JK is sending a message to the team by making this so public.
My two cents, Since JK is moving away from the older players,and with the team in flux, now is the time ahead of the qualies to see who is truly 100% committed to the effort. Lean on MB’s opinion as captain and build the team around him. Get rid of any mopers, half assers or quitters.
The Holland and Germany games were the blueprint to follow going forward…We didn’t have JJ, Deuce and Jozy bogging things down. Players deferred to MB, he ran the show, we kept the ball moving and played fantastic…imo that was a little glimpse into the future for our attack.
Fab, it was nice knowing you…you’re either all in or you’re out…
I think we’re ripe to see another Brian Strauss locker room expose.
So we are down a goal and chasing the game.
Wood, Yedlin and Williams are warming up.
We use 2 subs, get a goal with not much time left.
Wondo has been on the sideline warming up.
Yet Klinsmann says the plan was to use the 3rd sub to put another keeper in for PKs? I don’t buy it.
How could he even have come to that plan, we weren’t tied long enough for that to develop and it happened too late in the game.
There was no plan. No vision for the game. I’ve given up.
It’s time for something different. Fire Klinsmann.
in all the years that i have followed usa soccer, i cannot recall any other usa coach who would publicly criticize a player.
see comment above about harkes as am example.
totally unheard of imo.
it just didn’t used to be that way.
LD said we would defeat Mexico if we aggressively pressed them, and Clint had at lease a B grade game. Neither of those things happened.
Maybe we needed to press them, but I think we have the players to beat them by embracing the counterattack tactic, but we didn’t really do that either. Good outlets were few and far between, when our backline consistently pinched and consistently needed the outside mids to help back in the wide areas, usually leaving only one forward to annoy the backline. I’m not exactly sure what either team’s gameplan might have been, but I know that they adjusted theirs better/quicker than we did ours.
I think we might have a better team without Dempsey. Don’t get me wrong, surrounded by the right group of guys, who could execute a certain style of technical play on an international level, he could still be an x-factor type of player on offense. He hasn’t lost the skills, or audacity, or creativity, or passion. He may have lost some of his already average motor and speed, those things could be masked in an attack where he could play at the top of the box in a possession situation. He is underrated with his head, and knows how to find space and make runs. That said, he’s not a good fit up top with Jozy. I think both would do better surrounded by a different kind supporting cast, and companion forward. Jozy seems more reasonable to build around at this point, although. . .
I would start my qualifying campaign with even younger guns, and see first hand how they handle the pressure. Bring in all the young cats with promise and let a starting 11 get cohesive. See who could hang and prove themselves once and for all, playing a proactive/aggressive style. I would start working on this in January camp.
Something like this:
4-3-3 pressing:
Zardes(sub Green?)-Morris(sub Jozy/AJ?)-Kiese(sub Findlay?)
——Zelalem(sub Nagbe?)—–
—-Bradley(sub Hyndman/Powers?)
——–Williams(sub Kitchen/Trapp?)
As far as keepers go I think we need to finally bleed the young ones like Hamid, Johnson, Yarbrough, Steffens, Horvath, and other young options, that will most likely be closer to their peaks then our three current best keepers.
I would see what Packwood/CCV and Miazga could offer before I brought back Besler/Ream and Cameron to save our chances. I would bring in young guys to play fullback too, but want to see how guys like Fabian, Yedlin, Garza, and even Shea play with this lineup as well.
Not as logical as I like to normally be, but since we can’t get a new coach, I’d like to see our old coach look deeper for that style of play he promised, since it clearly isn’t going to be had with the usual suspects.
It hurt me to see Dempsey without his fire and fight. When he passed wide to Jozy instead of taking the open shot (with so much room in goal, with the keeper pulled to the other side) it felt like he had given up. He stayed on the ground long, he didn’t get back into plays after getting hacked. Dempsey has given us many great years of soccer for the USA. Watching the game in Pasadena, it looked like his time has passed.
He felt the game was over so he quit. It happens in sports. Klinsmann recognized that and sent him home. It’s straight forward.
Johnson = Scapegoat.
F Klinsmann.
Fabian Johnson played his first game after being out a month for an injury only two and a half weeks ago and was subbed off in two of the four matches he’s played since being back.
If Klinsmann didn’t consider that Johnson might not make it the full 90, especially in a game like this, maybe he is the one who should be criticized for poor planning.
He made it the full 90. The full 120 proved a stretch. Though, that does just make your point stronger.
In his last game before USA-Mexico, he was subbed at 68. Well done, Fabian, for gutting it out as long as you could in extra time. It is unbelievable to me that Klinsmann would expect a player just returning from injury to even go beyond 90. And then to send him home for it…
JK is a tart. This is what he put out there.
Guzan
Johnson Cameron Besler Beasley
Zardes Beckerman Jones
Bradley
Dempsey Altidore.
This is what he could have put out there.
Guzan
Yedlin Cameron Besler Beasley
Beckerman Jones
Johnson Bradley Zardes
Altidore/Dempsey/Wood
You listed 13 players. You’re only allowed to have 11 on the field at once or do you know something I don’t?
What was apparent to some is now apparent to most. How can you throw a guy like FJ under the bus? To take the blame away from yourself. It is not the first time. Being supremely political, JK knows that if he can bamboozle Gulati (a nonsoccer guy) he can keep getting paid a ridiculous 2.5 million a year. Those Americans sure are suckers, He must have used the old NASL as a template. He still has some fans in this blog fooled. It still can be done to this country but people are getting smarter little by little.
LD9 FOR THE COACH PLEASE
Landon for head coach!
If FJ felt that his hammy was tightening, then it was in his best interest to get the hell out of the game. Remember he was previously injured and a lot of people thought he would not recover in time for this game. This is another smoke screen by JK. I wonder how the crowd will respond to JK tomorrow night.
Thank you.
What he should have done is lay down (maybe hold his leg like a cramp)and force someone to kick the ball out of play. That way they could have given us a few minutes breather, get them out of their rhythm, let the physios come check first, and given them a few to think about what to do.
If he didn’t think of it, and just told JK he couldn’t go (since he was close to the bench)
then JK should have told him to lay down.
Wouldn’t be the first time someone’s done that.
Here is what I know. If you want FJ playing for that team in the future, you send him home, keep it in house and not call him back for a year by trotting us JK-like excuses- “fitness” “other players are ahead of him” just like JK did for real or imagined reasons with at least a half a dozen players I can think of… then make him earn his way back. If you never want him playing for team you go and publicly rip him.
If FJ was that bad, then Timmy Chandler should never be ever called up for flaking out on the team for YEARS, going back to 2011 Gold Cup
I believe JK also chastise Chandler for not committing. When he claimed to be injured but played a club game 3 days later. I don’t think JK is doing anything different than in the past. He did it to Jozy too.
A real American would have played through the fatigue and pain.
I hate JK game plan but I have to side with him on this. You just don’t quite on your teammates with 3 minutes to go, that is a cardinal sin. I have seen players limping and continue to play, here you have FJ asking to come out because he was tired, if he was tired then he would have been in a trainer’s table getting treatment. I’m under the impression that FJ has pulled this stunt before.
