Steve Davis' weekly column, drilling down on five hot topics in American soccer
1. Jurgen Klinsmann’s place seems safe
Pity the fool who plays cards with Sunil Gulati; U.S. Soccer’s president is aces at not showing his hand.
I spoke to Gulati on Tuesday, asking about Copa America andfuture prospects of similar tournaments here. But I also took the opportunity to ask if anything had changed regarding Jurgen Klinsmann, now approaching his 5th year anniversary in charge of the U.S. national team?
If you’re looking for the big reveal … prepare to be disappointed. Because you’ll know nothing today that you didn’t know yesterday.
Perhaps we were all reading a little too much in Gulati’s comments earlier this month, when he seemed to suggest patience spilling out. That’s how we all saw it; I’m not so sure now. After all, Gulati really didn’t say anything during that June 7 interview that he had not before, that evaluations are always ongoing, that big events (like the just-completed Copa America Centenario) will always finish with assessments and after-reports, etc.
Of course Gulati wants results; he’s also got a significant investment in Klinsmann, financially for the federation and personally for himself.
Klinsmann did hit the semifinal target at Copa America. And as Gulati pointed out to me Tuesday, the United States did not lose to any teams in the tourney that weren’t third in the world or better. He was happy about getting there, unhappy about not scoring a single goal in those losses to Argentina and Colombia.
“It was very good that we got to the semis, but like most people, I want more,” he said. “I think the players and coaches feel the same way.”
See the card player in him? So, whose shuffle is it?
Klinsmann seems likely to be in charge the next time you see the United States men’s program in a meaningful match, this fall as the team closes out this easy-breezy semifinal round of World Cup qualifying. Then again, Bob Bradley’s ouster came as a surprise about this time of year in 2011, didn’t it? So who knows?
2. Klinsmann to England? The Three Lions could sure do worse
England is looking for a manager; surely you’ve heard.
Klinsmann’s name invariably comes up for these positions, reminding us of something that Bradley always enjoyed pointing out: that the U.S. program generally gets more respect abroad than at home.
Around the world, fans and analysts look at our talent and see a lot of “average.” In their minds, Bruce Arena, Bradley and now even Klinsmann squeeze a lot of juice from these rather small oranges. Meanwhile over here, we see the upside in all our talent. It’s the American can-do mentality at work – so we’re always thinking ahead, about which streets to close off for that big victory parade that’s surely right around the corner.
So, back to Klinsmann and his name coming up for England.
I know this might sound loopy to the anti-Klinsmann set, but he might be just what England needs. Seriously.
The big picture is Klinsmann’s strength. Which is why he’s probably better suited as U.S. technical director, less so as the day-to-day guy who has to fuss with details of tactical plans suited for single matches and such.
His bigger ideas about improving U.S. performance through betterment of the talent pool always made sense.
As Klinsmann arrived on the job in the summer of 2011 he asked U.S. players for deeper dives into self-improvement. He wanted more: more training, more fitness work, better diet, more attention to daily duties of professionalism in every little way. He also pushed players to seek the most competitive environment possible (the genesis of a testy relationship with MLS).
In short, he sought to dislodge players and the larger establishment from comfort zones. That man just does not do comfort zones! Never did as a player. Never will as a manager.
The details would clearly look different in England, but if a country ever needed dislodging from comfort zones, it’s the one currently hurting from this humbling Euro 2016 elimination by … Iceland!
The country is now in a deep period of self-examination. Go read for yourself. Here’s a good one. Or, here is a solid technical unpacking of everything that went wrong with the Three Lions performance at Euro 2016.
So how to get better? Start here: England is a land of entrenched ideas on the game. It’s a lot like baseball here, with so much rich tradition that it’s almost impossible to pry away all the stodgy old ideology and concepts. Progress arrives all around in global soccer, but England mostly stays put. (Baseball here really is so analogous; it’s a wonder, in fact, that soccer managers in England don’t wear full kits, a la America’s pastime.)
Klinsmann’s specialty is wrestling players and the establishment from those harmful comfort zones. That’s what he did so successfully in Germany, introducing innovative training and fitness methods, dismissing some of the old player selection methodologies and such.
Voila! A German program at low ebb surged to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup. More importantly, the ground work was arranged for great stuff ahead; Die Mannschaft is blowing full blast ever since, into the semifinals or beyond in two European Championships and two World Cups, including the 2014 championship in Brazil.
The English mindset is that England knows the game. Of course it does! The default position: “If we do it this way, this is the right way to do it!” Never mind years and years and years of results that say otherwise.
I doubt it would happen; Klinsmann loves sunny Southern California, and exchanging it for England’s colder, darker shores may not go over well at the family dinner table. Besides, who knows if anyone over there even thinks it’s a good idea?
But it would beat one of England’s “go-to” alternatives: recycling another England man, who will surely come toting a big bag of “same.”
3. MLS, Las Vegas and the benefit of “first to market”
There is a restaurant in my neighborhood that, frankly, isn’t that great. The food is tired. The service is hit or miss. Parking is a crapshoot. The music is ridiculous, a throwback to another day, crooners that only your grandparents might like.
I stopped in last week! I’ll probably go again soon.
You know why? Because it’s a neighborhood spot. It’s always been there, so a lot of us go out of habit or thanks to the blessedness of comfortable familiarity. The place has been there forever.
If it opened today, it wouldn’t see the end of the year; there are better Italian food spots very close by.
Here’s the point: being first to market counts. A lot.
Which is why I’m wondering if MLS has made a mistake in allowing the NHL to be “first to market” in Las Vegas?
