TRANSFORMING THE US

Since becoming the national team manager of the United States in 2011, Jurgen Klinsmann has managed to transform the face of US soccer. He has managed to find several new players for the national team and they have come from across the world. He has been able to utilise the techniques adopted by European nations for the benefit of US soccer. Several European players with the capabilities to represent the US because of their parent’s nationality have been brought to play for Klinsmann. This has strengthened the national team substantially in the last few years.

Despite being in the same group containing the likes of Germany and Portugal, the US are expected to put up a fight to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup 2014. Klinsmann says that this is a testament to the good work done in the last few years, but he reckons that the work will be done only when the nation qualify for the semifinals of the World Cup. The former Germany manager has also said that he still remains in contact with his former assistant Joachim Loew, who is now in charge of the German national team.

Klinsmann has been linked with several club managerial jobs in the last few years, but he recently extended his contract with the US national team.

“Our goal is to one day reach the World Cup semi-finals and then say: ‘we’re here to take you on’. I’m already feverish with excitement and see everything from a fan’s perspective. Of course, I didn’t delete Jogi’s email address from my account after the World Cup draw and we are keeping our fingers crossed for each other,” said Klinsmann, who also says that Brazil will be the favourites to win the World Cup on account of their home advantage and impressive players.

USA SQUAD ANNOUNCED

Jurgen Klinsmann has announced the USA squad for a friendly match against Mexico on 15th of August. There are 23 players in the squad. There are some new faces in the squad including Matt Besler and Steven Beitashour. These two players might get a chance to play their first match for USA on Wednesday. Some experienced players like Jermaine Jones and Landon Donovan have retained their place in the side. Clint Dempsey has not been included in the squad and this is a big surprise. Dempsey has been a superstar for USA since the last few years and his exclusion from the squad was not expected. But, it seems that Klinsmann wants to try out some young players. So, he decided to sideline Dempsey for this match.

There are three goal keepers in the side including Nick Rimando, Tim Howard and Sean Johnson. The Mexico team has performed brilliantly in the Olympics and won the Gold medal by defeating Brazil in the final. So, it would not be easy for the American players to compete against a confident Mexico team. On the other hand, the performance of the USA national team has not been good in the recent times. The USA team wasn’t able to qualify for the London Olympics.

On being asked about the chances of USA in the upcoming match, Klinsmann said that the players of Mexico are in fine form at the moment and on top of that, they would be playing on their home soil. So, it would be tough for the USA team to win the match. But, if the USA players play up to their potential, they might pull off an upset. On being asked about Dempsey’s exclusion from the squad, Klinsmann said that Dempsey has been a great player for USA over the years. But, it is very important to build a team for the future. So, Dempsey has been rested and some youngsters are included in the side.

EXPERIENCE WILL HELP

Former Germany national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann has said that he expects the United States national team to get a massive boost from his experience of having managed the top players in the world. He has said that his experience of having played against some of the best players in the world both for the club and country will help the players of the United States national team to be much better in the future. Klinsmann oversaw a famous 1-0 defeat of Italy recently. The former German manager is expected to make a big impact for the country by the time the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off.

Klinsmann has said that he will probably sing the German national anthem if there was a match between the two national teams because of the fact that he has not forgotten his roots. There was a recent report suggesting that Klinsmann was looking to impart the German tendency within the United States players, which has been criticised in some quarters. However, Klinsmann has rejected such rumours by saying that he is looking to bring the national team up to the level of the European and South American standards.

“It would be difficult for me in such a moment not to sing the German national anthem. I do that automatically. I always sang along as a player and as a trainer. Why shouldn’t I do it in such a situation? It doesn’t necessarily have to do with the game. My long-term goal is to make US football so strong that at some point we can be measured against the greatest teams,” Klinsmann said in a recent interview. The manager also said that he is looking to utilise the vast amount of talent amongst the players with Hispanic ethnicity for the national team.

WORK HARDER

The United States national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann has said that the younger American players should be working hard in order to get some game time at the senior level. The former Bayern Munich manager was speaking on the occasion of the horrible Under 23 result, which left the German with more questions than answers.

In order to prove his point, Jurgen Klinsmann pointed out to a number of players including the likes of Daniel Sturridge at Chelsea. Klinsmann said that players are not realising the fact that they need to fight in order to earn a place in the squad.

Klinsmann also said that Juan Agudelo approached him a year ago with the request of more game time, but the German replied that the youngster should be working hard in order to reward himself with more game time. Juan Agudelo is finding it difficult to get regular playing time at the New York Red Bulls due to the presence of high profile players like Henry. Klinsmann pointed out to the situation faced by Daniel Sturridge at Chelsea. Even though he is surrounded by high quality players, he still has managed to find himself regularly in the starting line-up.

(more…)

KLINSMANN DISMISSES RUMOURS

Former Bayern Munich manager Jurgen Klinsmann has played down reports linking him with a move to Tottenham. Jurgen Klinsmann is currently the national team manager of the United States. He was appointed only recently, but there has been growing speculation that the former Tottenham player could return as a manager at a North London shortly. Current Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is being linked with the vacant England managerial position. Even though Harry Redknapp appeared to suggest that a part-time role would be viable for both parties, it would be interesting to see if Tottenham agree to such a prospect.

As a result, Jurgen Klinsmann is being one of the names touted to become the next Tottenham manager. However, the former Bayern Munich manager has said that he is not interested in taking over at Tottenham and has confirmed that he is extremely happy with his current role as the national team manager of the United States. The 64-year-old Harry Redknapp has said that would be the dream for any England manager to be appointed as the national team coach. Fabio Capello recently resigned from his position as the England manager after falling out with the England football Association over the John Terry issue.

“I’m very happy in my role as USA manager and busy preparing for the start of World Cup qualifying this summer,” United States coach Klinsmann said when asked about the possibility of him returning to Tottenham. Jurgen Klinsmann was at North London in two spells and is one of the fans favourite. Tottenham have been extremely good under Harry Redknapp and it will be interesting to see if they will be willing to let go of their manager, who has been largely responsible for making them into Champions League contenders. Tottenham are currently third in the Premier league table.

JURGEN WANTS NEW BLOOD

The United States national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann has brought into new players to the January training camp. Jurgen Klinsmann was appointed in place of Bob Bradley just as the United States prepare to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Predictably, Jurgen Klinsmann has been making a number of significant changes to the way the team plays and also the personnel. Now, he has brought in the duo of defender Jeff Parke and midfielder Brad Evans. These Seattle sounders men are expected to join the January training camp being conducted in Phoenix, Arizona.

This is the training camp that is being conducted in preparation for the two friendlies against Venezuela and Panama, which will take place shortly. It will give Jurgen Klinsmann with the perfect opportunity to assess his squad ahead of the crucial World Cup qualifiers, which will begin after the end of the 2012 European championships. Brad Evans and Jeff Parke will be replacing Omar Gonzalez and George John from the squad. Omar Gonzalez of the LA Galaxy and George John of the FC Dallas will now be departing the squad from the January training roster. So far, Brad Evans has played four the United States national team in four matches, while Jeff Parke will be attempting to make his debut.

Brad Evans was one of the important players for the United States national team in the run-up to the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup final. The United States national team will be playing against Venezuela at the Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on 21st January. They will be taking on Panama four days later in Panama City. Estadio Rommel Fernandez will be the location of this extraordinary friendly between the two nations. Jeff Parke will be looking to make his debut in either of the two matches.