After Mexico loss, it's time to consider Klinsmann's suitability as U.S. coach

Author:
Grant Wahl
Publish date:
Oct 11, 2015

PASADENA, Calif. — I’ve been reading a good book lately. It’s called Das Reboot: How German Soccer Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World. The author, Raphael Honigstein, tells the story of how the Germans completely rethought their approach to talent development starting in the late 1990s, refined it even more in the early 2000s and reaped the ultimate reward by winning World Cup 2014.

Jurgen Klinsmann is a central figure in the tale whose voice appears throughout the book. When the German federation has trouble finding a suitable coach in 2004, Klinsmann gets the job and shocks the traditional German system by bringing in his American fitness gurus and introducing a technocrat’s way of thinking when it comes to developing talent and exploring new ideas. In many ways, he’s like a McKinsey consultant for soccer.

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Klinsmann, you see, is a big-picture guy, a strategic thinker, someone who spent time at Mike Krzyzewski’s annual course at the Duke School of Business. When he made his famous appearance on ESPN after the U.S. had been eliminated in World Cup 2010, he sounded most excited when talking about the future of U.S. Soccer.

“The pyramid is upside-down,” was his money quote, a direct shot at the way the U.S. develops its young players.

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All of the above suggests that Klinsmann was a perfect candidate to be this country’s technical director, one of his two jobs for U.S. Soccer. Technical directors are big-picture guys, visionaries who can put together a long-term strategy. Klinsmann’s attributes are a good fit for that description.

But, in light of the U.S.’s men’s national team’s on-field direction in the 15 months since the 2014 World Cup, culminating in a fourth-place Gold Cup finish and in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Mexico in the CONCACAF Cup, it’s fair to wonder if Klinsmann should also be the senior national team coach. Should he just be the U.S. technical director and stick with that?

Klinsmann isn’t in any danger of losing his U.S. coaching job right now—at least according to his boss, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati—and as long as Klinsmann qualifies the U.S. for World Cup ’18 he’ll almost assuredly keep the coaching job through then. But the way the U.S. played against Mexico was emblematic of how it has played against most decent-to-good teams in recent history: Dropping deep, absorbing pressure, conceding possession and hoping to score on set-pieces or on the counter.

That’s not what Klinsmann promised when he took over in 2011, and it’s not what he’s being paid more than $3 million a year to do. Yes, he can only work with the U.S. talent that he has, but when you’re being paid that much you’re expected to do more than your predecessors who were being paid one-fifth that amount.

Senior national team coach and technical director are demanding jobs for two people, much less one, and Klinsmann himself has said that at times the jobs are in direct conflict with one another. On Saturday, Klinsmann took gut-punches in both jobs. Klinsmann the Coach lost to Mexico for the first time in 11 career games as a player or coach. And Klinsmann the Technical Director saw the U.S. Under-23 team take a brutal (and deserved) 2-0 loss on home soil to Honduras with a berth in the 2016 Olympics on the line.

The U.S. Under-23s, led by Klinsmann’s handpicked coach Andi Herzog, his top senior team assistant, are now in real danger of missing the Olympics for the second straight cycle. The only way the U.S. can now qualify for the Olympics is by beating Canada on Tuesday and then beating Colombia in a one-game playoff in Rio de Janeiro next March. Given the importance Klinsmann has placed on making the Olympics, the U-23 loss on Saturday was almost as deflating as the defeat to Mexico later in the day.

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After the Mexico loss in the Rose Bowl, I asked a few U.S. players if they felt comfortable answering the question: Do you think Klinsmann is the right coach to lead the U.S. team moving forward?

Several said they didn’t feel comfortable answering, and you know what? That makes total sense. But Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey said they were willing to answer.

“I always say that he’s the right guy,” Jones said. “I’m not the guy to jump on stuff that people say. If I go on Twitter now, I’m the guy who lost the game today. So this is something you have to take sometimes. We’ll come back.”

“I’m comfortable with Jurgen being the coach,” said Dempsey. “I’ve enjoyed my time playing under him. We fought hard tonight. Showed a lot of character, I thought, coming from a goal down two times. We just came up a little bit short.”

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Klinsmann has had some good moments as the U.S. coach. World Cup 2014 has to be considered successful in the sense that the result is still what matters most for the U.S., and Klinsmann’s team advanced out of an extremely difficult group. But second four-year cycles for national team coaches are notoriously difficult, no matter the country, and that has certainly been the case so far for Klinsmann.

It’s enough to make you wonder: Would Klinsmann the Technical Director want to keep Klinsmann the Coach right now if the coach wasn’t the same person?

Gallery: USA–Mexico through the years

USA vs. Mexico Soccer

November 11, 2016 – Mexico 2, USA 1

USA and Mexico players watch Rafa Marquez's 89th-minute header find the net in a famous World Cup qualifying win in Columbus for El Tri.