1. Players are being played out of position
2. Players are black listed
3. USMNT currently has no identity as far as playing style. What are we known for?
4. Bradley is becoming less of a captain every game. No cohesion on the field which is a reflection of the locker room
5. We’ve lost to 3 CONCACAF teams consecutively. When all is on the line we couldn’t deliver.
6. Players are ran to the ground making them prone to injuries
7. A coach that doesn’t take blame to the failure of the Team
You are not a failure until you start blaming others for your mistakes
+1000
best. post. ever.
I feel like he should not have started Fabian. Once again poor roster choices and line up. Also, Howard is a better penalty stopper than Guzan and Rimando.
Adolf Hitler was a better leader for the German people than JK is for the USMNT.
Ouch but don’t forget Jk is Rick James Bitch. I’m Rick James Bitchh!!! For those of you have no humor check out Dave chappel on utube. I’m rick james bitch!!!
Killin them softly, best stand up performance ever.
Yes we are upset with JK, but Hitler and Nazi references about Germans is unnecessary and offensive to those who have nothing to do with what happened in the past.
It would be nice if they would publish the entire statement. It was just a brief statement but why not publish the additional 2 sentences.
Why omit the part where JK says Fabian told him he was afraid he might get an injury.
There’s already a ton of posts with everyone making an assumption.
Google the different sites, some publish it all, some just the parts that make a bad situation a dire situation.
Would any of you think differently if you read that or not?
What the hell…..
Now over on another site, there’s an entire thread about why JK got fired from his position as Nat Team coach.
You ever had your hammy grab but not pull? Maybe he was tired and cramping and foresaw what was about to happen.
IV, I’ve had em all buddy.
My point wasn’t about who is right or wrong.
My point is that I wish the writer(s) would report the story right. It’s not like it was a long press conference-Why omit 2 sentences just for clickbait. You’ve been on here a long time, that tmz stuff never happened. Now it’s business as usual.
With so few public voices in the US Soccer world, it’s easy to direct a narrative. I stuck here because there was great journalism, and a pretty well informed audience.
Did you read the part about what I said is going on in another thread? A bunch of morons dude
YES. Why does the writer only publish part of JKs quote? Not very good move to edit it.
Every other player on the roster Klinsmann could just point to them and say “see I need players pushing themselves to the highest level and getting minutes in Champions league” The players aren’t fit because of MLS ect. However he doesn’t have those excuses ready for when its Fabian.
That’s why Klinsmann is more upset because his lone UCL player is not going the full 120 and undermining what JK has been saying the whole time about his players should be playing in the UCL because it makes them better players.
Considering Klinsmann’s history of throwing his players under the bus, all of you who are uncritically accepting his version of events should think twice.
And remember, he was saving his last sub to put Rimando in for Guzan. It’s pretty alarming that he’s this worked up about not being able to make that switch.
According to Jeff Carlisle, several of the guys on the team were angry that FJ asked to be subbed off, so it’s not just about how JK feels. He’s sending a message on behalf of the other guys on the team.
Where did Carlisle say that? I don’t see it in his Twitter TL nor in anything he’s written on ESPN.
Also, even if that was the case, he could have dealt with it in house and still sent a message.
Check the video on the ESPN report about this.
Soccer coaches are calling out players in the media all of the time. The only reason it’s unusual is because it happened in the U.S.
It happens all the time in other sports in the US, too. I get the impression sometimes that posters here live in a bubble and don’t know how pro teams in other sports operate. All the time you see professional players treated like a commodity because it’s a business. In college sports you see players suspended or thrown off a team because of unspecified violation of team rules, which can mean anything.
check his twitter line for today, I think (thought can’t be certain) that he said something along those lines.
I agree that public shaming of this nature should be a measure of last resort. But we don’t know what preceded it, we don’t know what FJ said, etc. If JK wasn’t on the hot seat, we would not lightly second-guess his actions, especially against a player he usually rates highly.
He wouldn’t have made it there. The goal comes from the other side after the sub.
And like I said, how tepid a game plan is it to play for PKs anyway. That’s what, “I wanted to put on Rimando” tells me.
FWIW the people suggesting the sub was for Beasley should have cognitive dissonance issues hearing about Rimando.
When you are tied with a couple of minutes to go, playing at home, and the other team has dominated play, playing for PK’s makes a whole lot of sense. Remember when Michael Bradley tried to make something happen in the last minute vs. Portugal? Had he played it safe, the US would have won.
Where there is smoke, there is fire.
IMO, the locker room is in chaos.
3 explanations
1. FJ is a quitter
2. FJ thinks he was endangering the team.
3. FJ was the first to rebel against a toxic work environment.
I do not believe #1.
If #2 then he was somewhat unfairly thrown under the bus.
If #3, then expect more fireworks.
Give FJ a few days, it will be in the german press, one way or the other.
Everyone was tired, but I think what pissed Klinsman off was that he would have rather subbed Beasely out who was visibly exhausted and could not close in on the goal leading attackers in the 118th minute. Instead, Johnson In his prime left old retiring Beasely hanging on the field.
Agreed. Wasn’t condoning the action, just thinking that things really heated up when the discussion took place.
When anyone quits physically, it always comes after the mental collapse. That is, the will is gone to accept the pain anymore. I get the feeling that this sending home is more to the talk about the request to come off than the actual request to come off. Most likely things were said at that time that necessitated the sending home. Pure speculation, but in reviews I have seen a problem turn into a bigger problem by the reaction to criticism. Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. Surely FJ was asked to explain quitting on the team and that is when the fireworks started.
Good speculation, and totally believable. Regardless, you don’t ask to come out of a game like that, and especially not against your rival with a trophy on the line…
Pretty shocked that pretty much everyone is siding with Jurgen. If a player is gassed and thinks by him staying on could hurt the team, I am happy he asked out of the game. It’s not like we didn’t have a sub to use.
When you are playing a sport with unlimited substitutions that is a reasonable approach to take. But when you only have three subs the coach has to know going into the game that short of an injury or card his defenders are good to go 120 minutes if needed, because he doesn’t want to waste a sub on a defender. My guess is he made that clear before the game with FJ and received a confirmation that he was good to go. Perhaps they even did their fitness testing and FJ failed, but convinced JK that he could do it anyway. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me. I get that JK has done some strange things, but I’m one who tends to think he’s not completely mental. FJ has always been one of his favorites.
Apparently you haven’t played sports at a high level, you don’t ask to be out unless you are ready to pass out or you can’t run due to injury. SPECIALLY with 3 minutes to go and the game on the line.
I have played sports at a high level. He recently returned from injury and probably wasn’t 100% fit. No one knows the whole story, but maybe he was about to pass out? And the sub was made in the 109th minute.
Before this game he already played 4 BL games and they were all 90 minutes.
