USMNT Under Jurgen Klinsmann: Report Card So Far

When Jurgen Klinsmann was given the head coaching position for the U.S. Men’s National Team, most people saw it as the coming of a savior. 

Klinsmann is suppose to be the man to lead the national team to the holy land and erase any memories of previous suffering. 

But just like anyone else—the man is human—and he’s made mistakes and incorrect decisions to begin his U.S. Soccer renaissance. 

But how well has Klinsmann performed? Better yet, how has the USMNT performed under Klinsmann? 

If we were to give him a report card summarizing his impact on the USMNT and a final grade, there are two factors that must be looked at. 

The first thing that comes to mind, are the players Klinsmann has called up. 

Sure, he has used players that have added great dynamic to both sides of the ball—players like Break Shea, Danny Williams, Fabian Johnson come to mind. And that’s great. 

Yet, repetitive call-ups for players that haven’t proven their worth at the international stage have caused criticism of the German. Robbie Rogers, Kyle Beckerman, and Michael Orozco-Fiscal have had their shots to remain on the USMNT, but haven’t stepped up the way most fans would have liked. 

So what to make of all this? Is this a sign of Klinsmann dooming the national team with players ineffective of getting results again powerful nations? No way. 

New York Times Soccer Blog writer Andrew Das gave a fantastic analysis on national teams’ line-up developments through a World Cup cycle. 

He compared the USMNT 2009 Confederation Cup squad to that of the 2010 World Cup squad and the changes seen is a realization that a national team is almost like an organism. Always developing, ever changing—adapting to the "now" instead of the "then." 

Das does the same comparison with Brazil and Portugal - demonstrating that this same tendency expands all nations. Even the best in the world overhaul their line-ups in a matter of two years. 

The point is that even though Klinsmann hasn’t called up Omar Gonzalez, Herculez Gomez, or Luis Gil—it doesn’t mean he won’t. 

Klinsmann was at the MLS Cup scouting players from both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo—so it’s clear there isn’t a corner that the man won’t look for talent. If some players aren’t called for the first seven games—it is ridiculous to think that they will be forever crossed off the team. 

There are many players that might be old for 2014 who are still playing now, and many players who are too young now that might peak by 2014. There are still seven month’s to the beginning of qualification and three years till the next World Cup. 

The other thing to look at when grading Klinsmann for his performance as head coach of the USMNT is the style and formation he has the team play under. 

Klinsmann had a world of possibilities on how he wanted the U.S. to play at the beginning of this tenure. 

He seemed to favor an offensive line with a one holding striker but that kept failing miserably. The U.S. only scored twice in its first six games. 

But from those six games came glimmers of hope. 

For the most part the defense was doing well, and with some changes in the line-up, it would get tighter.

There was speed and creativity on the flanks, which allowed chances in the offensive third. A diamond shaped midfield was also able to break opposing defenses without sacrificing much space. 

And when given chance and support, the forwards could get some nice looks at goal. 

Slowly all these elements were seeing coming together. It showed against Ecuador before falling apart against France. However against Slovenia, everything clicked. 

It was the best offensive performance not just under Klinsmann, but also of 2011. 

So again, there is improvement under Klinsmann. He appears to correct his wrongs and learn from ineffectiveness. 

Those are the things needed from a head coach. Klinsmann keeps saying that wins don’t matter at this stage—and they don’t. It’s about development, about experimentation, about finding the best combination to succeed when it becomes important. 

If the U.S. would have beaten France, I doubt anybody would have used it as consolation if the U.S. didn’t qualify for the 2014 World Cup. 

So after all that’s been said, Jurgen Klinsmann receives a B-/B on his end-of-the-year report card. 

The key for Klinsmann though, is to not fall back. To not go back and have the USMNT play a style that will not, not matter how much he thinks it may. 

A 4-4-2 has survived time because it effective. It’s that simple. Klinsmann cannot over-think his approach to the U.S. Soccer overhaul and must work off those things that actually do work. 

Let 2012 bring success to the USMNT and inspiration to Klinsmann, so he may take this team to where all fans imagined when he was finally named head coach