Jurgen Klinsmann has heard the critiques and criticisms, but that doesn’t mean the U.S. Men’s National Team head coach and U.S. Soccer technical director agrees that the program is in some sort of regression.
Following a difficult summer and fall, the U.S. Soccer program looks to rebound heading into the closing months of 2015. The USMNT settled for fourth at the Gold Cup before falling in the CONCACAF Cup, signaling a lackluster campaign for the senior team.
Meanwhile, the youth programs have fared equally. The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team was recently bounced from the group stages of its World Cup, while the Under-23 side disappointed in CONCACAF qualifying and is now set for a do-or-die playoff against Colombia. The Under-20 group did stand out at its World Cup this summer, earning a quarterfinal berth before falling to eventual champion Serbia in penalty kicks. Criticism grew throughout that tournament, however, about the cynical way the Americans were playing.
Under Klinsmann’s watch, each U.S. youth team did fare better this cycle than they did in the prior one, signaling some growth in the overarching program. That growth, Klinsmann says, is vital, even if the results aren’t quite where many want them to be.
“When you hear a lot of people talking some things are going wrong because you lost maybe two or three games recently, then that’s a bit immature,” Klinsmann said in a video releases by U.S. Soccer. “That’s simply wrong. There is a lot of work ahead of us in all of our areas, but there’s also a lot of excitement because our players are hungry for improvement. I think we can be proud of ourselves in what we’ve done so far, the last couple of years in all age groups. I think this is what a lot of people, unfortunately, forget quickly.
“Because, suddenly, we came out of the Group of Death (at the World Cup) in Brazil, I don’t know, people now expect maybe miracles, expect you to get easily into the final four of a World Cup or final eight, or have our Under-20s win the World Cup in New Zealand or our Under-17s win the World Cup in Chile. And that’s not gonna happen because this is only a process that over many, many years will, hopefully, one day end in big, big successes.”
The USMNT returns to action on Tuesday against Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup qualifying (6:30 pm, beIN Sports).
What do you think of Klinsmann’s comments? Is he right, or are the expectations from fans and media justified?
Share your thoughts below.
When Jurgen was hired I was all for it. He was the “Pyramid is Upside Down in the US” man. Now I have watched him for four years coaching the UNMNT team, which I have been watching since 1994, and what I see is a bull shit artist. I see a guy who talks like he is a coach when really he is no such thing. For him to be talking about USMNT fans as immature for criticizing his coaching is so full of shit I just want to throw up. Fuck this asshole. He is so full of shit I can’t believe he has the gall to let the bull shit fall out of his mouth. Get rid if this asshole immediately. I was hoping the US would lose to T and T so he would be fired. From now on I am going to rooting for the other nations the US plays. This guy is such a fraud artist he can to to hell with Gunlis Sulati. There is no way we can have a really competitive viable team with this idiot coaching our USMNT team.
Talk about immature… Look within Klinsmann. Just accept some criticism and share a little blame now and then will you?
Klinamann says dealing criticism is part of the job, but calls out the fans at the same time. He’s thrown some players under the bus at times and made similar comments about the fan base on more than one occasion. If he’d just accept that there is reason for criticism and at least some portion of it is fair to level at him, I think it would go a long way.
Others have mentioned that it’s more than a few games. It’s also indicative of some very poor results (relative to his predecessors) in meaningful competition when you consider we had our worst showing in the Gold Cup in 15 years, one of our worst in the history of the competition. It put us in danger of missing out on the Confederations Cup and then we did miss out after a home loss to Mexico. Getting out of the “Group of Death” (arguable, but a very good group and worthy of some props) was an accomplishment, but we really only produced one good performance in the tournament, hung on for dear life through a lot of it and could have been truly embarrassed by Belgium without Howard’s heroics. Getting out of the group is great, but it’s not out of the ordinary for the US at this point and I think it’s immature on his part to assume the American public saw it as some signal of our arrival and made false assumptions based on it.
