The Klinsmann Coaching Thread v.3 N&A Edition [R]

All hail joe - the king of sarcasm.

Get over it dude. Everyone else has.

 

Here's an interview in German with JK from after the CR game.
http://www.welt.de/sport/fussball/article119836320/In-Amerika-ist-fuer-mich-vieles-einfacher.html

[my quick translation, forgive any typos]

Die Welt: Herr Klinsmann, you are getting ready to qualify with the US team for the WC 2014. How satisfied are you with the Status quo?

Jürgen Klinsmann: Very satisfied. Many things in American soccer are developing postiviely. That is also true for the national team, but also for the youth team and for how training is being conducted. We now have 80 youth academies and the league is getting ready to go up to 20 teams. there is a lot happening on all levels. And that I am in the middle of it as national team coach is very exciting.

Die Welt: What did you change?

Klinsmann: We built up the structures in such a way that they are professional. The information now goes from the top all the way down to the lowest youth levels. It wasn't like this before. At the same time, we have connections to MLS, the Mexican league and we have a worldwide network with a head scout in Europe. We recruit players all over the world who have a US passport. It is like with Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira or Jerome Boateng, who decided to play for Germany.

Die Welt: Did you revolutionize US soccer?

Klinsmann: No, we didn't have the time pressure that must be in place for a revolution. We know that we don't belong in the top ten in the world. I hope that we will get there, but we are not there yet. The work I did with Germany then was much different. In 2004, we only had two years to get to the point where we could become world champions. Here in the US, we just want to continually get better.

Die Welt: At the beginning of the year, you faced criticism. The claim was that your traning methods were questionable and that was going to endanger success.

Klinsmann: There was just one newspaper report because we lost in Honduras. That was all. When you restructure the team, not everybody is going to be happy. When you have a a few players for whom the changes are going to quickly, that is normal. And it was all overblown. 2012 was the most successful year in US soccer history, and 2013 is also going very well.

Die Welt: Did you change how things are run?

Klinsmann: No. What we are doing is creating an environment that is based on results. That could be training methods, education and nutrition plans. Lifestyles are also examined. We impart to the players that soccer is a 24 hour hob. We explain to them the dangers of social media and what it means if you put your legs up for too long [take it easy]. The MLS season was lengthened so that the players don't completely lose their fitness levels. We have to be able to perform better in order to reach the level of the big [soccer] nations. For that you need the physical and the mental side. And the feedback has been predominantly positive.

Die Welt: That sounds like you have a lot of freedom. Could you also work in Germany in this manner?

Klinsmann: It is easier to implement something like this in the USA, because there are less distractions. Nobody cares if we change the nutrition plans or what hotel we stay in. There is no "media echo." That makes things much easier. We are not a soccer country, and that makes the attention much less. We also receive criticism, but for the most part it stays on subject.

Die Welt: Is is a question of the mentality?

Klinsmann: Every mentality is different, and new things won't be accepted in the same way all over. But it is a question of the time frame. As a Bundesliga coach, any changes are immediately met with resistance, doubts and many questions. If you want to change something and also be deliver results at the same time, it is difficult. It is easier as a national team coach. In the US, we think in 4-year cycles from one WC to the next. As a result, the daily pressure is less.

Die Welt: It is well known how comfortable you feel in the USA. Are you still planning on becoming a US citiizen?

Klinsmann: When I get more time to do all of the paper work, then maybe I will start the process.

Die Welt: Why?

Klinsmann: I have been here for 15 years and I would like to vote for the president, and I need to be a citizen for that. Our children have both passports. For me it is just a formality. I love it here, but I also want to keep my German citizenship.

Die Welt: What do you like so much?

Klinsmann: Every country has its positives and negatives, there is not a perfect spot on the earth. For us as a family, the USA is good because we can live fairly anonymously. I can move around everywhere and go shopping in the supermarket without causing a big commotion. Maybe somebody will speak to me because he watched soccer on TV but otherwise it is pretty peaceful. That makes it easier than in Germany. You live with less pressure. We love going to Germany and the trips there are wonderful but our quality of life here is worth a lot to us.

Die Welt: Do you miss being in the spotlight?

Klinsmann: Not at all, but I never had a problem being the coach at Bayern or the national team. My wife had to go shopping then. You adapt to your environment. That is a fascinating challenge as a soccer coach.

(The rest of the article talks about Germany and Bayern.)

 

Interesting, is this the first time he stated this? Can he file a one-time change?

This sounds a political answer that would be given to a German newspaper. "I LOVE it here! Errr.... because I get to be anonymous."

