USMNT: Jurgen Klinsmann Issues Challenge to Young Players

United States head coach Jurgen Klinsmann issued a direct challenge to young players looking to establish themselves in the senior team ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

You've got to play more.

In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Klinsmann said that following their Olympic qualifying disaster, the promising young players from the U-23 squad will have a harder time solidifying their place in the full national team.

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The lesson really for us is how far along are those players that were involved in the Olympic qualifying campaign? How mature are they really for the senior team level?

You talk about the two goalies, you talk about Brek Shea, you talk about Juan Agudelo and I mentioned Diskerud or Joe Corona. You look at these players and say OK, they couldn't get the job done, so where are they now in the bigger picture going into our May-June camp?

The process for these players is getting even tougher. It's getting even more difficult because they do not have the jumping board, or I called it a trampoline, of the Olympics. If you play in an Olympic tournament, this is a huge showcase. This is where the whole world is watching and evaluating you.

So they're missing out on that now. They don't have that opportunity to really gain valuable experience in such a big competition, so they have to prove it somewhere else.

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What do they do now? Klinsmann spoke bluntly on the call.

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The expectations now that they perform on the highest level for the club team are even higher.

Agudelo (once healthy) has to break into the starting XI, and he has to play week-in and week-out with the Red Bulls. Brek Shea has to prove with FC Dallas week-in, week-out he's one of their best players in order to get a chance to become part of the senior national team...

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Later he added:

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They also need to realize that they have to fight their way through the system. They have to find a way to break into the team.

I'll give you an example: Juan Agudelo, who often last year was saying, 'I want to play more. I need to play more.' My response to Agudelo was, 'Well, you've got to train harder and you've got to force the coach of that team until he makes you play.'

It's not something that is given to you. It's something that you have to work for and you have to fight your way through...

That's really the message to the youngsters. Yeah, we understand you should play more, but you have to build your case. You have to fight your way through and you have to do more than whoever's in front of you. So if you want to pass whoever you want to pass there in the team, then you've got to make your case to the coach.

Show the coach that you're better and that you work harder and that you're hungrier and you're more aggressive than the guys in front of you. Sooner or later that coach will play you because the coach will play the players that give him the best chance to win the game."

 

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Klinsmann touched on several other topics during the call with reporters. He mentioned that, despite the disappointing result in Nashville, he saw U-23 coach Caleb Porter staying involved with the U.S. program, although he did not specify a role.

He also answered a question about Santos Laguna forward Herculez Gomez's recent avalanche of goals. Klinsmann was characteristically straight-forward, saying he has his eye on the forward and that the more goals Gomez scores the better his chances of securing a place in the national team.

Gomez subsequently went out the same night and scored two more goals as Santos dismissed Toronto from the CONCACAF Champions League.

The U.S. boss indicated he plans to bring 23 players into camp in May and June to prepare for World Cup qualifying.

Klinsmann's team was drawn into Group A for the third round of CONCACAF qualifying along with Antigua & Barbuda, Guatemala and Jamaica. The United States begin their push to secure a place in a seventh consecutive final on June 8th when they face-off with Antigua & Barbuda in Tampa, Florida.