As for the progress at youth level:
U-23/Olympic squad… well, I guess we’ll see, but they are taking the hard road having missed automatic qualification. We have a spotty record at this stage, should be nowhere to go but up. So far, we’ve failed to qualify once and are dangerously close to seeing it happen again under JK.
U-20s made the quarters of the WC, which was a solid performance, but hardly rare air for our program. Fair to say it’s an improvement over the past few iterations, but we’ve also gotten to that same level 3 times before and were qualifying and advancing regularly for a good long stretch prior to going out at the group stage in 2009 and not qualifying in 2011. So I’d say the u20s are about back to where they were more or less. I’ll take that and call it a turn around, but nothing spectacular.
U-17s, maybe a marginal improvement after not qualifying in 2013 (JK was in place for that too), but I’m not impressed by going out in the group stage when we’ve had a good track record of advancing and sometimes making the quarters in this age group.
Maybe some of this adds up to marginal improvement over the very recent past, but it’s no clear positive youth revolution.
All in all, a pretty mixed bag that people are quite justified in questioning.
This has probably already been mentioned, as I haven’t looked at this post since it first dropped, but regardless of if he’s spot on or not, or somewhere in-between, good leaders shouldn’t publicly dismiss criticism as immature.
The reasons for that rule are too many to list.
I don’t want to waste my time on them because I wonder if JK actually meant “premature”. It’s kind of a similar word, and they can even mean the same thing in the right context. It might just have been a non-native english speaking slip up.
Has anyone else notice JK says “They have a lot of guys playing in the English Championship” but by my count they only have Kenwyne Jones, and two guys in the first division. Maybe our scouting department should use Wikipedia.
Does anyone else ever get the feeling there is really only about 20 people on here and half them have 10 screen names just so it looks like a lot of people agree with them.
I have noticed other sites where they allowed people to use screen names and then they switched over to using real names (usually connecting to Facebook). Not only do the comments decrease, they become more civil once people know who you are. Some food for thought.
Yes, but even though my comments are usually pretty civil, I probably wouldn’t post if as much if I had to sign in that way. I do find even with real names and pictures people are still pretty uncivilized on newspaper and tv website comment sections.
counterpoint: espnfc
also, i don’t have a facebook account (yes, i’m the one) and i’m pretty sure it’s blocked at my office anyway, which is usually where i am when visiting sbi. call me naive, but i don’t think there are that many sock puppets here, and they’ve been pretty easy to spot.
I just saw Ireland vs, Bosnia. Ireland reminded me of the latter day USA team. Moderate ball skills, Just average ability to possess the ball. Certainly not as skillful as Bosnia. But man, what courage, what determination all game long. Closing down everything and winning against a favored team .Sure if JK were coaching Ireland they would be playing a different game than the one they showed and probably would have lost and been out of the Euro cup. I guess O”neill just doesnt get it.
I just went and checked their roster. They have 14 players who play in the EPL and last year’s MLS MVP who didn’t get off the bench today as I recall.. The US has 4 in the EPL and 2 are GK’s, 2 in the Bundesliga, counting Brooks who is with the U-23’s (3 if you count AJ who is injured) and one in France, who isn’t with the team now because of illness. So based on their club resumes, we don’t quite match up to the Irish.
i actually think that ireland is probably better than us at this point, but your epl example is a little unfair due to the easier process for irish players to get a work permit in england. you might as well say that england is easily the greatest team in the world because of the vast majority of english players in the epl.
I’m confused wasn’t it him who said he would get us to the semis in 2018 and now he is saying its stupid to think so. Time to fire this clown. I’m tired of his excuses. No one is asking for the impossible just improvement which is not being seen. How long has already been at the helm? Like 5 years and he’s still making excuses time to for a change before the hex.
For someone who wants the soccer culture in this country to become more advanced, Jurgen sure does love insulting the soccer community.
I suppose that when Sunil finally grows a pair and fires his ass (like every other team has) He will call us immature. It’s immature to expect more after 5 years I guess. Lens not make it 6
Klinsmann out.
