U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team forward Jordan Morris has faced some scrutiny after deciding to turn down a contract offer from Werder Bremen, but U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is apparently happy with his choice.
On Wednesday, Klinsmann spoke about Morris’ decision to turn down a deal with the Bundesliga club, saying that he is just happy he has decided to take the next step in his development and turn pro.
“I’m thrilled that Jordan decided to go pro,” Klinsmann told ESPN FC. “This is the really important decision. And I’m thrilled with the Sounders, that he goes into an environment that he knows, that he feels comfortable with, and that he feels now that, ‘At this specific point in time, this is the best move for me.'”
Morris has been offered the largest Homegrown contract in MLS history by the Sounders, and is expected to sign after telling Werder Bremen general manager Thomas Eichin that he “sees his future in America.”
Morris, 21, will join the U.S. January camp ahead of the team’s two friendlies against Iceland on Jan. 31 and Canada on Feb. 5 at the StubHub Center.
“(Morris) feels he’s not ready for Europe,” Klinsmann continued. “He feels the next big step for him is the Sounders where he knows everybody, and for us it’s great because the moment he steps now on the training field he’s in a professional environment. That’s good.”
What do you think of Klinsmann’s comments? Think Morris’ decision was the right one?
Share your thoughts below.
F the bundesliga. He has the speed and size to make it in the EPL. Make a splash in MLS and then head to EPL and break Dempsey’s record.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the EPL isn’t what it used to be. If an English club doesn’t make a bigger splash in the CL or EL this year, they’re gonna lose an automatic CL, maybe even an EL, qualifying spot.
But I agree, Morris’ skillset would be well suited for that league.
This seems like a good move to me. Morris got his feet wet, did the trial, and apparently impressed. He now has an idea of what that level entails, and has a goal to shoot for. Bremen never seemed a particularly good fit, because it sounds like they’re heading for relegation and all the upheaval and changes that might go with that. If that happened, it would not be a good environment for a new pro from a different country with little on his resume. Doing a 2 or 3 year deal with Seattle is a great start to being a pro, and if he’s good enough, a nice stepping stone to a bigger deal in Europe.
Given that the life span of an athlete is so short and the guy is already 22 with 28 being his peak he should of challenged himself in the Bundasliga. Even if his team got relegated he might of gotten picked up or loaned out to another team not relegated or a different league.
We all know how Klinsmann feels about MLS vs Europe. Morris is about the only thing people give him good marks for, he’s not about to rag on him.
this
Which is why he is the coached to have looked at more MLS players in camp than his predecessors. Not to mention he included more MLS on World Cup team than any other previous coach. However, don’t let facts get in the way of an opinion….
C’mon Anthony. The pool of players in MLS now is clearly much better than it has been under any other US coach. That includes many players who were in Europe during Bradley’s tenure who have come to MLS. Your pointing to the “facts” is either naive or disingenuous.
Why is Landon Donovan still talked about, let him go
Probably because he could STILL be a major contributor to the national team. Correct or not, there is an impression that he would still be playing and could have helped significantly during this rough patch if Klinsmann had not made that ridiculous decision.
He’s the GOAT American player. Why do basketball fans still talk about Jordan?
DEMPSEY :0 !!!
if he was 18 or 19 I think it would be the right move. at 22 he should challenge himself. this seems like an easy way out. kinda like Donovan and his overseas stints. my wife is Brazilian and she gives all these guys a hard time for not taking the bigger challenge. she points to Brazilian players who are way poorer and less educated who fight for their places in countries like Russia just to have a shot at making it to a big club. I’d like to see a list of US players w their ages and if they were home or abroad and if they improved or not. That would start to show if there is a pattern or if this endless topic’s results are random.
Those Brazilians players leave because they are offered more money to play in Russia then they would get playing in Brazil. Big clubs sign players directly from Brazilians clubs all the time. So I don’t really see what you gain by going to Russia.
Awesome point you made. Not too mention it’s much easier for U.S. citizens to be able to get a visa to move and play soccer in E.U. unlike the Latin American countries where it is more complicated. Just an extra hurdle for them to overcome and they still do it. Just saying.
