Klinsmann could redefine U.S. team's philosophy at all levels [soccer]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com ^ | July 29, 2011 | Grant Wahl

[1rudeboy]

And so, after saying no twice in the past five years, Jürgen Klinsmann finally said yes.

Klinsmann, the German playing legend and coach of Germany's 2006 World Cup semifinalists, was named the new coach of the U.S. men's national team on Friday, replacing Bob Bradley. And while Klinsmann can only select the U.S. players at his disposal, one thing is certain: We have entered a new era of U.S. Soccer, one that will be defined by Klinsi's undeniable charisma and his desire to shape the team into a recognizable American style.

"The U.S. is known worldwide as a melting pot," Klinsmann told me last year. "Soccer in a certain way transmits the culture of a country ... You have the Latin influence [in the U.S.]. You have the cultural backbone of your university system, which is completely different from the rest of the world. You have the fact that it's mostly organized soccer, when we know that the best players in the world come out of unorganized events. I think it's a fascinating topic."

Success is hardly guaranteed here, but that's what will be so fascinating about Klinsmann's tenure: Major changes are in store for a U.S. team that has gone through minor, incremental changes for as long as anyone can remember. That malaise that U.S. Soccer has been in since World Cup '10? You can kiss that goodbye.

What kind of a style will we see the U.S. adopt under Klinsmann? "My philosophy is an attacking style of football," he told me last year. "That's just the way I think, and it's how I built the German team for the 2006 World Cup over two years, which was highly criticized over a long stretch of time, and then they embraced it.

[1rudeboy]

"At the end of the day you need to have success to move this sport forward. I think the U.S. is a nation that wants to always be No. 1 in the world. It's the leader in so many areas, and in a certain way you're almost forced to be proactive in your approach to how you do things. They're not waiting always until the other countries do something. They just do it."

[therightliveswithus]

people care about soccer?

[Hawk1976]

Who? What?

The real football season is starting soon. Go “Noles.

[1rudeboy]

[rjeffries]

Just opened FR and was thinking about this and boom, right at the top.

Great hire, I’m really looking forward to see what he brings. Hopefully they gave him alot of structural control.

Time for the parade of soccer bashers, who know nothing about the game yet feel compelled to open this thread and say something stupid and ill-informed.

[zimfam007]

This is AWESOME NEWS!!!!

[notfornothing]

He can start by changing things around in the midfield - I’ve never understood the logic behind playing Donovan and Dempsey on the wings. Maybe Bob Bradley wanted his son to have the star role as central midfield orchestrator? If he could teach our strikers how to score for a change that would be nice too. There’s a friendly against Mexico coming up in a week and a half...should be interesting!

[PhilosopherStone1000]

I actually met him when he played for Monaco. Nice guy all around. Good luck to him.

[Hawk1976]

You’re late. There are at least two posts bashing soccer ahead of your post.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

The world laughs and mocks the U.S. for not caring about Soccer... but when we suddenly decide that we do care, and we want to be number one, the world will become very aware that when we didn’t care, it was to their advantage.

[notfornothing]

Legend has it that he played in a pick-up league under an assumed name for a couple of years in California. How could you not love a guy like that?!

[1rudeboy]

Interesting, if true. Reminds me of the guys who try to hustle me while playing pool. They miss the easy shots, but “magically” make the tough ones.

[dmz]

people care about soccer?

<><><><><

You mean, besides yourself?

[old school]

“Time for the parade of soccer bashers, who know nothing about the game yet feel compelled to open this thread and say something stupid and ill-informed.”

It’s too bad because “honest” disapproval means that you know what you’re talking about. People who’ve never played or coached the game do not know what they’re talking about! Klinsmann’s long-term success or failure is going to be dependent upon the talent available to him. If the “Latin influence” is overwhelming his thought, he may as well coach some obscure latin-american team.