ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
U.S. boss must hire Klinsmann to replace Arena
Posted: Friday July 14, 2006 4:46PM; Updated: Friday July 14, 2006 7:14PM
U.S. fans would be overjoyed to get Jürgen Klinsmann as their next coach -- but does he share that feeling?
If U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati is a smart guy -- and who are we to question the brainpower of a Columbia economics professor? -- then he'll do everything within his power to hire Jürgen Klinsmann as the next coach of the U.S. men's national team.
It's not too complicated, really. By showing the door to manager Bruce Arena -- who was denied his wish of remaining for a third four-year term -- Gulati is saying that he'll find a better alternative to Arena. And no matter how you feel about the U.S.'s performance in World Cup '06, this much is true: There aren't many better viable alternatives to Arena moving forward.
Klinsmann, who resigned as Germany's coach this week, is clearly at the top of a short list.
No candidate combines Klinsi's qualifications for the job:
• Proven international coaching success? Check. (He just led the Germans to a third-place finish at the World Cup.)
• Commands respect as a former player? Check. (He won a World Cup and numerous individual awards during a sterling playing career.)
• Knows the peculiar American soccer system? Check. (He has lived in Southern California for eight years, follows MLS and can often be spotted at obscure coaching conventions and player combines in the U.S.)
• Has an attacking mentality? Check. (One look at what the former striker did with the once-restrained Germans and you know the U.S. would get more than four total shots on goal in the next World Cup. Klinsmann could work wonders with the psyche of Landon Donovan.)
• Shows a willingness to innovate? Check. (His reliance on American trainers and sports psychologists was mocked by offended Germans ... until they started winning and begged him to stay.)
• Can speak Spanish? Check. (Sort of. Klinsmann knows four languages and has begun taking lessons in Spanish, a mastery of which should be mandatory for all future U.S. coaches to help bring more Hispanic players and fans into the U.S. system.)
• Surrounds himself with talented people? Check. (Joachim Löw, Klinsmann's assistant with Germany, is a master tactician and a more-than-capable replacement for Deutschland. Former player Oliver Bierhoff was another great hire on his staff. Klinsmann would show the same eye for talent as the U.S. coach.)
But the big question about Klinsmann is this: Does he even want the job? He sure hasn't acted like it in his recent statements, but he has also admitted that he is burned out. If you give Klinsmann some time to rest on the beach, that may change. (It's not like he'd need to be hired next week. The U.S. doesn't have any major events until next year's Gold Cup, and even that notion of "major" seems dubious.)
Keep in mind, though, that Klinsmann has said no to Gulati before. In 1998, when Gulati was the deputy commissioner of MLS, he put the full-court press on Klinsmann to sign with the league and play for the Los Angeles Galaxy. (I even wrote an article about Gulati's pursuit of Klinsi in the June 29, 1998 issue of Sports Illustrated.) Ultimately, Klinsmann turned Gulati down.
Other potential candidates for the U.S. job come with even bigger question marks. Big names like Luiz Felipe Scolari (who extended his contract with Portugal on Friday through '08) and Sven-Göran Eriksson don't know the U.S. system. Nor does Guus Hiddink, who's already signed with Russia. And while MLS coaches such as Steve Nicol, Peter Nowak, Dave Sarachan, Bob Bradley, Sigi Schmid, Frank Yallop and Dominic Kinnear know the American system, do they have big enough names and résumés for Gulati, who (like many U.S. fans) cares about such things?
Then again, another familiar name might resurface: Carlos Queiroz, the Manchester United assistant manager who has flirted with the U.S. job before (in the mid-'90s) and who spent a year researching the U.S. youth development system before writing the blueprint for the much-ballyhooed Project 2010 (which Arena lampooned mercilessly earlier this year).
Another possibility: Gulati could bring in a total surprise pick. As I learned earlier this year, when Gulati and Alan Rothenberg were interviewing candidates for the U.S. job back in 1998, one of the coaches they spoke to was Andy Roxburgh, the former Scotland coach in the 1990 World Cup who has served as UEFA's technical director since 1994. If he considered Roxburgh then, who knows which candidates the well-connected Gulati might look at now?
The coach who does take over will inherit some impressive young talent. Six key players on the team that played in the World Cup are younger than 25: Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson and Bobby Convey. Freddy Adu appears to be making good progress with D.C. United, and the next coach might be able to do what Arena couldn't and convince rising Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi to play for the U.S. instead of Italy.
On the other hand, the U.S. hasn't done anything exceptional in recent Under-17 and Under-20 world championships. And despite the advances made by MLS in establishing reserve teams, player development in the U.S. still has a long way to go.
As for Arena, don't worry about the most successful coach in U.S. soccer history. My money is on Arena ending up with the New York Red Bulls at some point, maybe sooner, maybe later. No matter what happens, his place in the American soccer pantheon is secure.
