Fox’s Nick Webster is saying it’s a done deal.
Apparently Boris Inanici at WDR told Webster that Jurgen Klinsmann, the German national team coach will quit after the World Cup regardless of whether the ‘Mannschaft’ wins the whole thing or not:
“He then told me that Klinsmann has already been seen with the top brass of the US Soccer Federation and that there is a very good chance that he will take over the national program when Bruce Arena steps down, which Arena has said he will do.”
Could it be that simple?
Now remember, Fox does not have a stellar reputation for truth in reporting (!). According to Fox we’re still hunting for WMDs and winning the war in Iraq 🙂
Hopefully the Fox sports department is more competent than their news department!
It’s time for Arena to move on.
11 comments on “Let the Rumors Begin: Klinsmann Replacing Arena!”
Assuming this is true, and knowing that my knowledge of current US coaches outside of MLS is very poor, I think this lies somewhere between good and great news.
He does live in CA, which means he obviously likes this country, so I would not doubt his future involvement with our soccer federation.
He has done some great things with the German team, their all out attack style has been fabulous to watch and as all good sports fans know, the best defense is a good offense. Its exactly the style of play we need infused into our national team. We play defending soccer, too much reliance on the counter attack. Which is not to the strengths of our team, we have much better (possibly read as “more”) strikers and attacking midfielders than we do defenders and defending midfielders.
Lets see what becomes of this, either way, two things are clear
1. We need to play more attacking soccer, constantly pushing the ball forward, with high intensity through the whole game.
2. We need to play more European and South American teams in our international friendlies. As others have mentioned, CONCACAF is no longer a suitable challenge if we want to make it with the rest of the world.
Of course, Klinsmann knows all this, so here’s hoping!
Sensational speculation about the US national team via a quasi-tabloid news organization…maybe that’s a sign of progress for US soccer.
If only Klinsmann could bring Klose with him then I guess we wouldn’t be moaning about lack of goal scoring.
we’ve got strikers that can score, we just need to get them the ball instead of passing it back to the defense.
You liberals! This isn’t the O’Reilly Factor for goodness sakes!
Let’s hope it is true.
Hard to understand how such realists about the state of UA soccer could be in such a fantasy world about FOX. Anyway, that is topic for another day. After the Czech game, I called for US Soccer BOD and Arena to resign en-masse. Their cronyism is at the very root of the problem and until this happens nothing will change with US national teams. Herb Brooks showed us what needs to happen when a sport gets taken over by a insiders who nothing about the sport. Klinsman would be great, but I have to give a vote to Wynalda, his PASSION and knowledge came through in his excellant commentary. Props to him. Any support out there for a home-grown headcoash Wynalda?
doug, you assume Wynalda wants to coach, if he did, I would not be against it. He definitely understands the game, and was the one ESPN announcer who was willing to point out the mistakes made.
We all knew Arena was going to leave after the WC, his contract is up and he has no reason to stay.
Doug, Wynalda is an interesting choice. You have it right about passion. He has played abroad and certainly knows US Soccer. The age factor might work against him (he is around 38, but Klinsmann is around 42), but you could make an argument that it is high time the young turks took over.
That said, I would be SHOCKED if US Soccer gave him the job.
Wynalda made a great point about the US team not knowing what to do when they got the ball. It was clear that they lacked a coherent strategy. Arena, through the tournament, looked as animated as a doorknob. I think Wynalds recognized that. He is smart and a good choice. I hope US Soccer can get off its butt and get some real candidates.
WYNALDA???
What again are his qualifications? He knows about the game and is passionate? By those standards, Wynalda stands in line behind Derek Rae, Ray Hudson, Bobby McMahon, Tommy Smyth, Nick Webster, either of the 2 Gs, and stands right beside Geber and Cohen and all the ladies of the Treble, and probably Glenn Davis as well, among US broadcasters and commentators. And let’s not forget Giorgio Chinaglia, who by Wynalda’s yardstick for Bruce Arena, having played in World Cups, has him somewhat beaten.
Wynalda for USA? Come on. He’s a broadcaster with great experience and precious little insight to show for it. But what he does know is how to provoke (love him with Chinaglia! He’s priceless when he’s jabbing at Giorgio!), and that’s exactly what ESPN pays him for (that and looking good).
WYNALDA???
What again are his qualifications? He knows about the game and is passionate? By those standards, Wynalda stands in line behind Derek Rae, Ray Hudson, Bobby McMahon, Tommy Smyth, Nick Webster, either of the 2 Gs, and stands right beside Geber and Cohen and all the ladies of the Treble, and probably Glenn Davis as well, among US broadcasters and commentators. And let’s not forget Giorgio Chinaglia, who by Wynalda’s yardstick for Bruce Arena, having played in World Cups, has him somewhat beaten.
Wynalda for USA? Come on. He’s a broadcaster with great experience in the game and precious little insight to show for it. But what he does know is how to provoke (love him with Chinaglia! He’s priceless when he’s jabbing at Giorgio!), and that’s exactly what ESPN pays him for (that and looking good).
My apologies to Max Bretos and Allen Hopkins, who are also certainly in front of Wynalda in knowledge of tactics.