Jurgen has indeed accomplished a real first — an internet board about US soccer in which there is almost complete agreement. Or perhaps I should get over to the zoo and check to see if the lion has laid down with the lamb.
SBI has become one big social echo chamber.
Yeah, +1 to that. I mean…wow. This place has changed quite a bit.
i agree that the comments on this site have gone downhill over the past few years, but it’s interesting that you’d pick this post to say that about: these comments (ignoring dan, of course) seem pretty rational and not as reactionary as they are on other posts. maybe you just don’t like what they’re saying?
Nate, Old School is a blind supporter of Klinsmann. He will take issue with any poster that is negative of Klinsmann, no matter how rational or spot on their comments might be. If this same thread was full of people praising Klinsmann he’d say something like, “its great how this website has become so knowledgeable and insightful”.
Bottom line is this website is the same as it has always been, reactionary. When things are good the comments are positive, when things are bad (as they are right now) the comments are negative. That is normal and typical of any fan base.
There’s no room for discussion. This website has become akin to a political atmosphere of insulated views, warding off any dissenting opinion the mob doesn’t agree with and shouting them down when they do.
The SBI staff have joined in too click-bait topics and completely absurd commentary. This was an actual questioned posed to SBI readers when Donovan get the “itch” to coach in some capacity. (Disclaimer, this is the real question asked by Franco – SBI Staff)
“Is Donovan just secretly hoping to be replace Klinsmann before the 2018 World Cup as payback for what happened last year?”
^ When the actual staff of the website is of that quality, you really can’t blame the mob for following suit in such an ignorant fashion. It’s simply disappointing how low-quality SBI has come since Ives went to Goal.com full time.
Typical JK, who said us demanding we win tournaments? we expect improvement, we expect the program to have a concise method of playing between the ages. We expect our senior team to develop their own style of play, sorry JK, parking the bus is already taken by the former coach, you need to come up with something different and better.
“Under Klinsmann’s watch, each U.S. youth team did fare better this cycle than they did in the prior one, signaling some growth in the overarching program.”
Just some comparisons…The US U-17 team had two quarterfinal appearances and two round of 16 appearances in U-17 world cups in the 2000s. Compare to the results during the Klinsmann era. There were two olympics appearances, including a semifinal, in the 2000s. Nothing so far this decade. Moreover, today there is a large pool of players that are not products of the US youth system, something we didn’t have last decade. Yet the results are more and more dismal.
Immature, but not PRE-mature.
Uh oh. Ilike you JK, but you really have to watch what you say. Know your audience. Granted, Arena often said blunt, similar things.
in context it sort of seems like he meant to say premature.
(that wasn’t meant to be in reply to commenter above)
I was thinking the same thing. A foot-in-mouth statement that adds to his reputation treating US fans as children, but “premature” seems to make more sense.
I have thought that about a lot of Klinsman statements over the years that sometimes his worst comments seem to be related to English not being his native language, but again if US Soccer put out the video in which the comment occurs, why do you do that? Does no one watch the video before putting it up.
I thought the headline was misleading since he didn’t say all criticisms were immature, but certain ones were “a bit immature.”
Klinsmann’s problem is that his team hasn’t been overperforming like it did under his predecessors.
Based in the available talent I’d say the latest results were pretty fair
The entire point of having a manager is to get a group of players to play as more then the sum. If not then lets just pick rosters by voting online.
So talent is irrelevant. You realize only a handful of nations have ever won a world cup? AND, not so coincidentally, those nations also produce the best coaches, historically. The rest of us, including Sri Lanka and Ethiopia, throw in maybe Greenland too, should be right up there as soon as we find a proper manager.. Please ! Get off the crack and dose up on world soccer, history, maybe even some reality.
Who is talking about winning a World Cup? We are being out played by much of Concacaf at this point. We don’t have the players to beat Jamaica or Panama at home, anymore?
Maybe not all the time we don’t. But over a long period we are still better than them, and we’ll qualify for the next world cup and they probably won’t.