Landycakes 2.0…oh wait at least Landon gave Europe a try
Martha, Martha, Martha!
Jordan is being pragmatic, and at this point may still go to Europe in the near future.
I think the Landon comparisons are a bit too early for either side, BUT. . .
Landycakes 2.0 sounds like our best player ever.
And isn’t a multi-week trial with Werder Bremen giving Europe a bit of a try?
And even if Jordan’s Landycakes 0.5; he’d still have 75+ caps, 25+ goals, & 25+ assists for the USMNT!
Morris went pro when he could have stayed amateur. I think he stayed to win a National Championship.
I think he went to MLS not only because of the comfort, but because he has a chance to win again.
– – – – –
Jordan has to think about JK, too.
JK wants his best players challenging themselves in Europe, right?
JK also wants his best players playing and performing.
Morris has a better chance of playing and performing for Seattle than he does for shaky Werder Bremen.
Seattle will still be a challenge to crack, with arguably the best starting forward pair in MLS sitting ahead of him, but he’ll get more chances to prove himself.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Morris is starting for Seattle by the end of the year, in fact, I’d bet on it. . .most likely on the wing.
Yeah, let’s hope that this unfolds just like Donovan. We could certainly use another player of that caliber.
Go get ’em Jordy-cakes! I hope that you tear up the MLS for years to come and be a thorn in Mexico’s side as well.
For me it is simple. If Jordan Morris had gone to Bremen I would have cheered for him and watched his Bundesliga games with much excitement, but now as a Seattle Sounder, I will root against him and not like him as much as I would have otherwise.
So obviously I would have preferred he go to Bremen. Jurgen was right on this one, he should have gone to Bremen!! Mainly for my own enjoyment. Shame on you Jordan Morris! Shame!!
I don’t think he would have gotten a lot of playing time at WB.
What about his decision? I think it’s too soon to tell. I think a lot depends on how good he is. If he is good enough to play regularly in the Bundesliga, he should have gone. If he isn’t, then going to the Sounders is a wise move. Hopefully he signs a contract for only about 2 years so that if he does have a breakout season he can move on to a bigger league and bigger paycheck before too long.
Wrong Gary! You and I are both Galaxy fans! Because of this you know Bremen should have been his choice. Of course, you can say that at least now we can watch him play in person at Stub Hub, but we will be rooting against him. He is now an enemy. It would have been fun to cheer for him in Germany.
Bremen wanted him, so to me that means he was good enough to play there. Would have been fun to watch and find out.
I don’t think it’s a bad move. He goes to Seattle in a good, professional environment, and after his contract is up, if he wants to, he can try for Europe a little later.
“What do you think of Klinsmann’s comments?”
I think they gave Morris a lot of backhanded praise.
“Think Morris’ decision was the right one?”
At the end of the day, it’s his career. I don’t think there’s any argument Seattle is better for him than Stanford.
I’m also a huge fan of MLS retaining the top regional talent from the US and Mexico. I’m a firm believer that’s the way you grow the league and not on the backs of washed up players who trashed MLS prior to signing with MLS (see: Ashley Cole).
Lets see if it effects his future call ups? But as we know there is no reasoning to his call ups or non call ups
Just because you don’t understand the reasoning doesn’t mean that there isn’t any reasoning. It just means that you don’t understand.
There are better things to talk about than the constant droning of complaining about Klinsmann.
J. – So people should’t share their opinions about the national team coach? Basically you are saying that you don’t want people to converse about the national team, which is basically saying that you don’t think the national team should have any cultural relevance.
No, J wants people talking about the USMNT but only if they agree with him. Note he doesn’t defend JK’s selections, he just assures us some master plan exists.
You guys slam J because he is disagreeing with the other guy’s statement all while saying he is not allowing the other guy to disagree…. Makes a lot of sense.
“But as we know there is no reasoning to his call ups or non call ups” – NO, we don’t KNOW. We each have opinions, but we don’t know, Downintexas.
He hardly expressed an opinion. He was more whining that other people were expressing theirs.