There was a time when American sports leagues wanted nothing to do with Las Vegas, taboo in the deciders’ eyes because of those obvious gambling associations. But the world has changed; lotteries, casinos, on-line gambling, etc., have all diluted the Vegas stigma. What does that leave? A major U.S. city with plenty of money and an entertainment mind-set – and not one major sports team. No NFL, no Major League Baseball, no NBA and no MLS. And no NHL … until las week.
Major League Soccer has kicked the tires on Vegas through the years. Things seemed close a few years ago, but Minnesota got into the game and now Minnesota Unitedis set to join next year or in 2018.
Las Vegas’ efforts of MLS entry seem pretty much kaput. St. Louis and Sacramento are the apple of MLS expansion eyes these days. Detroit, San Diego, San Antonio, Austin and Cincinnati are getting love, too, as MLS pushes bullishly on a bigger national footprint.
Meanwhile, NHL will benefit from being “first to market” in Las Vegas, grabbing up the best arena/stadium deal, the choice sponsors and perhaps most importantly, fan loyalty. The next arriver, “second man in the pile,” so to speak, just will not get the same.
4. England: (former) land of great goalkeeping
Everything you read about England and its time for a reckoning is true. But there is another way to look at all this – even if this view will hardly have supporters of the fallen Three Lions inhaling big breaths of relief.
Maybe it’s just goalkeeping. Maybe that’s another area that need modernizing. Or, perhaps it’s just our thinking that need modernizing?
Joe Hart made two errors in the tournament. Neither were “howlers;” they won’t have hundreds of fans pushing LOL gifs of the boo-boos across social media and what have you. But they were errors in this sense: you expect better of goalkeepers at international level.
The latter goof-up: getting a hand to Kolbeinn Sigthorsson’s 18th minute shot Monday but not pushing it out or wide or somehow keeping it from turninginto Iceland’s game-winner. Much more than a game-winner, really. It was the shot that wrecked a country’s collective sporting psyche, that reduced its beloved squad into a national embarrassment.
If Hart makes that save, perhaps we aren’t having these conversations. Yes, England’s program would be in the same place in the big picture, still fabulously flawed and in dire need of a reboot. Still, we might have been talking (again) about brave Lions and the virtue of just “getting the job done.” That was more or less the narrative after England’s late 2-1 win over Wales – in a match where Hart certainly wanted a do-over on Gareth Bale's long free-kick that got past England’s No. 1.
Meanwhile, while Hart was flapping at balls he needed to stop …
Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer reminded everyone why he’s considered the world’s best, stretching and diving athletically to turn away Juraj Kucka's header in the elimination win over Slovakia. The world champs led just 1-0 at the time, and a Slovakian goal could have turned confidences and perhaps fortunes.
And there was Gianluigi Buffon, doing for Italy what he’s done since the disco days of the 70s – or so it seems. Never mind that he’s 38 and has been Italy’s No. 1 since pre-9/11. There he was, playing the hero again as Antonio Conte's men reached the Euro quarterfinals.
They did so at Spain’s expense – but it certainly wasn’t David de Gea’s fault. In fact, de Gea was the only reason Spain was still in the game late, making one remarkable save after another. That La Roja now has de Gea after years of service from the fabulous Iker Casillas – that just hardly seems fair now, does it?
Here’s the point: Spain and Germany seem to be the land of golden gloves. Italy, too, thanks almost singularly to Buffon. Belgium and France appear to have their goalkeeping scene in hand for years to come thanks to Thibaut Courtois and Hugo Lloris.
Not to kick England while it’s down, but next time someone says something about England being the land of great goalkeeping, feel free to give ‘em a dismissive snort. That’s what I plan to do.
5. The Little Five
5a. As you consider Lionel Messi, his pain over inability to bring a trophy to his homeland and his relationship with an Argentine soccer federation that can’t get its stuff together,here’s an article that should really help create a clearer picture of this mess. Once you read it, you can better understand why Messi made the choice that he did.
5b. The autopsies of Seattle’s season are arriving – probably too early – but it’s fascinating to watch just the same. Perhaps most interesting in all these Sounders’ dressing downs were comments by Brad Evans suggesting some teammates weren’t in the right mindset. Pay attention to this; Evans has one of the domestic game’s brightest soccer minds. All the evidence you need is in how adaptable he has been in different positions, from central and wide in the midfield to central and wide in defense. And if you talk to him after a game or practice, you know immediately and for sure that he’s one sharp cookie. If he says it about the team, it’s probably true.
5c. We are now into the MLS season’s second half. One of top storylines for me will be Clint Dempsey. Does he have a big season in him? Or will the 33-year-old attacker be the next U.S. man to suffer post-tourney blues?
5d. Results quickly improved in Houston as Wade Barrett took charge following Owen Coyle’s departure. He was always destined to be a manager, one of those with the useful “all in for soccer, all in for the team” mindset. A few years ago at an FC Dallas-Houston reserve match, I noticed Barrett sitting quietly on the bench. He was injured at the time. Plus, these were Dynamo reserves! He was first-team guy then. I asked then-manager Dominic Kinnear why Barrett had made the trip? “He asked to. He just likes being around the team, learning, helping any way he can.”
5e. When I’m kind of the soccer world, my first order of business will be this: a quality U.S. Open Cup whip-around show on big night’slike tonight. Six good Open Cup matches dot the calendar, plusa good one in the Canadian Championship, where a CONCACAF Champions League spot is on the line.
Steve Davis has covered Major League Soccer since is first kick in 1996. He writes on-line for FourFourTwo and co-hosts the weekly radio show/podcast ESPN Soccer Today on 103.3 FM in Dallas. Davis is also the radio play-by-play voice for FC Dallas on 100.7 FM.