I find some of these comments amazing. If this dude really did ask to be subbed out of the game, THIS game of all games, when his other teammates are also tired, and battling, and some of them coming back from their own injuries, then he fully deserves to be sent home and in the “doghouse” for a spell. You don’t do that, and FJ should have known that. Especially when it comes to representing your country, too. With as much importance as people put on winning this game, then to defend such an act, probably because you still have beef with Klinsmann’s handling of the team at large, is ridiculous. There is no way coach sends a player like him home after the last game unless something unacceptable as this has happened…
Completely agree. I was surprised that Franco P. thought FJ would be in the starting lineup for tomorrow’s game. I didn’t think there was any way that would happen after asking to sub out of this game and it’s even worse than I thought. And for those wondering about injury, it would’ve come out already. Klinsmann addressed the issue in the press conference and he didn’t say anything about an injury.
I find it amazing that anyone is ripping on Johnson, based solely on the comments from JK, who is already known to throw people under the bus to hide his own mistakes.
It’s public knowledge Fabian asked to be taken out with 3 minutes to go, he wasn’t limping.
I don’t know the whole story obviously, but… assuming there wasn’t a injury or something else going on, in principle I agree with Klinsman’s beef and him making FJ know clearly what his expectations are for players and disciplining him. What I relay don’t agree with is making it public/airing it in the press. Unless it is a repeated occurrence and you are at your end trying to find a way to motivate- this should respectfully remain between 2 men/in the locker room.
On one hand, I get that and would mostly agree, but on the other hand, it would be hard not to explain why you would send a player like FJ home earlier than expected, save for injury…
Nah…. pretty easy.
“FJ will be returning to his club for this friendly. This game will present an excelent opportunity for other players to get some playing time at this level, show what they’ve got and for us to get a look at expanding our options.”
Other veterans have returned to their clubs. Nobody would have thought twice about it.
Hey well said can you please take over for this clown dalomismo? You got my vote for Nat. coach.
And then if he really bothered you, he just is a surprising omission from the next callup, at which point it starts to dawn on the rest of us.
+1
I agree. This should have not made it to the public at all. Now it makes it seem like there are other problems in the locker room that we might not know about. Not a good choice for Klinsmann.
As another poster said, I’m not sure how you spin it when he was on the roster yesterday and off of it a day later. I’m of the opinion that letting people guess is worse than just clearing it up from the beginning.
yeah if this was really all that planned he doesn’t get off the eastbound plane he keeps on going….”has been released back to his team”…..weird…..
Good points guys. It just seems like unnecessary drama. I guess they could have said they suspect a slight muscle strain or something and are sending him back to his club team as a precaution. I found out later that some of FJs teammates might have been upset about him requesting a sub so it is hard to make a judgement when we don’t know the whole story. Lets hope this is a temporary problem that gets worked out.
I think he may used this injury excuse in the qualifiers game against Mexico too. He said he was injured, 4 days later he was playing for club. I think it was mid 80’s at night in Columbus in our dos a cero run.
The Way JK has the U.S. playing, he is going to lose a lot more than just players, fans as well will toon out. I’m a Mexican American who hates losing against Mexico, and loves the USMNT, but I cannot be watching a team that keeps playing worst and worst. This guy(JK) has a lot more talent then any other coach in US history and can’t beat a struggling Mexico in US soil?
If you’re the sort of person who tunes out on his country over a few months of (unquestionably) disappointing results, I recommend you find another sport to follow because soccer will cripple your sanity. It happens to literally every team in the world.
A “lot more talent than any coach in US history”? Who exactly? Do we have better forwards than McBride & Donovan? Better midfielders than Reyna and O’Brien? Better defenders than Bocanegra and Pope? Better GK’s than Friedel/Keller? Most of the guys we had out there on Saturday wouldn’t have started for the 2002 team. Except Beasley, of course. Which pretty much says it all.
The “struggling” Mexico team you describe just won the Gold Cup. They also played very well at the World Cup and probably should’ve knocked the Dutch out but for late self-inflicted wounds. They haven’t been struggling in a while now
And if you think that game was played on “home soil”, well…. at least your geography is pretty ok.
I was thinking about this today and how US fans over react so. Who did better in the 2014 WC–England, Spain, Italy, or the US? Only the US got out of its group. Spain won the previous WC and yet couldn’t get out of its group. Italy has won, what, 4 WC’S and couldn’t get out of its group. England has won a WC and is perpetually in the top 10 and the US has done better in the last 2 WC’s (and yet Roy Hodgson still has his job) Then remember how France totally imploded in 2010? And I think it can be argued that all those teams have many better players than the US. Seems to me that fans of those countries have a lot more reason to be upset than our fans. Our setbacks are mere trifles by comparison. Now if we don’t qualify for 2018, that’s serious.
I thought it showed lack of mental strength from Fabian for not asking to be taken out because he was tired with 3 minutes to go. What happened to sucking it up for the good of the team.
like most dual nationals this isn’t “their team” and is most like an extra job, if he kept playing he would have put his real job at risk.
How would you know? I saw him walk out and he didn’t look like he limping or anything like that.
I heard today on one of the spanish Soccer shows I listen to daily and was wondering if anybody else heard something similar on an english one that the U.S. is quietly looking into hiring a new Coach now? Names they mentioned for the High profile ones were Marcelo Bielsa and Guus Hiddink, They then mentioned 3 alternatives if they can’t land the big fishes on a domestic level Peter Vermes, Oscar from FC Dallas, and Jessi March of N.Y. Redbulls. Show is call Gorge Ramos y su banda.
These guys usually report things earlier than American shows and are usually on it when it comes to inside information.
If JK is going to go I would hire Bruce Arena again. He did a good job the first time around but just got stale after a while. After 8 years he and the players would have a clean slate and he would have the respect (at least from the MLS players) of the players for his very successful coaching resume since his last go round as the national team coach.
Bring some one who understands America and an American attitude. Some one who can bring the team together
I think Pereja needs to be worked into the picture somewhere. Not necessarily head coach, but maybe player development?
I’m a RBNY fan but I think that’s a bit early for Marsch. Not just because I’d like him to stay at RBNY but I think you should have to accomplish more than he has to be a NT coaching candidate.
I thought a year or two ago Hiddink turned down some jobs and indicated that he was retiring from international football. Anyone know differently? As for Arena, there was an article in the LA Times about a year ago asking if he was going to retire. He indicated that he wanted to stay with the Galaxy for another couple of years. I seriously doubt he wants to make a commitment until 2018. One coach who has done a great job recently is Peckerman. But i can’t see why he would leave his present job.
Fabian’s No Mas moment is embarrassing. Could you imagine Brian McBride begging off of a game of this magnitude? Ask Italy. I don’t care how good he is. Good riddance!
