Cugalabanza Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Wow, I didn't think they'd actually do it. http://www.espnfc.com/united-states/story/3001177/us-soccer-fires-national-team-manager-jurgen-klinsmann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Mods, can this thread please be pinned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Wow, I didn't think they'd actually do it. http://www.espnfc.com/united-states/story/3001177/us-soccer-fires-national-team-manager-jurgen-klinsmann Luckily for him, he's got a rather cavalier attitude toward failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullpen Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Luckily for him, he's got a rather cavalier attitude toward failure. I'll give him this, he at least THINKS he's made of Teflon! This firing came about 8 months too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 It is so important that soccer needs its own forum not a thread pinned. Never heard of Jurgen Klinsmann before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Franklin Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 (edited) The thing I liked most about Klinsman was an overall vision for US soccer from youth through national team. I like what he started there and believe it will make a difference (but will take a long time). Every youth soccer change in the last 4 years, some of which were huge, was hard to do but good for the future. I hope Arenas leaves that alone and focuses on the top squad. I know the US lacks technical players (!!!) but I hope Arenas puts some more emphasis on technical prowess and less on brawn. The time had come but it was a pretty good run for Jurgen. Hopefully the return of Arenas can push them forward a little more. Edited November 22, 2016 by Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 It is so important that soccer needs its own forum not a thread pinned. Never heard of Jurgen Klinsmann before. Actually, it needs neither a pinned thread or a forum of its own. It doesn't get that much attention here. The one regular thread seems just right. The thing I liked most about Klinsman was an overall vision for US soccer from youth through national team. I like what he started there and believe it will make a difference (but will take a long time). Every youth soccer change in the last 4 years, some of which were huge, was hard to do but good for the future. I hope Arenas leaves that alone and focuses on the top squad. I know the US lacks technical players (!!!) but I hope Arenas puts some more emphasis on technical prowess and less on brawn. The time had come but it was a pretty good run for Jurgen. Hopefully the return of Arenas can push them forward a little more. Klinsmann had some very good moments. It seems like a good time to move on though. As a coach, he seems to have lost the team. His post-game comments have become absurd and he has not been willing to face reality when they team's effort has been atrocious. He plays it off, deflects blame and says something like, "I told the players they will have a lot more 4-0 losses in their careers." In one sense, I appreciate how he's willing to protect his (favored) players from criticism. Like Bradley, Brooks, Jermaine Jones, Tim Chandler. But at a certain point, it becomes just a blind spot and it leaves the fans scratching their heads when he refuses to admit when they've had bad performances. Also, his tactical choices have been bizarre at best and it puts good players in awkward spots...to the point where it seems that some players have quit on him. Arena will be announced as the new coach today. I don't know how long he'll last this time, but I think it will make a positive impact in the short term at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Why is retread Arena the right choice as a replacement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Franklin Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Why is retread Arena the right choice as a replacement? I'm not even sure who was in the mix. Arenas has wanted the top job again for a long time so his ascension is no shock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 Why is retread Arena the right choice as a replacement? He is the safe choice. Not a lot of great choices available out there that I'm aware of. I guess Peter Vermes was the other serious candidate. The thinking seems to be that Arena has done it before, has that international experience. Also, he got the U.S. to it's best WC result in 2002, where they almost got to the semis (losing barely to Germany on a controversial goal). Also, he's become a better coach in his time at MLS. The LA Galaxy have fielded very good teams year after year. And, I think they expect Arena to take them to the WC in 2018 and by then they will be able to pick the next long term (hopefully) coach for the next phase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 (edited) I think he was in way over his head acting as both Coach and Technical Director. As the TD, I think he did a fine job. The development, and placement, of top end youth players from the US has been unprecedented during his time. The issue with Klinsmann, is much the same as with Brendan Rodgers: as Phil Lahm pointed out, he's a fitness coach with no real technical prowess, and no system to implement. A constant juggling of formations and rosters, and never seemed to have a game plan of any sort. He also had very public rifts with his top superstars, leading to teams with very little in the way of top end leadership on the pitch. Unfortunately for Klinsmann, this move came 8 months to a year too late. Edited November 22, 2016 by TakeYouToTasker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 @sportingnews Bruce Arena is the new manager of the United States national team. http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/news/bruce-arena-named-us-national-team-coach/1hogkiulidfuq147kpw6xgcevx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 (edited) I'm good with it. I'm curious to see what Arena can do with this current player pool. He did well in previous cycles with what, to me, was a lower level of talent overall than what he will have to work with now. Of course, the rest of CONCACAF has improved quite a bit over the last decade too. Edited November 22, 2016 by Cugalabanza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DriveFor1Outta5 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 (edited) Why is retread Arena the right choice as a replacement? I don't follow much soccer outside of the World Cup, but I find it really difficult to get excited about this hire. US Soccer seems like it's become quite stagnant. We don't seem to be advancing beyond being satisfied with reaching the knockout stages in World Cups. The Arena hire doesn't make it feel like we are progressing. Edited November 22, 2016 by DriveFor1Outta5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 (edited) I don't follow much soccer outside of the World Cup, but I find it really difficult to get excited about this hire. US Soccer seems like it's become quite stagnant. We don't seem to be advancing beyond being satisfied with reaching the knockout stages in World Cups. The Arena hire doesn't make it feel like we are progressing. I say give Arena a chance through this WC cycle. He's been successful at every level he's ever worked. Several college championships with UVA, with a program that was non-existent when he started. 5 MLS Cups, with 2 different teams. The USA run at the 2002 World Cup was pretty special. Klinsmann did some good things, which will continue to reap rewards in terms of the talent pool. He deserves credit for that. It's just that, as a coach, he ran his course. Did you watch that Costa Rica game. I've watched a ton of USMNT games over the years. That was the worst one. I saw players giving up. The USMNT has always been about heart, but they quit on their coach in this game. I'm excited about many of the young players right now. I think Arena is the right guy to not screw this up. He's a big proponent of not over-complicating things. I think he will get the best out of the players and I think players will be reinvigorated. EDIT: Think of it like this. Bruce Arena is kind of like the USMNT's Wade Phillips. Edited November 22, 2016 by Cugalabanza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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