 

Fantastic interview. Thanks for the link!

 

No, I don't think so. Hobo's translation is good, but it may not completely convey the 'feel' here. I thought he sounded pretty sincere in the original. He really likes it in both countries. I can identify with that completely.

 

Exactly, I also found the interview to be very sincere. My translation was of the quick, streamlined variety, but we can talk about individual sections for sure.

 

Repped the translation and repped this post as well. Thanks for the work!

 

the first Picture for me...the second for Klinsi
thanks MK..nice to see you still around

 

thanks...I read the article as well..but you have made great translatation into English...
I think Klinsi will Keep his German passport....

regarding the rest of the article that talks about Germany and Bayern - it is the most interesting part

thanks....happy to see happy US fans

happy bltleo

 

Plus minus is a hockey stat, it then moved to basketball, two sports with free and regular in game subbing. Soccer has nothing even close to the level of in game substitutions that make a plus minus stat useful. Instead of showing how different players perform against the same level of competition you are comparing how players do against different levels of competition and in vastly different phases of the game .

 

In JK I believe!

I was thinking about the coaching differences in the Gold Cup this time vs last time under the previous coach; the WQ this time vs last time and came away with the one change that I think is the most positive. The depth of the USMNT is now deep at every position.

Competition in camp was be all time high (no idea how to objectively measure). But practice competition is what makes champions IMO. As I watch the squad, I believe we have multiple individuals to fill in at every position. No more 90 minutes of every match for anybody. IMO we will surprise in Brazil, but unlike a fortuitous result in 2002, we will sustain the progress that JK has unleashed.

 

http://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2013/09/11/test-for-klinsmann-will-be-at-the-world-cup

 

Certainly true that the evaluation of Klinsmann's first three years will be largely based on World Cup results. Klinsmann has certain earned good marks for the hex and the Gold Cup, and passable marks for the semifinal round, but "the final exam is worth 70% of the overall grade", if I can borrow that phrase.

My personal evaluation, to be tweaked by a particular difficult or particularly easy World Cup draw, is something like C+ for failure to advance, B+ for going out in the round of 16, A- for going out in the quarterfinals, A+ for making the final four.

Regardless, I'd like to see Klinsmann have another whole World Cup cycle with the USMNT.

 

I disagree with the last as we have had some really bad luck with 2nd cycles and I doubt Klinsmann's would be much different, but otherwise I agree.

Semifinal round of WCQ was like a C, Gold Cup was an A, the Hex has been, probably, A-. But the grade he earns in the WC will essentially the grade he earns for his tenure.

 

Cant give him an A minus because he failed the Costa Rica test. He simply was not prepared.

Agree with your other grades.

 

I would not. Klinsi is at his best when his back is to the wall and he concentrates on winning - bench lazy Jozy and bring in Eddy, e.g.

When his position is secure, otoh, he makes decisions based on what he thinks will be looked on favorably. In short, he becomes distracted and weak willed and the character of the team suffers. With qualification accomplished and 10 months to piddle about before the WC, I think some will appreciate what I mean, eventually.

 

This. I'd agree with this.

 

What I liked was how JK was freed from all the cap this guy and that guy pressure in the GC - as if that would develop US Soccer (it doesnt) - and used the tournament to really develop guys like Shea, Bedoya, Dono, Mixx. Notice how those guys are all taking their GC experience to the next level and thriving. If only we had seen more of that JK.

 

I am going to wait for the draw to decide what I think the goals are. i do not bleieve we have reached the point yet where we should always expect to get out of group. I would alos want to see who was available in light of the draw.

That being said I do hope he gets another cycle. This is fine footy we are seeing our team begin to play and we are beginning to actually believe we can pally wtih anybody anywhere, actually attempt tp play and not prk the bus in front of the goal and hang on for dear life. sometimes it bites us in the butt (see CR) but for the most part the vchange has come faster and with better results that many thought possible.

 

LOL he wasn't freed of any pressure, he never was under any pressure. There is an interview above where he says essentially the pressure over here is nothing to what he has seen in terms of pressure. JK is going to march to his own drum and he gets paid either way, and he negotiated for a higher level of control of the program than any who has ever held the job, there is no pressure on him at all other than what he places on himself.

 

Love the failed the costa rica test line....lol.

Jurgen so far is having the two statistically best years ever for a USMNT in a row and has now seen our team have the highest goals per game average in the history of the USMNT this year even if we score zero goals in the last 3 or 4 matches.

Guess people have to hate that we dont play for draws as often as we used to.

 

our defense is going to get shredded at the world cup.