Nobody has touched on what I will say here yet but there is a major difference between players like McBride and Fabian Johnson. One thing American teams have been famous for for years is for NOT giving up. There is a spirit that runs deep that says never say die. You cannot install that feeling into these dual nationals. It is something that is a result of your heritage, culture and national pride and not something you can get just because you’re eligible to represent a country. Im sure this wont be a popular with some but the fact remains that some of these players JK has brought in have no real tie to this country. You cannot possibly be expect them to have the same level of commitment a McBride had. So after 111 minutes, you see a dual national say no mas to this crap and walks off. Playing a Mexico to him was just another game and he’s already thinking about his next club game and a 12 flight back to Germany. So screw it, take me out.
No ties to the country, huh?
You realize that 3 of FabJo’s 4 grandparents are American, right? That’s more than a lot of guys on the team.
Maybe he’s sick of the JK rhetoric…that seems to be a theme with German soccer players after a few years of exposure to his methods.
Pleeease. See my earlier comment. This anti-dual national stuff is soccer nonsense. So none of these guys must make any effort for their club teams. After all, aren’t they all just paid mercenaries. That’s why derbies and Clasicos and Champions League finals are all so boring. They’re just playing for the paycheck. Except for the players who came up through the club’s youth system. They’re an exception, right? Are we seeing the light at last? That’s why Barca’s been so good over the last decade. It’s not because Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, Puyol, Busquets, etc were so talented. It’s because they were raised in the Masia. They’re true patriots. And everyone else they’ve played over the years, the mercenaries at Real Madrid aren’t products of La Fabrica. They don’t feel the shirt. Really? Please, give the “dual-nationals don’t care” argument a rest. Of all the criticisms we could make of the USMNT and Klinsmann right now, this is pure distraction. Mere garbage that shows either the posters have never played the game or are simply too jingoistic to think straight. Let’s talk soccer. Not bag on dual nationals.
I saw Jermaine Jones busting his lungs and playing his heart out. I can’t ever remember anything indicating that he ever dogged it.
Yes, let’s add to a team playing poorly by outright imploding what’s left.
where is the similarity between brian mcbride and fabian johnson? i don’t recall any coach ever saying brian mcbride out of position.
playing not saying
Has Klinsmann been booed at any of the games during lineup announcements yet? I’d have to imagine that is coming possibly beginning tomorow night. I can’t imagine any fans that are happy with his coaching recently and sending home one of our better players won’t help that.
It would be nice if the author would have reported Fabian’s side of this even if it was something like, “Fabian Johnson declined to comment.”
Or perhaps Johnson was sitting at 35000 feet over the Atlantic and wasn’t reachable?
Then say that or perhaps wait until the guy lands and try to get his side of the story before publishing.
You must be new to the sports media.
kIndly reach out to Fabian nd report back to us
Let’s not be judgemental until we find out if there was an injury.
No injury.
He’s gonna be the next player Landoned… last one was Tim Howard
Don’t forget about Feilhaber…who they really could have used.
Can’t blame Fabian. He’s doing us a favor by playing with us since this is not even his country. He’s not abut the pull a muscle and lose his spot in his real team.
For a number of guys I’m sure the goal is to play in a World Cup, however after you do it you might wonder if all the work and travel the other 3 years is worth the trouble.
Fabian is a good player but let’s be clear – no one is doing us a favor playing for the USMNT. It’s an honor.
+1,000.
Maybe for the American players but for the Germans this is just a job the decided to take when their first option fell through.
Do you believe for a second that if there wasn’t an financial incentive they would travel across the world to represent the US? Get Real.
I bet Jones would have words with you.
Very severe words?
What is the financial incentive?
You guys with all your patriotic mumbo-jumbo. Seriously, this is soccer, not a congressional hearing. You ever play on a team? You play your heart out. It’s what any serious competitor does. The garbage that these guys don’t care as much or play as hard because they didn’t grow up eating hot dogs and driving Chevy’s is nonsense. There’s a lot of interesting stuff here, but judging some dude’s playing ability or effort on the field based on his supposed patriotism is basic idiocy. Give it a rest.
Agree with Slowleftarm
Dr V
It is a fair question. Lalas for one has always said, i dont care where they come from, as long as they have the love and respect of the nat team that makes a guy give 110%.
Does FJ is a fair question, I am not saying I know one way or the other. I, like many here would give up my left ball to play, would Fabian?
Agreed. But it has nothing to do with one’s supposed “patriotism,” of dual-nationality, etc. It’s a question of overall character. With that, I’ve got no problem.
So the one player in the entire pool actually doing what Klinsmann goes on endlessly about. Pushing himself through the ranks to find Champions league football, and he’s now fallen out with him.
Also weird that Fabian traveled to New York with the team, so this falling out must of happened today
This is straight out of JK’s playbook. Blame others.
He is scapegoating Fabian to distract from his own putrid performances.
+1
Can we please not spiral into one of those teams that are just always in crisis, surround in drama?
I think getting rid of the head drama queen would go a long way towards this end.
Yep — it’s the coach setting the tone. Taking it to the media is appalling, the very best way to help turn us into “one of those teams that are just always in crisis, surrounded in drama.”
Yeah, I mean this was the team where Harkes gets cut and for a decade we don’t know why. Handled behind closed doors and done. The team needs building and this is instead like how he messed around Boca, big public spectacle.
A poster yesterday wrote that Klinsmann shouldn’t have taken off Johnson unless it was on a stretcher. It looks like Klinsmann felt the same way, but his hand was forced. Similarly, another poster who had obviously re=watched the game , reported that on one of the goals Johnson could have maybe prevented a goal after DMB was beaten, but he failed to cover because he slowly jogged over and arrived too late. Considering that this could have made a difference between winning and losing a critical game, Klinsmann’s anger is justified if this is true. I’m of the opinion that if he isn’t willing to play hard as long as he can, he doesn’t belong on the team.
It all depends. It could very well be that the guy just hit a wall. I would like to hear Fabian’s side of this.
The question for me is, some others have hit on it but not sure if it was true, was FJ coming off an injury? If so this may have effected his ability to play. If this is the case then JK has no one to blame but himself, but that ain’t happening.
Maybe he did play as long as he could. No one wants to be subbed out of a win or die game, but isn’t it a sign of maturity to say ‘look, I am no longer helping the team’?
“Maybe he did play as long as he could. No one wants to be subbed out of a win or die game, but isn’t it a sign of maturity to say ‘look, I am no longer helping the team’?”
Exactly! That makes way too much sense for those still drinking the Klinsmann Kool-Aid.
Klinsmann looking for another patsy. Such a coward..
I said if so and so is true, etc. I try not to jump to conclusions. You begin with the assumption that Klinsmann is in the wrong. We have no way of knowing for sure at this point.
Rewatch the second goal for Mexico. FJ stands there as the long ball is played in to Aguilar and completely fails to track Peralta into the box. He starts to jog in once it appears the cross may be coming in, but is way too late. That was in the 96th minute.
If Fabian asked out of the game that is pretty sad considering Jones had nothing left by the 70th minute.
and obviously continued giving it what he could….
That is a critical distinction you just made.
including setting up the game winning goal…
including a stupid foul giving up the free kick that led to the 3rd goal.
