USMNT: Did Jurgen Klinsmann Overestimate the Quality of U.S. Soccer?
U.S. men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was hired over three years ago with big plans to improve soccer in the United States. He told Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl that he wanted the USMNT to play an attacking style. However, he may have overestimated the abilities of the player pool.
Klinsmann told Wahl that the process would take time, but three and a half years later, the German tactician still hasn't delivered on that promise.
Like Klinsmann said, it will take time, but here's the harsh reality: The U.S. doesn't have the depth or talent to play an attacking brand of soccer against the best teams in the world and won't have for at least another decade.
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When ex-coach Bob Bradley was fired, it was mostly met with applause. ESPN's Leander Schaerlaeckens wrote about how Bradley's conservative tactics and player selections were annoying the fans.
However, Schaerlaeckens also suggested that an aging squad, a shady future and inflated expectations could hinder U.S. Soccer's chances at hiring a big-name manager.
Klinsmann eventually accepted the role. However, when his contract was extended, he was also named US Soccer Federation's technical director, which will allow him to oversee the development of young players.
Every nation has a golden generation. Spain, Italy and France had some tremendous young talent and were able to win tournaments. They each have their own domestic league that continually develops players. MLS is not yet at that level.
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber and U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati admitted club academies have to develop these future world-class players. Garber told MLSSoccer.com's Charles Boehm that MLS is spending significantly more money in the youth ranks compared to five years ago.
Klinsmann believes that youngsters will flourish if they move to Europe. However, that's not always the case.
Youth players must play in competitive games in order to continue their development. If they can achieve that in Europe, then that's their best option. If all they're doing is sitting on the bench, they should stay in the United States.
Klinsmann should understand this as technical director. If he wants to play a proactive style with the USMNT, he would approve MLS teams' dedication to developing future stars.
Grooming these attack-minded players takes time, especially when the country is not an established soccer power, as in the case of Ivory Coast and Colombia.
These teams are perfect examples of nations who had golden eras and were able to play an expansive style. However, the former failed to get out of the World Cup group stage, while the latter qualified for its first quarterfinal last summer.
There is no quick fix or cheat code to make the U.S. a World Cup contender. Klinsmann does not have the personnel in MLS or anywhere in Europe to achieve his goals for 2018 and play an attacking brand of soccer.
The German believes that the USMNT can qualify for the semifinals in Russia. Klinsmann stated that the USA was good enough to make the semis in 2014, but they failed to accomplish this goal.
It was Tim Howard's record-setting performance against Belgium that kept the USA from a lop-sided defeat after 90 minutes.
The USMNT averaged 45 percent possession, 11 shots at goal and a tournament-high 23.5 attempts conceded per game at the World Cup, according to WhoScored.
Klinsmann's semifinal expectation is ludicrous with the current player pool. He opted to take a more conservative approach at the World Cup because no one was able to create any scoring chances. Landon Donovan could have, but he was omitted from the squad.
Donovan is a rare breed in U.S. Soccer. He's one of the few intelligent playmakers in USMNT history who can spark an attack. That's key to playing a expansive style of soccer.
The USMNT is nowhere near close to Klinsmann's Germany team, who had a steady crop of players to choose from for the 2006 tournament. He believes all the U.S. needed to do was embrace soccer culture, but it's far more complex.
It's going to take more money and time to see a more offensive USMNT. If that ever happens, Klinsmann will be long gone.
Peter Galindo covers MLS and U.S. soccer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @GalindoPW.
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