Which is exactly why there will be so much pressure on Gulati to hire a more capable replacement from the list of viable candidates. If that isn't Klinsmann, then I don't know who else it could be.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/grant_wahl/07/14/us.coach/?cnn=yes
Posted: Friday July 14, 2006 4:46PM; Updated: Friday July 14, 2006 7:14PM
U.S. fans would be overjoyed to get Jürgen Klinsmann as their next coach -- but does he share that feeling?
If U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati is a smart guy -- and who are we to question the brainpower of a Columbia economics professor? -- then he'll do everything within his power to hire Jürgen Klinsmann as the next coach of the U.S. men's national team.
It's not too complicated, really. By showing the door to manager Bruce Arena -- who was denied his wish of remaining for a third four-year term -- Gulati is saying that he'll find a better alternative to Arena. And no matter how you feel about the U.S.'s performance in World Cup '06, this much is true: There aren't many better viable alternatives to Arena moving forward.
Klinsmann, who resigned as Germany's coach this week, is clearly at the top of a short list.
No candidate combines Klinsi's qualifications for the job:
• Proven international coaching success? Check. (He just led the Germans to a third-place finish at the World Cup.)
• Commands respect as a former player? Check. (He won a World Cup and numerous individual awards during a sterling playing career.)
• Knows the peculiar American soccer system? Check. (He has lived in Southern California for eight years, follows MLS and can often be spotted at obscure coaching conventions and player combines in the U.S.)
• Has an attacking mentality? Check. (One look at what the former striker did with the once-restrained Germans and you know the U.S. would get more than four total shots on goal in the next World Cup. Klinsmann could work wonders with the psyche of Landon Donovan.)
• Shows a willingness to innovate? Check. (His reliance on American trainers and sports psychologists was mocked by offended Germans ... until they started winning and begged him to stay.)
• Can speak Spanish? Check. (Sort of. Klinsmann knows four languages and has begun taking lessons in Spanish, a mastery of which should be mandatory for all future U.S. coaches to help bring more Hispanic players and fans into the U.S. system.)
• Surrounds himself with talented people? Check. (Joachim Löw, Klinsmann's assistant with Germany, is a master tactician and a more-than-capable replacement for Deutschland. Former player Oliver Bierhoff was another great hire on his staff. Klinsmann would show the same eye for talent as the U.S. coach.)
But the big question about Klinsmann is this: Does he even want the job? He sure hasn't acted like it in his recent statements, but he has also admitted that he is burned out. If you give Klinsmann some time to rest on the beach, that may change. (It's not like he'd need to be hired next week. The U.S. doesn't have any major events until next year's Gold Cup, and even that notion of "major" seems dubious.)
Keep in mind, though, that Klinsmann has said no to Gulati before. In 1998, when Gulati was the deputy commissioner of MLS, he put the full-court press on Klinsmann to sign with the league and play for the Los Angeles Galaxy. (I even wrote an article about Gulati's pursuit of Klinsi in the June 29, 1998 issue of Sports Illustrated.) Ultimately, Klinsmann turned Gulati down.
Other potential candidates for the U.S. job come with even bigger question marks. Big names like Luiz Felipe Scolari (who extended his contract with Portugal on Friday through '08) and Sven-Göran Eriksson don't know the U.S. system. Nor does Guus Hiddink, who's already signed with Russia. And while MLS coaches such as Steve Nicol, Peter Nowak, Dave Sarachan, Bob Bradley, Sigi Schmid, Frank Yallop and Dominic Kinnear know the American system, do they have big enough names and résumés for Gulati, who (like many U.S. fans) cares about such things?
Then again, another familiar name might resurface: Carlos Queiroz, the Manchester United assistant manager who has flirted with the U.S. job before (in the mid-'90s) and who spent a year researching the U.S. youth development system before writing the blueprint for the much-ballyhooed Project 2010 (which Arena lampooned mercilessly earlier this year).
Another possibility: Gulati could bring in a total surprise pick. As I learned earlier this year, when Gulati and Alan Rothenberg were interviewing candidates for the U.S. job back in 1998, one of the coaches they spoke to was Andy Roxburgh, the former Scotland coach in the 1990 World Cup who has served as UEFA's technical director since 1994. If he considered Roxburgh then, who knows which candidates the well-connected Gulati might look at now?
The coach who does take over will inherit some impressive young talent. Six key players on the team that played in the World Cup are younger than 25: Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson and Bobby Convey. Freddy Adu appears to be making good progress with D.C. United, and the next coach might be able to do what Arena couldn't and convince rising Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi to play for the U.S. instead of Italy.
On the other hand, the U.S. hasn't done anything exceptional in recent Under-17 and Under-20 world championships. And despite the advances made by MLS in establishing reserve teams, player development in the U.S. still has a long way to go.
As for Arena, don't worry about the most successful coach in U.S. soccer history. My money is on Arena ending up with the New York Red Bulls at some point, maybe sooner, maybe later. No matter what happens, his place in the American soccer pantheon is secure.
Which is exactly why there will be so much pressure on Gulati to hire a more capable replacement from the list of viable candidates. If that isn't Klinsmann, then I don't know who else it could be.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/grant_wahl/07/14/us.coach/?cnn=yes
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