Fabian had in only 3 matches since getting hurt in mid-August. How is it sad that he wasn’t fully fit for 120 minutes in crazy heat? Dempsey wasn’t fully fit either. Why did Klinsmann ride them both so hard? Neither player looked like himself on Saturday.
He couldn’t go 9 more minutes? Clint was bad Saturday but there is NO way he would have asked out of that game
Maybe he felt he was a liability during the final 9 minutes and didn’t want to hurt the team.
Maybe if FJ played up top where we never had possession, than he would have had more left in the tank
Fabian is probably our second best player and by far the most useful of the Germericans at this point.
Shame he’s now going to be exiled for the foreseeable future regardless of whose fault it is.
To me the more interesting question to ask is, “Was Fabian Johnson doing his team a disservice or doing the right thing”? Defenders are the last line of defense. I was at the game and got to see the whole field, not just what was visible on the tv shot like the people watching at home. He was doing a lot of defending, and a lot of running. So if you know you are completely gassed and know that you are the last line of defense, and you could give up a goal at any second because you are too tired to run, aren’t you doing the right thing for the team by asking to come out??
Lets also make it clear that Johnson subbing out had no affect on the game. I re-watched the game at home and Klinsmann was about to sub in Wondo because the U.S. was down a goal. Wood then scored to tie the game, and then Klinsmann immediately changes the substitute to Evans. So either Klinsmann changed his substitution because the game was now tied, or because that’s the moment when Fabian Johnson asked to come out. Either way Brad Evans didn’t do anything horrible and was not responsible for the Mexico game-winning goal.
There was a point just around that time when FJ was bent over grabbing the bottoms of his shorts like you see basketball players do on a free-throw. I wasn’t sure whether he was injured our gassed, but when I saw that it was not at all surprising to me that he was the one subbed out.
My guess is that going into a game like this, knowing you only have three subs, the coach probably has a fitness discussion with all of the players, but especially the defenders. Perhaps FJ led him to believe that he was good to go the entire 120 and that’s why JK put him out there. Coaches do not want to have to alter their sub strategies because a defender is gassed. Like I said, it’s just my guess, though.
Yeah I agree with this. Even if FJ was 100%, he was at the least coming off a recent injury layoff. And sure Jones and others were likely gassed as well. But maybe FJ was trying to be a good team player and was geniunely worried his exhaustion would cost the team a goal and the game.
Good points and it;’s why most coaches don’t make any real judgments until they have had a chance to look at video replays of the game and check out individual players. In the NFL they have wide angle shots from above that coaches then use to dissect every player’s performance on every play. One would hope that Klinsmann based his decision on that and on discussions with other players near Johnson on the field so as to get their input as to his condition. There is much we don’t know.
Very interested in getting more details on this one.
It all comes down to this same conversation we had with his feud with donovan. Do we take the players side or the coaches? Personally, i think based on pure talent he is the second best player in the pool right now behind bradley. You can understand the frustration that johnson must have being played out of position and forced to defend. However do we sack a coach cause of this? And also are we prepared to lose him as technical director as well if we do? Also if I was a player on this team, now might be the time for 2 or 3 of them to speak out, in unison, similar to what bradley, besler and trapp have done in the past. Then the federation (you would think) would have no choice but to sack him. If youre players arent buying in, which it sure looks like the case, then the coach must go. However I think if klinsi goes the whole system has to be blown up, gulati, herzog, ramos, all of them, must go. Each of them has shown an unbelieveable lack of tactical awareness over and over and I’ve seen enough.
Its impossible for us to know if he has truly lost the locker room or if Jurgen is in the right here. Its entirely possible Johnson quit on the team or had some otehr sort of attitude issue that needed dealing with. Not enough details at the moment. Being played out of position is not at all an excuse … lets end that talk
Do you really think there is any doubt whether he has lost the locker room?
Considering I haven’t stepped foot in the US locker room and have 0 connections with anyone who has. Yes there is doubt. Not saying it definitely hasn’t happened,but we simply don’t know enough yet.
So we don’t know enough to say that Klinsmann has possibly lost the locker room, yet we know enough to say that “it is entirely possible that Johnson quit on the team”?
Talking out of both ends there..
How is the word ‘possible’ being misinterpreted here?
Its possible Klinsmann is losing/lost the locker room and it is also possible there is an individual problem with FJ that needed dealing with. Lets not jump to too many conclusions here.
This is a major story either way though.
Looking forward to finding out more info. I disagree with airing this out so publicly though from Klinsmann. I think he could have protected his player a bit more with a more subdued statement.
With Jurgen you write “It’s impossible to know if the players have truly quit on JK”. Using “impossible” as in “not possible”.
With Fabian you write “it’s entirely possible he quit on the team”. Suggesting “very possible”.
There’s is no misinterpretation there.
SoccerDadinCali,
I watched ESPNFC and they said a lot of players were mad at FJ because they thought he faked an injury to get out.
Either, it looks like there is a crisis in the team and a lot of shuffling is necessary (either player, coach or both).
I saw the same report.
The report was that “several”, not “a lot”, of players were upset that he begged off. Understandable and been there.
Hate the fact that Klinsmann is using the situation to deflect from bigger issues.
Soccer dad, jk is not using this to cover up other issues. Reporters asked him to explain why he sent fj home. He explained. Fans are spinning that to act like jk is covering something up. Two mutually exclusive issues here
+1 All we can do is speculate, but I’m not even sure the question makes sense– Our locker room is so spineless these days I’m not sure it’s possible to “lose” them.
The one guy we all (myself included) agreed was a “natural leader” and great choice for captain – MB – was an embarrassment in that role at the Gold Cup. A turnover machine and perhaps the first player I’ve seen in any sport “fail by example” We can all excuse him with the “Jurgen was playing him wrong” but if that is how your midfield general excuses his inept passing accuracy and rampant turnovers, I’d say it’s time to look for a new leader anyway. Roy Keane he is not.
As far as I’m concerned, DMB or Howard are really the only two guys deserving of the armband (sad in itself given the age profile). Maybe Deuce but he doesn’t seem to want it.
Who is going to step up here? Where is the next Bocanegra? Pope? Reyna? I do think JK could do a better job in empowering some of the youngsters to seize these roles but really it’s hard to say who….. Do we have a “no excuses” player in our first choice group? Or is the US team become an extension of greater millenial culture, in which everybody thinks their special but nobody can hold a job or achieve anything.
Maybe its just me or maybe this is the natural growth of the national team, but it seems like we have lost some of that band of brothers, us against the world, never say die, *next US soccer cliche*mentality that has helped us punch above our weight for the last 25 years. That quality of a team that can’t be measured in stats, but you can sense it from them when you see them play. You can see it in the way they carry themselves around. I haven’t felt that since we started to phase out the 2010 team.
Good observations — It’s not just you. But it is an inevitable challenge we will face if we really want to establish and sustain ourselves in the “first world” of global soccer. For better or worse, moving up in the world means we aren’t going to sneak up on anybody anymore.
