BTW, I also would not put Portugal in the same ranking as Germany. Germany is bar far (IMO) the favorite to advance from the group.
yeah, with JK (American but only recently) and like a 1/4 of USMNT, german's a first language and it's where they were raised. so it makes sense to me. i minored in german (you know, because that's where the money is. /sarcasm) and "studied" in berlin during the 2006 world cup. and if that's not enough, (and i assume this applies to anyone who isn't spanish), i'm tired of seeing spain win and hearing their anthem.
JK is allowed to think these things, but putting them out there for the world to hear just isn't very tactful. Upsets happen all the time in sports, its why the games are played! We are NOT as good as Germany, but we can still defeat them in any given single match. I am more concerned with pace of Ghana which we are underrating tremendously and presuming we will get a point (or 3) from our opener against them is a recipe for disaster. Hoping for it is a different story. We will have to play a full 90 with no major errors...can't say we've been able to do this recently...Germany vs Portugal could be the pivotal match in the group. We are two months away from the tournament and nothing about our side's current form is breeding confidence. If anything, there are more questions then ever about our starting 11 (pick 'em) and whether or not we are going to shoot ourselves in the foot or rise to the occasion.
Well, remember, in the 2006 Group of Death, the #4 FIFA ranked team crashed out. I wonder who those guys were?
Again, totally fine. I would have no problem with that and wouldn't think twice about it. But Klinsi didn't say "as my/our second team." Perhaps he was misquoted. Perhaps that's what he meant. But that's not what he said. And he's worn out my ability to give him the benefit of the doubt with so many of his other gaffs to the press. But he is what he is. He can obviously say what he wants. I can quietly accept it, but sometimes I've gotta vent. Makes no difference, clearly, to him.
Well Germany can win the World Cup (well the odds are probably not fantastic), so he obviously wants them to win it, we (USA) want to survive and make it out of the group. There is a difference in expectations.
Incentives... Klinsmann has every incentive to have the USA go deep in the tournament as possible. His reputation as a player is golden, but as a coach, the jury is out. Klinsmann will do everything he can to get the USA to compete to its highest level, advance out of the group, and go as far as possible. There will be no other goal. Our third game against Germany stands in the way of that goal, and you better believe he is going to do everything in his power to beat them. In fact, you could even make the case that a victory over Germany would be particularly sweet given the criticism he has received in the German media over his coaching tactical acumen. Incentives matter a hell of a lot more than this quote.
You could also make the case (as unlikely as it may be) that the US could be on 6 pts and Germany could be on only 1 to 4 pts by the time they meet on June 26. And some result in that match would assure Germany's advancement. The German media would likely be wise enough to credit Vogts and/or Herzog rather than just Klinsmann for any USA staff tactical acumen that may be displayed during 2014. JK is more of a motivator and recruiter and mind-game player, rather than some amazingly astute footballing or managerial tactician.
Klinsmann missed the memo. Not the American mentality to admit defeat. Should be "why not us?" Even if it's not possible/realistic. While he's lived in America he of course still has strong ties to Germany (no shit). As do our German-American players, nothing wrong with that. I don't believe he's using a page from Mourinho's book either. He honestly feels the way he does, and that's fine. Just don't say it publicly.
Oh for Pete's sake. I was trying REALLY hard to stay out of this, but now, even the "we" is getting micro-analyzed. 1. It was in German - so right away, assume you are dealing with imperfect translation (because there is no such thing as a perfect translation) 2. The "we" in this case is Berti Vogts and JK. The question was specifically phrased at "Berti and you" iirc. I'm not going back and checking the original again, but seriously people: CALM the <insert expletive here> DOWN. Edit: P.S. I have to repeat this. If you do not speak German and do not know Germany, then seriously stfu about "diplomatic", or how he should speak to German press. Talk about hubris. All you people who constantly nitpick every single phrase out of his mouth when talking in English, and even accuse JK of hubris, you now suddenly know what he should be saying to the German soccer press in German, and you are basing that on an English transtlation?!!??? Seriously? He said we could beat Germany, he said he thinks we can advance, and when asked about Berti and his feelings regarding Germany winning the cup, he said "we" (Berti and he) are crossing their fingers for Germany. That leaves aside his demeanor and facial expressions when he said it... which I did not see. So there's that additional layer of separation. Sheesh. Edit 2: Even the damn thread title is a bad translation of what he said
Thank you for pointing out that "we" meant he and Bertie - but you could have done that without all the other insults.
If the U.S. has 6 pts after Ghana/Portugal, it advances and is the resting starters, as it should for game three.
As much as the Big 10 benefits from having a Big 10 team win the NCAA tournament, i.e. not much if at all, other than to people who pointlessly care about what other people think about their conference. There is some completely unproven notion that if CONCACAF teams do well, CONCACAF teams get more World Cup spots, but that's very tenuous at best. In fact, I'll bet money that World Cup spot allocation has much more to do with votes for Sepp Blatter and money and BS than performance at the World Cup. I for one hope that the US wins every game they play - and the rest of CONCACAF, I don't really care. Except Mexico. I hope they embarrass themselves. Much like an Ohio St. fan feels about Michigan, which is the best comparison I've seen regarding it.
As a devoted USA fan, I hope Germany wins too. Why? Because I don't see us making it out of the group with anything over 5 points. That's just being realistic. Unless and until the unrealistic begins to become the norm, I'll continue to remain a skeptic. That's not to say I won't support my team and believe in them. Of course I will. But I also understand my belief has little to no relationship with the outcome anyhow.
Hopefully he's just trying to soften them with good words. You see coaches do that all the time. They play down the fact that they're the favorites, talk up opponents and tell them they're the favorites.... Hopefully just mind games.
its ok man every team has hiccups and the game that really affected Portugal was aginst Korea when Joao Pinto punched the Ref if not we would of gone through considering Portugal won Poland 4-0 the same Poland that outplayed the USA if I recall and 2006 was USA not ranked in 4th and finshed Bottom with a point that was from an own goal throw pebbles all you want eventually someone is gonna throw a boulder at you
end of the day I support the usa and Portugal since I have dual nationality but I will not root for them aslong as klinnsmann is in charge
This USA is suppose to promote the game here in the states but how so when players are german and I know they have american dads but they are German. Jermaine Jones only played for the USA when it became clear he wouldnt play for Germany and Aron Johannson the same as Iceland have a vast array of Strkers at their disposal.