Klinsmann Can't Afford Not to Take Chances on Morris and Ibarra

Jurgen Klinsmann is on the lookout for American soccer talent, and he doesn't care where it comes from.

Ahead of upcoming friendlies against Colombia and the Republic of Ireland, the United States men's national team manager has dug deep into the soil of the country's developmental landscape and hopes to have unearthed two gems: Miguel Ibarra of Minnesota United and Stanford University's Jordan Morris.

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Ibarra, who was selected by the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer in the 2012 supplemental draft but never signed with the Cascadian club, has plied his trade in the North American Soccer League since 2012 and earned his first senior cap against Honduras just last month.

MLS expansion outfit Orlando City are keen to acquire him before kicking off their inaugural season in the North American top flight next March, according to Paul Tenorio of the Orlando Sentinel, although Minnesota recently signed the 24-year-old to a contract extension.

Klinsmann insisted the New York City-born attacker, who packs a good first touch and no shortage of energy, will be in his plans going forward and told USSoccer.com in a recent interview that Ibarra had a "huge chance" to continue his international career.

"For Miguel it was a huge step forward," he said. "We told him to take this confidence back to his club team and keep growing."

But if Ibarra's call-up raised eyebrows, then Monday's inclusion of Morris came as a shock to the system.

Chris Albright was the last collegian selected to a USMNT squad, in 1999, and Ante Razov was the most recent to actually play a senior, international match, in 1995.

Given that Klinsmann will be keen to have a look at standout New England Revolution playmaker Lee Nguyen, as well as Rosenborg's Mix Diskerud and Hamburg's Julian Green, it's unlikely Morris will be offered more than a symbolic few minutes on the field, should he even play.

And it raises a very obvious question: If he's not going to be involved, then why call him up in the first place?

Stanford Cardinal manager Jeremy Gunn recently told Matthew Snyder of The San Francisco Examiner that Morris has "a lot of attributes, including a burst of pace that is world-class." And given the 20-year-old's status as an All-Pac-12 first-teamer, it's not as though he's an entirely unknown quantity.

What the involvement of Morris and Ibarra would seem to suggest is that Klinsmann will have to look high and wide as he seeks to replace an outgoing generation of internationals, especially with the contingent of German-born players already tapped out. There simply isn't a young Landon Donovan on the radar, and previously hyped youngsters—including Freddy Adu and Juan Agudelo—just haven't panned out.

Klinsmann is facing the hard reality a diminishing talent pool presents, and he's doing everything in his power to replenish it.

He's said so himself.

"It's a message to many players out there that no matter what path you decide to go on, there is always a chance to come to the national team program and to learn," he told USSoccer.com.

Does that mean Morris and Ibarra are on course for long and illustrious international careers?

Not necessarily. But Klinsmann can't afford not to take a chance on them. 

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