It’s easier to have an organic, blue-collar “us against the world” mentality when the team is largely devoid of stars, expectations are modest, and mere participation in a WC match is likely to be a career highllight for a lot of the guys. They played with immesurable heart and selfless understanding, but they also played with the freedom of guys with nothing to lose.
But I wholeheartedly agree that I hope this remains part of our culture, even if it means building a 20 foot tall statue of Jay Demerit outside of the USSF headquarters.
It’s like the Houston Dynamo, the proven older players and leadership are falling apart, and no longer able to lead by example or even command that much respect. But the next generation has not quite grabbed the bull by the horns either. It’s a transitional period and part of the problem is JK won’t stick with younger people long, or plays them out of position, and so with the exception of maybe Zardes, you don’t have the necessary next set of players breaking through and starting to lead.
Just if you think about the players who might lead, they are either old and playing increasingly poor, or they are often people like Guzan or Jozy who play ok one night and crap the next. And then there’s the defense, which is a nightmare. Klinsi has papered over the transition problem with passport players but unless he has a few more up his sleeve we have a transitional struggle we have to work through.
There is clearly a talent gap, but we have also been relatively successful in the past with less talented players at our disposal. Holding on so tightly to our aging players is throwing off the rest of the 11.
IE: We really want to start JJ. JJ and MB partnership in the middle has not worked. To facilitate playing both of them, we then have to bring in Beckerman who is another aging player. This spot could easily go to a lee Nguyen, Bedoya, Zardes, Feilhaber ect..
We also really want to start Dempsey. He is our most talented player and only consistent goalscorer. However, Dempsey is not mobile enough to play on the wings, doesn’t do any defensive work as a withdrawn striker, doesn’t run the channels or consistently make himself available as an outlet. Would a more mobile attacking front be more effective on the counter and to press the opposition higher up the field?
Both of these guys can only play in an off balanced 4-4-2 which does not suit the rest of the team. We are shoehorning more talented, older players at the expense of the rest of the starting lineup.
If you care ab out your team winning, you play where your coach tells you and give it your all. Haven’t you ever heard that there is no I in team? As far as “forced to defend”, Zardes was supposed to be a winger, but he was back defending for most of the game. You do what needs to be done. It’s called keeping your job. If what you write mirrors your attitude, as a former manager in a large organization, I would never want you working for me.
Gary your point is well taken but it is odd that FJ goes from one of the coaches constant selections to this. If you watch FJ from the time he came into the full team it is very obvious that he is talented but he is never fully committed to defending. It was me who posted that Frankie Hedjuk or other former right backs might have broken up that play had they been fully engaged to defend. Watch the tapes FJ and Chandler never have been fully committed to defend,
It just seems odd that FJ has gone from penthouse to doghouse in one game
I’m got 100% agree with FJ was never fully engaged to defend for the team. But I won’t argue with it. If it were as you say FJ was not 100% the entire time he has played for the US, doesn’t that fall on the coach? The coach is suppose to get the best out of his players.
You constantly with you’re personal insults.All I was doing was bringing up a point that youre taking a player who usually attacks and goes at people, to sit back at defend with little say in attack. Also if the coach constantly plays people out of position, which he does, then the player does have a right to be pissed, because it is not working. Bradley is not a 10, fj is not a rb, and its happened before, over and over. According to your opinion no player should have any right to have any individuality and just listen to what the manager says, and thats not how team sports work. It’s a working relationship. It also really doesnt matter whos in the right here. If klinsi isnt calling up fj anymore than klinsi should be gone, you cant neglect a hands down starter on youre side, any manager in the world would be fired for that.
Now as for you’re constant insults… You are a sad sad man that anytime anyone has anything to say on here, you think you are high and mighty and can personally insult them just because of their opinion in a message board. You must live a sad life if that’s what you spend your time doing. I am not going to stoop to your level cause I am better than that, but I can promise you I am far more successful in this life than you every will be. Now go home and rant to your dog about how you wouldn’t hire him because people are sick of hearing it on here.
I am sorry to offend you. I don’t know you from Adam. Maybe you are a wonderful person, I don’t know. What I don’t like is the attitude, which has become all too common (I know since I have taught school) that the world owes people a living., Try going to your boss and telling him/her you think you should do another job more fitting to your talents. Or telling him/her that you can’t finish an important project because you are too tired and want to go home. Have we become a nation of wimps? Professional athletes are lucky to make a lot of money playing a game. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for those who find something like this too tough. A single mother working two jobs to support her kids, now that’s tough. I would say that most of my working life I had bosses that I either didn’t like or who were not competent. That doesn’t mean you don’t do your best or work hard. You don’t have to take yourself seriously, but if you don’t take your job seriously, whether it’s sports or anything else, you shouldn’t be doing that job or maybe anything else. It’s called self pride. As regards to Fabian Johnson we don’t know enough to make a judgment. But to excuse a player for not trying hard because it’s not his best position is a total cop out.
And get off this guy’s lawn!
And where are those TPS reports!
I truly hope soccer dad reads this. I believe this is was jks anger stemmed from. Not being a patsy and deflected his blame for the loss
“But to excuse a player for not trying hard because it’s not his best position is a total cop out.”
I haven’t read or heard anything regarding Fabian Johnson not trying hard because it’s not his best position. In essence, sulking and dogging the entire match because he doesn’t like playing right back?
We’ve gone from faking an injury or begging off at the end of the match to Fabian Johnson not trying hard the entire match?
Where is this information coming from?
By your example you are suggesting that this has been an ongoing issue with Fabian Johnson. For entire matches?
If there is evidence to support this, then yes, it is an issue that needs remedy. Maybe I’ve missed the reports about FJ sulking and dogging entire matches. We’ll see what information comes out to support these accusations.
Regardless of what we all think about JK playing people out of position, a player’s job is to play where he’s asked to play. No question about it. And Fabian has played full-back many times. There was nothing wrong with JK playing him there.
He was coming back from injury though so maybe it’s not that outrageous that he was gassed after 111 minutes. Maybe there’s more to it.
FJ is one of the top players in the pool though so they need to fix whatever issues they have asap.
at least he doesn’t show favorites… a pro player should be in shape to run a full 120 in his opinion. I don’t have a problem with that.
how about a pro player who is just returning from injury?
He couldn’t go 9 more minutes?
Depends. Did Johnson feel like he could not go further? Would his staying on the field hurt the team? I’m not sure why JK is mad, it’s not like he was going to replace him with an offensive minded player. JK said he was going to sub out Guzan for Rimando if it went to PK’s.
