I missed this late last night when gathering up various columns and articles about Klinsmann. Steve Dilbeck let loose a broadside against US Soccer titled U.S. Soccer Just Can’t Score in the LA Daily News, one many feel they deserve. Here’s a sampling:
The U.S. national team has simply vanished from view. It hasn’t played a game since that embarrassing 2-1 loss to Ghana in its World Cup finale in June. It has gone almost five months without a coach.
After coaching Germany to its third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup, his [Klinsmann’s] arrival would have granted the U.S.team unparalleled standing on the international soccer stage. He was instant big-time.
It screamed natural fit. Everyone seemed on board. Yet the prolonged negotiations hinted at trouble.
Maybe Sunil wouldn’t give Klinsmann enough power. Maybe Klinsmann really doesn’t want to coach until 2008, as some suspected, and might yet be back.
But the serious negotiations showed there clearly was an opening at this moment for U.S. Soccer to elevate its program and it missed it again.
Now there is another failed attempt, another nice MLS coach, another temporary plan and more treading water for U.S. Soccer. Someday U.S. Soccer might get it right. Someday there might be a pill for male-pattern baldness.
Ouch. He may have been more direct than most, but he echos what many are feeling.
Jamie Trecker has some insights from the conference call in his latest:
Gulati also dangled a thread: "Klinsmann and I had a terrific conversation yesterday about the future. There’s a lot of respect in how this went. There’s an open door about working together."
Friday, the questions fans were asking were simple, and sometimes harsh: What is wrong with U.S. Soccer? Why isn’t there a line of foreign coaches anxious to work in a country in which winners are well-rewarded? And if U.S. Soccer was going to hire one of Arena’s assistants, why not just retain Arena and play out the fall international dates while charting the next course?
There’s a lot more so be sure to read the entire thing. That’s an interesting thread for Gulati to dangle. I doubt it leads anywhere but who knows. Kind of odd to say something like that when announcing your second choice as ‘interim’ coach.
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December 8th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
US Soccer is a mess… we’ve had 2 absolutely miserable World Cups out of the last 3. Bruce Arena is completely responsible for that mess as his fingerprint has been (unsuccessfully) all over US Soccer for a while. What the US did today was absolutely no better than England firing Sven-Goran Eriksson only to replace him with Steve McLaren.
Rumors are running around that Klinsmann’s decision came down to how much control would he have. And apparently, folks like Gulati couldn’t get their pride and egos out of the way and step aside to better the program. They are so drunk with power and suffering from “Assumed Usefulness Syndrome” that they let a guy get away who has experienced success as a player and coach at a level that the US hasn’t.
I personally would have given Klinsmann carte blanche over US Soccer… he couldn’t do any worse!!! Seriously, how much worse could Klinsmann have made US Soccer – HE WOULDN’T HAVE as that is not his style. With this decision today the US resigned itself to another few years of beating up CONCACAF completion while failing miserably against European and African nations.
Let’s keep throwing the likes of Landon Donovan out there… no goals in the World Cup but scores 2 the weekend after the US team returned home. And what does that say about MLS… granted I’m ecstatic for a domestic league and purpose built stadiums in the US but US Soccer is totally missing the boat when it comes to national team development… the Bruce Arena status quo soldiers on forward to mediocrity!