I went back and just checked the US roster for the 2006 World Cup, where we got a total of 1 point in group play. I haven’t included everyone, but those who were regulars on the team either there or in qualifying. GK–Keller and Howard. Defenders–Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Onyewu, Pope, and Berhalter. Midfield–Beasley, Reyna, Dempsey, Mastroeni, E. Lewis, O’Brien. Forwards–McBride, Donovan, E Johnson, Wolff, and Ching. I think a fair assessment is that any 11 we could have put on the field from that group at that time would have at least equaled the players who played in 2014 and since. We are not necessarily stronger now in the starting 11 than we were back then, but stronger in 12-25
JK should be fired. Just wait until the T&T game. we will be lucky if we gat a tie. St. Vincent was not even and opponent!
And. . . couldn’t you shoe horn anything negative about Jozy in there, Dan?
I’m concerned.
Should Bradley have been fired when we lost there in 2008?
Bradley’s team lost to T&T in 2008 after we had already clinched a spot in the Hex. It was a nothing match for the US
Brian- With Guatemala’s 2-0 loss at home this match is pretty much a throw away as well. Its just scheduled 2nd instead of last. I can’t see Guatemala getting more than 7 points out of this group and with another 3 pretty much assured at STV. We are in a pretty safe spot after one round.
I don’t think firing JK solves a single problem we have related to the global game, and JK’s long-view is right. But but I do think its reasonable to judge his performance as manager based on CONCACAF results. We have recently lost to Costa Rica, lost to Mexico (his first time as manager), tied and then lost to Panama (on penalties) and lost to Jamaica. We did not make the final of our regional tournament and failed to achieve the goal of getting to the Confed Cup. These are bad results, period. Certainly managers have been fired for much less. If JK had said upfront that regional results might suffer in the short-term in order to improve the whole of the progam long-term, perhaps fans may have bought into that. But that’s not what he has said, or the results he has achieved until recently. I’m fine if a manager hits a rought patch as long as he adapts. He’s earned himself a few more games to do that, but not many more.
A sensible and well thought out comment. Is Mourinho a bad manager? England didn’t get out of their group, but Roy Hodgson is still their manager and they then won their group in Euro qualifying. It is not uncommon for even excellent teams to have slumps. People forget that the US is a pretty good team, not an excellent one.
wait. I thought costa rica was the one that came out of the group of death
didn’t juts come out but won the group, and won a knock out match
Group of death is generally considered after the draw before the tournament begins. Once the tournament begins it no longer matters since weird things tend to happen like Pepe losing his mind, Jozy pulling a hammy 4 minutes into the first game, Saurez biting someone. But honestly, its over and JK needs to move on. He’s starting to sound like that 45 year old sitting at the end of the bar talking about how he scored that touchdown in high school. There really was no group of death as no 2nd place team got out of the Round of 16 so then you’d have to look at 3rd and 4th place teams which is just splitting hairs.
not to mention the Ghana players refusing to play
At the time of the draw I believe the US group had the highest Fifa Rankings, by the time of the Cup I believe CR’s group was tied with the US group. Afterwards it was rated better because its worst team going in, CR won had three wins and with the most to gain moved up the most in the ratings.
Don’t forget England and Italy opened in Manaus and neither side really recovered. Only Portugal won a game after playing in Manaus and that was against already eliminated and unpaid Ghana. But again its dumb to still bring up the “Group of Death” a year and a half later.
U.S. would have advanced one game further had Klinsmann had Donovan on the roster. That would have been one of the biggest days in U.S. soccer history to play Argentina on the Fourth of July. That roster decision probably caused a massive missed opportunity.
That’s not true, how on earth would one player who have made a difference against Belgium. They totally dominated us from start to finish. If not for Howard’s amazing effort it would have been 3-0 or more. Criticizing not taking LD is fine, but to say he would have allowed us to beat Belgium is not even close to reality.
I happened across a YouTube video of the Belgian highlights of that game. Considering just the times when they had Howard beaten, but missed a half open net, the score could have been 5-0. That game was like the jv playing the varsity.
And the game would have been played on July 5. To play on July 4 we would have had to beat Germany and Algeria, and then played France not Argentina.