Johnson doens’t want to play RB and klinsmann set him up to fail. Just like philip Lahm called out klinsmann for putting him at LB
Prada, you are right. The whole problem with the way Klinsmann structures his defense is that he has the fullbacks making runs into he attacking third way to often.While coaches like Bruce Arena and other will use fullbacks to make runs, Klinsmann overdoes it. That is why he like Yedlin and Zardes. When the fullbacks do make runs, it leave holes in the back, These have to be covered by Def. Mids like Jones and Beckerman or the last time Bedoya. The problem lies when the opponents see the holes before you or you depend on your faster players to make runs back to fill the holes or pressure the opponents passing game. Zardes does a huge amount of running back to defend, and it takes him out of the attacking third. Zardes crosses very well, if you saw that sweet, fast pinpoint ball to Dos Santos for a goal in the last Galaxy game you know what I mean. Yedlin is quick fast and has learned to be a good defensive full back, but his crossing is usually off or not particularly accurate. I see a big problem with the interchanging of the wingers with fullbacks in that Klinsmann are using both positions as interchangeable. They are not. It’s confusing for the opponents, but is also creates hole in the back line, force defenders into unfamiliar places, causes more energy and tires you out quicker. If you lose the ball while your fullback is making a run, it will allow the attackers in and you defense undermanned making your centerbacks vulnerable.
I have not looked at a heat map of Fabian Johnson, but I bet he did way more running than he has done since returning from injury. FJ’s best position is as a winger or wide midfield. To criticize him when he’s playing out of position is not wise coaching, even though he has played well as a fullback before.
If the US looked like it was parking the bus at times, It’s probably because they were gassed. I also noticed that 50-50 balls were being concede way too often.
I realy think that Klinsmann has reached the end of his rope and out of ideas. He is starting to lash out at players.
I think he may have lost the dressing room, but are somewhat cowed after LD, which was the intent of that whole escapade.
It won’t be too long where Gulati will have to decide.,
Thank you! Best post i have read in a while.
From early on in the game I saw a lot of slow jogging by the US. I did not see a lot of hard running. I thought maybe they were trying to conserve themselves because of the heat, but the hardest run from the back seemed to me to come from Cameron. I don’t recall seeing Johnson making a lot of runs and Zardes seemed to spend most of his time in the last third defending. I agree with you on principle regarding over doing the full back runs, but I didn’t see that the US backs were making many runs simply because the team had so little of the ball.
bottlcaps,
i did not see the usa-mexico game.
usually, like this:
– 4 in the back
– outside backs are speedy “wing backs”
– defense wins ball, plays it to wide wing back
– wing back (with one foot “in the chalk”) makes am overlapping run up the wing
– KEY POINT: winger HAS THE BALL, thus quickly putting any opposing attacking players in an OFFSIDE POSITION. (see?)
– thus forcing all the offside players on the other team to run back and get into onside positions again.
– the other 3 full backs center themselves on field like a 3 man back line.
– as winger brings ball up field, goal keeper tells back line to move up higher
– aware d mids stay close to back line just in case
A) winger has the ball
B) offsides rule forces other team into retreat behind your speedy winger
i did not see this usa-mex game, but i have seen this kind of offense in mls and in previous usa teams.
traditionally, in the past, usa teams did not have this “holes” problem, imo.
+1… this is bush league stuff that managers do to deflect the blame on to others.
General comments here, not a direct response. I like Fabian Johnson, but he’s Fabian Johnson and he plays for the USMNT. He isn’t Philip Lahm. So, let’s kill that. He’s Fabian Johnson and he’s been told to be effective at RB. Make your runs. Get back. First time I really disliked Fabian Johnson was in this game. Giving up possession repeatedly . And then on a counter that almost came off, he had made a run on the right side of the box, and threw his hands up because he didn’t get the ball as the play was still developing. Again, who are you. You’re Fabian Johnson. Even if you’re Maldini, keep your hands down and play the game. 45th min > whistle was almost entirely sickening, except for a few bright spots. And finish the game, dude. Even with that disgusting display in the 2nd half…the game could’ve been stolen and Mexico would’ve been gutted. How does one not understand that. I’m glad Klinsmann sent him home. Weak. See Odell Beckham reentering the game this past Sunday.
FJ and Beasley were pinched in A LOT in that game due to the 4-3-3 used by Mexico. that left Zardes and Jones doing most of the running out wide. at least, this is according to analysis I have seen and almost every comment from our players. Bradley went into detail on how the back four were so pinched in centrally that it left a TON of space out wide for the mids to cover.
either way, it’s insane JK would put FJ on blast publicly.
Prada dude, Lahm was playing in the midfield last summer for Germany.
Fabian johnsons best position for the U.S. men’s team is on the back line.
Dikranovich, obviously Klinsi wasn’t the Germany coach last year. Do you remember the time when Klinsmann coached the German National team from 2004 through 2006? Or when he coached Lahm a couple years later at Bayern?
If you mean best position for us as most of need? YES. The kid is so much better as a midfielder. And he is not that fast like others posters tend to believe, he has decent speed but not at the Yedlin, Morris or even Wood level. He is more like Zardes level.
From my vantage point Fabian had looked really slow and tired from early in the second half. Not sure what it looked like on TV. I was surprised that both Jones and he stayed on as long as they did. Frankly we needed more subs than we had, Altidore and Dempsey both deserved to be pulled as well.
Too bad this wasn’t a friendly.
JK is the master of the 6 sub friendly…
Is hard to compete against anyone by countering when you have a Jozy or a Dempsey playing up on top.
We gave up the winner within those 9 minutes, which we had to survive even to even get PKs. I think it’s the honorable thing to say, I’m gassed get me out, before you cost us. The coach can then do the right thing, which is evaluate whether you are fit enough for your spot. And that can happen without what sounds like an accusation the player faked injury or let his team down. What FJ did, to me, is professionalism. “Team over me.” JK then tries to make it into some selfish act because he’s upset we lost. Drives out a decent player who now may tell us to jump in a lake when the call comes, as Chandler once did.
We don’t have enoufgh information to make that or any other evaluation. Another poster yesterday said that much earlier in the game Johnson slowly jogged when
DMB had been beaten and didn;’t make the effort to cover like he could have, resulting in a goal. Perhaps Klinsmann reviewed tghe tape and it was that which got him angry–a lack of effort.
Another poster yesterday said that when the match started that Klinsmann was looking into the stands and didn’t notice that Mexico was playing a 4-3-3 and was slow to to make changes like he could have, resulting in a goal.
Perhaps if Klinsmann had reviewed the tape he would have noticed how much effort his outside fullbacks were going to have to put forth to deal with Mexico’s attack and that they may tire if the match was going to go into extra time.
Mexico’s 4-3-3 was reported 3 days ago! JK should have been prepared for that.
I watched ESPN FC on DVR. They mentioned senior players on the team were annoyed at FJ. They said he asked out. This is not good. He should not have made it public.
Based on the commentators, Wondo was the next sub up. Has JK learned nothing?
Lol…no surprise that you have no problem with that.
Bet you don’t have a problem with Klinsmann calling out Bedoya at halftime of the Brazil match instead of accepting responsibility for the failed experiment.
Or Klinsmann blaming the ref’s for the USMNT’s 4th place finish at the Gold Cup.
It’s always someone else’s fault.
“It’s always someone else’s fault.”
so it’s JK’s fault that FJ was too tired to continue?
re:Bedoya. He’s played PLENTY of CM in his career; so it wasn’t really an experiment there. He had a bad day and the coach was unhappy with his performance. Being upset with a player’s poor performance is somehow wrong?
