Klinsmann Discovers: Gotta Be PC in the USA
The USA men's national team coach has been there and done that, so he knows what it takes to win a World Cup.
And Jürgen Klinsmann know this about his 2014 team, too:
- It's not the Amazin' Mets of 1969;
- No player can do a Namath and guarantee an underdog victory (ask Chris Bosh how that works); and
- There's not enough ice in Brazil to perform miracles.
So, ever the standard bearer of German efficiency, Klinsmann gave a dose of reality to a reporter from the New York Times Magazine:
We cannot win this World Cup because we are not at that level yet.
For us, we have to play the game of our lives seven times to win the tournament.
And yes, Klinsmann indeed knows what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of football:
But yes, he got blowback for those comments made in December, and lots of it.
Counterpoint. Kinda:
The odds of a developing squad like the USA's should be 100:1. Not only does it need to get past any two of Ghana, Portugal, and Germany just to get out of its group, but it then needs to prevail in four bracket matches against the likes of a Brazil, Argentina, or the Netherlands.
Yes, that Netherlands. The side that spotted the defending World Cup champions a penalty before destroying them.
And ask the Dutch how tough this is. One of the most consistently talented powers on the globe has never won the Cup. England, creators of the game, has only won once.
Klinsmann knows it takes more than a three-year development program to be in that mix. He knows the future doesn't include past performers such as Landon Donovan. He's already snubbed another ridiculous American sports tradition of counting on stars because of what they've done instead of what they can now do.
Think big-bucks Angels vis-à-vis Moneyball A's.
Klinsman's record with the USA national team is 30-11-8 (W-L-T). He's doing something right. Perhaps there is something to looking past headlines and expecting coaches to carry pom-pons.
Especially when the coach has been there and done that.