World Cup Group G's club talent gap remains wide for USA, Klinsmann
SÃO PAULO — When the U.S. kicks off its World Cup on Monday against Ghana, the Americans will be in a familiar position: Competing on the biggest stage against teams whose players have more far impressive club resumes. That’s hardly a death knell for the U.S., which has a history of being better than the sum of its parts, but the facts are the facts: If you line up the U.S. players against their opponents, the Americans’ club teams don’t have the same prestige.
Just ask the question: How many players each team in the U.S.’s group competed in the group stage or knockout stage of last season’s UEFA Champions League?
For the U.S., just two of the team’s 23 players fit that description: Jermaine Jones (who played for Schalke before going on loan to Besiktas in January) and Julian Green (who got a cup of coffee at the end of one of Bayern Munich’s UCL games).
For comparison’s sake, Ghana has five players who played in Champions League last season; Portugal has eight; and Germany has a whopping 18 of its 23 players fitting that description (see list of players below).
For U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, the goal is to find ways to narrow that talent gap, both in the short term (this tournament) and in the long term (by getting more U.S. players into positions where they could play in Champions League).
As Klinsmann said this past week, “Our goal is to get as many players as possible one day into the Champions League, because on a club level that’s where you want to be, so that they have the confidence and experience to face these players from the biggest clubs in the world [at the World Cup].”
“I think we have very special players … that can make it to that level,” he went on. “But right now the statistics prove we’re not there yet. So hopefully [this World Cup] is now the stage for our players to prove that they’re ready for the next level—or another two levels—in their careers. There’s no better showcase than a World Cup.”
STRAUS: U.S. players taking note of tight World Cup officiating
How does the U.S. traditionally make up for its club resumes when competing at the World Cup? First off, by being in great physical condition. The U.S. usually has more in its tank at the end of games, and it shows, especially when the conditions are hot and humid (as they will be at games in Manaus, Natal and Recife). Second, by having a good team spirit. The U.S. rarely has divas. And third, by handling World Cup obstacles with poise. How would Portugal, for example, handle losing its first game against Germany in this tournament? Mental meltdowns are always possible, and the U.S. has largely prevented those in the past.
The proof is what happens on the field, though, when nobody is checking which club you play for. For the U.S. it all starts on Monday in Natal.
Here’s a list of the players in the U.S.’s World Cup group that played in the group stage or beyond of the UEFA Champions League last season:
Jérôme Boateng | Bayern Munich |
Erik Durm | Borussia Dortmund |
Julian Draxler | Schalke |
Mario Götze | Bayern Munich |
Kevin Grosskreutz | Borussia Dortmund |
Benedikt Höwedes | Schalke |
Mats Hummels | Borussia Dortmund |
Sami Khedira | Real Madrid |
Toni Kroos | Bayern Munich |
Philipp Lahm | Bayern Munich |
Per Mertesacker | Arsenal |
Thomas Müller | Bayern Munich |
Manuel Neuer | Bayern Munich |
Mesut Özil | Arsenal |
Lukas Podolski | Arsenal |
André Schürrle | Chelsea |
Bastian Schweinsteiger | Bayern Munich |
Roman Weidenfeller | Borussia Dortmund |
André Almeida | Benfica |
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Julian Green | Bayern Munich |
Jermaine Jones | Schalke |
Additional research by Zach Dixon.