October 10, 2015 – Mexico 3, USA 2 (AET)

Jermaine Jones falls to his knees in disappointment as Mexico celebrates after Paul Aguilar's sensational volley in extra time captured the CONCACAF Cup for El Tri and sends the U.S. rival to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

April 15, 2015 — USA 2, Mexico 0

Stanford University's Jordan Morris marked his first senior national team start with his first international goal, sparking the USA in another 2-0 triumph over Mexico, this one at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

September 10, 2013 — USA 2, Mexico 0

Eddie Johnson and Landon Donovan scored second-half goals to beat El Tri by the same score for the fourth consecutive qualifier in Columbus, Ohio.

March 26, 2013 — USA 0, Mexico 0

2013-0326-Omar-Gonzalez-Matt-Beslert-Javier-Hernandez.jpg — Hector Vivas/LatinContent/Getty Images

Clint Dempsey captained the U.S. to a 0-0 draw at Estadio Azteca, the second time ever the Americans registered a point in World Cup qualifying in Mexico (the other a 1997 tie). Defenders Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler were the stars as Mexico couldn't cash in on several opportunities. The U.S. escaped to remain in second place in CONCACAF qualifying.

August 15, 2012 — USA 1, Mexico 0

It took 25 attempts, but after this friendly, the United States could finally say that it had won at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium. Despite being outplayed for most of the match, the U.S. won thanks to an 80th-minute goal from Michael Orozco Fiscal — the first international goal of his career.

August 10, 2011 — USA 1, Mexico 1

Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann's U.S. debut got off to a rough start, as the Americans trailed Mexico, 1-0 after an uninspired first half in Philadelphia. The U.S. showed more verve after halftime, though, and an impressive display from Brek Shea and a 73rd-minute goal from Robbie Rogers led to a 1-1 draw.

June 25, 2011 — Mexico 4, USA 2

2011-0625-Steve-Cherundolo-Jermaine-Jones-Giovanni-Dos-Santos.jpg — Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

In the Gold Cup final, Mexico captured its second straight title in the battle for CONCACAF bragging rights and secured a berth in the 2013 Confederations Cup. Pablo Barrera scored twice; Giovani Dos Santos and Andres Guardado also had goals. The U.S. was up 2-0 early on Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan goals, but poor defending (partially due to the loss of Steve Cherundolo by injury) doomed the Americans.

August 12, 2009 — Mexico 2, USA 1

The U.S. took its first-ever lead at Azteca Stadium, but went on to lose 2-1 in what was a critical World Cup qualifier for Mexico. The win changed the tide for the then-struggling Mexican squad, as it went on to go 3-0-1 in its next four matches to earn a trip to South Africa. The U.S. still went on to finish first in CONCACAF qualification.

July 26, 2009 — Mexico 5, USA 0

Mexico put an emphatic end to the Americans' 9-0-2 home streak against "El Tri." The Mexicans took the Gold Cup from the two-time defending champion, with five different players scoring goals in the second half at Giants Stadium.

February 11, 2009 — USA 2, Mexico 0

Two goals from Michael Bradley gave the U.S. another home victory over Mexico. It marked the eleventh consecutive time that the Americans had gone unbeaten against Mexico when playing on U.S. soil.

June 24, 2007 — USA 2, Mexico 1

2007-0624-Benny-Feilhaber-DaMarcus-Beasley-075246326.jpg — John Biever

Down 1-0, second-half goals from Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber gave the U.S. the victory in the 2007 Gold Cup finals. The win earned the Americans a spot in the 2009 Confederations Cup, where they achieved their famous upset over Spain.

September 3, 2005 — USA 2, Mexico 0

A 2-0 victory over "El Tri" clinched a spot in the 2006 World Cup, with goals coming from Steve Ralston and DaMarcus Beasley.

May 8, 2003 — USA 0, Mexico 0

In their first meeting since the 2002 World Cup, an all-MLS squad of Americans played Mexico to a 0-0 draw in front of more than 69,000 people in Houston.

June 17, 2002 — USA 2, Mexico 0

Arguably the biggest win in U.S. soccer team history came against its archrivals at the 2002 World Cup. Brian McBride and Landon Donovan gave the Americans a 2-0 victory in South Korea to send their team to the quarterfinals. It is the furthest stage the team has reached in the World Cup since 1930.

July 1, 2001 — Mexico 1, USA 0

Needing a win to stay in contention for the 2002 World Cup, the Mexicans won 1-0 at Azteca Stadium, making their record 21-0-1 when hosting the Americans.

February 28, 2001 — USA 2, Mexico 0

For the first time ever, the Americans won their third consecutive game against Mexico. The victory came in the World Cup qualifying finals and was held in Columbus, Ohio.

August 1, 1999 — Mexico 1, USA 0

Cuauhtemoc Blanco's goal in extra time eliminated the U.S. in the semifinals of the 1999 Mexico City Confederations Cup. The win capped off a long tradition of Mexican dominance over the American side, a streak that shortly thereafter ended, as the Americans won the next three matches against their rivals.

July 17, 1995 — USA 0, Mexico 0

The USA outlasted Mexico in a penalty shootout to reach the semifinals of the 1995 Copa America. After a 0-0 draw, goalkeeper Brad Friedel was the hero in PKs, making two saves. The U.S. made all four of its attempts and advanced.