Parting Thoughts
Klinsmann and His Kritical Komments: He Really Kares
As ASN contributor Jon Arnold departs from Florida and heads back to Texas, he shares a few observations—and some tender thoughts—about Jurgen Klinsmann's seemingly harsh words.
IN MANY WAYS, perhaps even most ways, Jurgen Klinsmann is not like you, the average ASN reader.
You probably don’t take a helicopter to work, you’ve almost certainly never won a World Cup, and you are fond of Landon Donovan.
But in one way, the United States manager is just like you—in a way that isn’t always obvious. Klinsmann is invested in Americans playing abroad. He watches the matches, though likely in more luxurious surroundings than you, and lives and dies with the fortunes of those players.
“If he’s not on the field, we suffer with him,” Klinsmann said Monday about Jozy Altidore’s situation at Sunderland. “We just hope, watch the games week in, week out. And when he comes in no matter how many minutes, he gets a chance. We kind of keep our fingers crossed that he gets a possibility to score.”
It’s notable, then, that the U.S. manager closed the same day’s news conference with blunt comments about Michael Bradley’s club situation—reiterating the position he originally articulated that Bradley’s return to MLS would make things more difficult for him.
The feeling in some corners is that with Donovan gone, Klinsmann has moved on to the next whipping boy, a player loved by American fans who doesn’t reach the ambiguous heights set by the manager.
But while Klinsmann clearly feels MLS isn’t the destination needed for his top players, it seems he really does care about their individual situations.
Part of the reason he’s frustrated with Bradley seems to be because Toronto seems certain to miss the playoffs. The other element at play is that Klinsmann perceives Bradley’s move—and to a lesser extent Dempsey’s—as taking the easy way out. A player like Altidore who toils at Sunderland but continues to try to fight through the challenge gets praised. A player who might not get steady playing time for a Champions League club and then decides to leaves sets himself up for criticism.
It’s easy for players and fans to get confused, but the manager doesn’t seem to be coming from a place of anger but a place of caring—about his own interests with the national team but also about the players’ own situations.
“As we said yesterday, he has a very difficult season to go through, and that’s part of the process too,” Klinsmann said of Bradley after Tuesday's match. “We help him in that, and I think it felt good for him to be a part of that group right now.”
So while the blond German coach is not like you, and he sometimes makes some puzzling choices, at heart Klinsmann isn’t "out to get" Bradley or hoping for his failure. He’s hoping the United States succeeds, and even if his idea of that looks different than yours or mine—it makes Klinsmann a little more like you.
It’s notable, then, that the U.S. manager closed the same day’s news conference with blunt comments about Michael Bradley’s club situation—reiterating the position he originally articulated that Bradley’s return to MLS would make things more difficult for him.
The feeling in some corners is that with Donovan gone, Klinsmann has moved on to the next whipping boy, a player loved by American fans who doesn’t reach the ambiguous heights set by the manager.
But while Klinsmann clearly feels MLS isn’t the destination needed for his top players, it seems he really does care about their individual situations.
Part of the reason he’s frustrated with Bradley seems to be because Toronto seems certain to miss the playoffs. The other element at play is that Klinsmann perceives Bradley’s move—and to a lesser extent Dempsey’s—as taking the easy way out. A player like Altidore who toils at Sunderland but continues to try to fight through the challenge gets praised. A player who might not get steady playing time for a Champions League club and then decides to leaves sets himself up for criticism.
It’s easy for players and fans to get confused, but the manager doesn’t seem to be coming from a place of anger but a place of caring—about his own interests with the national team but also about the players’ own situations.
“As we said yesterday, he has a very difficult season to go through, and that’s part of the process too,” Klinsmann said of Bradley after Tuesday's match. “We help him in that, and I think it felt good for him to be a part of that group right now.”
So while the blond German coach is not like you, and he sometimes makes some puzzling choices, at heart Klinsmann isn’t "out to get" Bradley or hoping for his failure. He’s hoping the United States succeeds, and even if his idea of that looks different than yours or mine—it makes Klinsmann a little more like you.