Coaches blame refs… get used to it; such is sport…
Playing an attacking CM and a #6 are not at all the same, especially at the international level. Bedoya has never played the #6 for club or country, prior to Brazil.
correct and fair enough, i still think it less an ‘experiment’ than SoccerDad implied.
“so it’s JK’s fault that FJ was too tired to continue?”
It’s Klinsmann’s fault that he had to make a patsy out of Fabian Johnson for the loss. In the end, did that substitution have any impact on the deciding goal of the match? No.
So why bring it up? Why deflect away from the other issues of the match? Why do we need an explanation of what Klinsmann wanted to do rather than concentrate on what he actually did to determine the outcome of the match? Because he cowardly looks for any excuse that will render himself faultless for the result. He does it with every bad result.
“re:Bedoya. He’s played PLENTY of CM in his career; so it wasn’t really an experiment there”
Either you are choosing to ignore the obvious to try and win a losing argument or you just don’t know the difference between an attacking midfielder and a defensive (holding) midfielder. Yes, both are played in the central midfield (CM), but require different mentalities and set of skills. Very few players possess both the mentality and skill set to be effective at both.
If you believe that any attacking midfielder can play the holding midfield position and vice-versa, then you need to watch more soccer.
I would guess that Kyle Beckerman has never played the attacking midfield position at the international level and probably never at the club level. Would you have expected Beckerman to be successful if Klinsmann had decided to play Beckerman at the attacking midfield position against Brazil? Why or why not? If it wasn’t successful, would it have been Beckerman’s fault for not playing the position successfully against a top 5 international team?
Bedoya has never played a defensive midfield position as a professional. Why would he be expected to be successful as a defensive midfielder against Brazil? Klinsmann put Bedoya in a position to fail, then made Bedoya the patsy. A cowardly move by a desperate coach.
There is nothing wrong with being upset with a players poor performance. There is something wrong with deflecting your responsibility as a coach to put your team in a position to succeed by singling out a player that was put in a position to fail.
“Coaches blame refs… get used to it; such is sport…”
Leaders accept responsibility and hold themselves accountable. Klinsmann wants responsibility without accountability.
The ref’s were not reason the USMNT failed at the Gold Cup. Another cowardly attempt to deflect his own failure as a leader and coach.
sure, you got it bro.
my main point is that JK isn’t even blaming FJ for the loss. All he did was explain why he released him. JK was unhappy with him for not being fit to play a full 120 in an important game. He sent him home to ‘[think about what he did, learn, and get better]’. He’s not hiding behind anything. He didn’t “blame” bedoya for the loss, he was angry for bedoya not performing and also the team lost, mutually exclusive. the refs were bad but he didn’t claim THAT was the reason the US lost. That is all spun by people like you. and that’s fine but at least recognize when you spin. Find me where it says above that JK blames FJ for the loss?
I’ll wait…
A “patsy” is blaming someone for something (in this case quiting) to cover up something else (another poor USMNT performance). Never wrote that Klinsmann blamed the loss on Fabian Johnson.
Never wrote that Klinsmann blamed Bedoya for the Brazil loss. Klinsmann did blame Bedoya for not performing when Klinsmann put Bedoya in a position to fail though. Do you really believe that Bedoya was put in a position to succeed?
Would you applaud Klinsmann if he started Beckerman as an attacking mid vs Brazil and had to be subbed off mid first half because he couldn’t play attacking mid effectively? Fair question?
Klinsmann did blame the ref’s for the Gold Cup result (even though he says he doesn’t want to…funny really).
“A big problem hanging over us is called Concacaf. We don’t want to blame anybody. I am not blaming the referees, but I’m just telling you, the referees had a huge influence on the outcome of the Gold Cup.”
That is a direct quote from Klinsmann. Huh? I don’t want to, but I will blame the refs. Too funny…
So regardless of jk owning up to the loss he’s not allowed to be mad at a player that didn’t have himself fit and prepare to put in a full shift ?? That’s not a “patsy”. Many many many coaches have and would be mad for a player requesting a sub. In soccer culture it’s a major no no; disrespect to the coach for believing in him.
Becks has played cam before (more of a 442 with license to roam) but if he plays poorly then yes the coach can be mad. Is that hard to grasp? Fair question?
Jk blamed the refs for the outcome of the gold cup, not for the U.S. Losing… Pretty obvious difference.
soccer dad in cali,
please relax.
you disagree with DLOA, fine.
can you just say that without the tar and feathers?
Lol…
Just good fun reading DLOA try and spin Jurgen Klinsmann as faultless for anything that goes wrong.
Good to know that JK has relatives here with us at SBI.
U must have me confused; I’m not spinning anything. I try to take context out and judge accordingly. A player is capable of playing defense, he plays cm and it didn’t go well. That’s not the coaches fault. That’s the player. It’s not a gk playing striker or a 5’2″ cam playing gk. it’s a midfielder playing rcm.
The refs were obviously bad and the coach pointed that out (mind you they were bad in all games not just a U.S. One). This is not the coach blaming the refs for his teams loss. Just saying the Concacaf reffing has to be better.
And if I have to explain one more time how ANY player requesting a sub generally results in a coach that’s angry.
Everyone else is putting here spins on this to for their anti jk narrative. My points don’t make me pro-jk. Just rational and logical…. I could really care less if jk stays or goes but I don’t think he’s messin up like others do.
You can do this without showing the guy up. “FJ has been released back to his club.” Then he doesn’t get called for a while. Maybe a word is given or an e-mail sent saying his fitness will be monitored. Message sent and received between the necessary parties. Involving the public is nasty.
You do this once to someone like Jozy maybe you get away with it. But he’s starting to throw most of the team under the bus. Surely that will affect morale at some point. He’s gotta be nearing if not at another “Honduras” where his future is questionable and his command over the team is weakened. Lashing out makes you look like you’ve lost control.
I agree ideally the player is fit enough to last but I cannot blame someone who feels exhausted or tight from getting out before they cost the team. It’s like we forget we then gave up the winner. Didn’t come off his side.
The implication he cost us the game is crazy, the goal comes off DmB’s side. And the idea he cost us getting Rimando in for PKs proved counter-factual. We didn’t even make it there. That notion suggests JK’s big plan was to survive to PKs. Wow, that’s real aggressive coaching.
Sorry but to me this sounds like a coach losing control and lashing out and we’re not doing well enough, nor does he have a solid base of support here, where I think he can cheapshot player after player and it doesn’t affect how the team reacts. I’m going to be interested what happens after tomorrow night.
What does “someone like Jozy” mean?
And why would he “get away with it”?
I am assuming that he means someone that feels entitled, lazy and care more about Haiti than putting his hand over his chest for the national anthem.
IT should be done to Dempsy as well. He is now in the same boat as Wondo for me. Show some effort and act like your S dont Stink.
Sunil needs to stop treating JK like a sacred cow.