I think it’s time to just accept the fact that this guy is a thin-skinned d-bag. He has it more cushy than probably 95% of his fellow national team managers, and still gets insulted when people criticize not only the lack of results, but the fact that most of the teams in the NT setup are getting embarrassed on a regular basis. His doublespeak is truly Orwellian.
ooo bad comments. sounds like the pressure is getting to him.
i thought the tone would be all confidence going into the second qualifier.
we didn’t just lose a couple of games.. we lost out on qualifying for the Confed Cup and (in danger of) Olympics. Not only that but we have lost our claim for being a top team in the region right now; Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and Jamaica all have good results vs us recently.. going three and out in the U17 WC doesn’t help your cause either, the U20 run was nice..
no question that in 2015 we have regressed. stop bringing up 2014 or 2013, go out a beat T&T, qualify for the Olympics and don’t ask for any forgiveness until these are done.
Is JK trolling? Are their not PR people at US Soccer, why would anyone from US Soccer want this statement released. I coach high school basketball and yes there certainly are times that I think the parents or community members are ridiculous with their expectations, but I don’t say it because it would serve no purpose.
This is what I was thinking too. He should know better than to respond in this manner. Did he not face this kind of criticism in Germany (and then some)? Isn’t this kind of attention indicative of our growth as a fanbase and soccer nation? Didn’t he say it was good to face pressure?
If he thinks some of the complaints by fans are phased in an immature way, I guess I can agree. But the basis for the complaints are legit. The results have been poor, the way the team has played has been poor, and even the body language at the Costa Rica match was poor, and its been many long years since I’ve seen that in a US team.
To me it’s immature to make a list of excuses during every single interview you give.
What a joke klinsi is turning out to be.
“When you hear a lot of people talking … because you’ve lost maybe two or three games recently”????
Is he using common core math here, or do they count differently in Europe. The senior team has lost five out of six before our huge, groundbreaking, program-changing victory on Friday, and the junior teams are all stinking it up.
Way to put a varnish of $hite on the situation, Klinsmann. You still suck.
Technically its true we lost to Jamaica, Panama goes into the record as a draw even still that’s two in a row. We then beat Peru and lost to Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica. So we lost 2 in a row won one then we lost 3 in a row. Pure coach spin and really pointless because we all can do the math ourselves.
Oh I see because Klinsmann’s amazing coaching got us out to the group of death (which wasn’t) stupid US fans like me now expect too much. We suddenly expect our youth teams to win world cups (not, just expect them to play like a team). It’s Klinsmann’s amazing successes that have now caused us to expect too much. Yet again he blames someone else.
the only reason why it was a “group of death” it was because there was one world class teams and 3 average teams
The reason why it was called that was because all of the teams in that group made it to at least the round of 16 the previous World Cup. No other group had that.
Only Jk would make those remarks.
No one said anything about the u20 World Cup. But he somehow fails to mention the Gold cup, the CONCACAF Cup, the u23 failure, the u17s poor showing. It surely is w process that will take time. But he props up the success of the World Cup, but ignores the many disasters of recent contests.
The Anerican fan is not only upset by these losses, but has lost faith in the JK regime due to the way in which we’ve played. The formation, tactics, line up, roster selections, and poor form have convinced many to discuss a change at the top.
It’s not immature. He’s had many years to begin correcting the issues and installing his style. Unfortunately, it appears we are regressing, and when that happens the criticisms rightfully come.
In his mind that whole thing equates to loses two-three games.
I wish I was smart enough and growed up enough to understand soccer like a European person,
First we are not true soccer nation cause no one asks the hard question, now we ask questions want a coach to be held accountable and now we are immature. I don’t get it.
Giles Barnes and Darren Mattocks are just 2 of the best in the world, it would take many miracles to shut them down. We might never have a player pool that can compete on that level. Someone like Besler’s probably only seen players on that level on TV. So lets all just be a little more mature, and Alvarado is the future.
I’m finding it easier and easier to really dislike Klinsmann.