There have been several rumours over the last few weeks that US national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann could take over the Switzerland role after the end of the World Cup. The former Germany manager has been in charge of the US national team for the last few years. He has helped the team qualify for the World Cup 2014 and they are expected to do well this time around. Due to the stellar work that he has done with the US team, he continues to be linked with several national and club management roles.
Switzerland are the latest to be linked with Klinsmann. They will be without the manager after the World Cup 2014 since Ottmar Hitzfeld – their current manager – has revealed that he will step down from his role at the end of the World Cup. Klinsmann has not refuse to rule out of the rumours linking him with the job. Speaking to German tabloid Bild, he has confirmed that there have been several offers on the table for his services, but he is yet to decide on his future. He has confirmed that there have been several clubs interested in bringing the former Tottenham striker to club football.
“I have been receiving several enquiries in recent months. Those enquiries were from Europe-based clubs and from several Football Associations as well. And all of them were about the time after the 2014 FIFA World Cup,” said Klinsmann, whose contract with the US national team runs out of the World Cup. Even though his work has been praised around the world, many of the Americans are not happy with his performance. Klinsmann has introduced a number of Germans into the national team squad by taking advantage of FIFA’s rules.
It is expected that he will announce his decision in the next few weeks.
Former Tottenham player Jurgen Klinsmann has said that he wants to remain as the national team coach of the United States after 2014 as well. The contract of the German comes to an end in the summer. He has been the manager for the last three years during which time he has received plenty of praise and criticism in equal measure. Klinsmann has said that he has so far been doing only the foundation work. Aspects like getting the youth to get connected and educating the coaches are being carried out right now.
He is of the opinion that the U.S. Soccer president is impressed by the work he has done so far. Hence, he has revealed his desire to stay beyond the current contract. US are struggling to qualify for the 2014 World Cup as outright winners of the group. After recent run of good form, they have only a one-point advantage over second placed Costa Rica. The upcoming World Cup qualifiers for the team in October are going to be extremely important since they will be facing Jamaica and Panama.
The recent 3-1 loss to Costa Rica allowed the second place team to close the gap, but the US bounced back straightaway after a 2-0 win over archrivals Mexico.
“A lot of the stuff we’ve done now is foundation work. It’s really just starting to connect the dots that you always talk about in the soccer landscape in the United States: Getting connected to the youth level, to coaches’ education, getting connected really well with MLS. So yeah, that is my interest to continue that work, I’d love to be measured on success. I like that. A lot of the stuff that we laid out and continue now to deepen is happening,” said the manager ahead of the match with Jamaica.
The head coach of the US national football team, Jurgen Klinsmann, has said that the friendly match against Guatemala is a good opportunity for his players to get into the rhythm before the Gold Cup.
USA will take on Guatemala on Friday at Qualcomm Stadium and just a week after that, they will start their Gold Cup campaign against Belize.
When asked about that friendly game, Klinsmann said, “It’s a great chance for us to have some match practice before such a big tournament. Guatemala is a quality side and playing against them will be a good test for us.”
Guatemala hasn’t been able to qualify for the Gold Cup and the team has to face a lot of criticism for that. So, they might like to prove a point or two against USA.
When asked about the composition of Guatemala side, Klinsmann said, “They have got a lot of young players in their squad. They have a new leader as well and they don’t have anything to lose. So, they will just look to play attacking football and enjoy themselves.”
Klinsmann also warned his players that they shouldn’t be taking Belize lightly in their first match of the Gold Cup.
The American manager said, “Belize is not the strongest team in the world, but, they are very competitive. If you had seen them playing in the qualification, you would have found out that they don’t make things easy for the opposition.”
According to CONCACAF rules, the teams need to submit their preliminary squad one and half months before the start of the Gold Cup.
When asked about that rule, Klinsmann said, “I don’t think it’s a fair rule and I have made the CONCACAF officials aware of that. You don’t know when a certain player will get injured or will lose form. A lot can happen in one and half months.”
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December 5, 2013 8:30 am | 
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