Rather than questioning Nagbe's heart for walking out on Klinsmann, we should be questioning all the other players brains for not following Nagbe. Cannot wait to see all the back tracking and eating of crow in this thread after a real coach comes in and makes Nagbe a lynch pin of the team, a real fulcrun in midfield, feeding Pulisic and leading us to glory in Russia.
I don't think anyone has anything they would have to back track. I like Nagbe a lot and wanted to see more of him in the copa. I also understand the issues with his game and why he might not have gotten more time. The only reason there is much activity in this thread are due to silly comments like that first sentence, arguments against his well documented mentality, and the competitive spirits of high level athletes.
If I don't agree with you, I must believe the opposite. I don't agree with Klinsmann on many things, but I understand his beliefs and motivations. I don't think you understand sports at all. It is hard to not be condescending. Have you ever played sports or competed at anything? You also seem unable to connect dots of information. The two points only make the point even more, but you can't see it. 1). They were chosen necessarily because they were ultra competitive, but they were the best players because they were ultra competitive. Not just a couple of players, but the 11 best players at that time all had that trait. Isiah who was snubbed fits those characteristics. I'd guess so do the next 12 and 12 after that. 2). But they didn't. They didn't meander around the court like some of your beloved Galaxy, but they played it like it was game 7 of the finals. Interesting THEORY. Who are the actual athletes that support this claim? Why is it obvious that he can be motivated? You should get into coaching because his coach seems befuddled on how to that and has decided to just get out his way and accept whatever he gets. Sports are competitive. Why would most players have to compete in practice but another guy not have the same requirement? Wouldn't that cause some issues for team dynamics?
He has been an important contributor on a title-winning MLS team. He is an MLS All-Star. It seems reasonable he is pretty motivated.
His first selection at 26 yo for a player with incredible technical and physical tools? Based on his skill set and potential (from watching and his coaches comments), that seems like under achieving to me.
Hmm... what on earth might have prevented an earlier call up? Thank you for clarifying you have no idea what you are talking about here.
I'm not the "Johnny come lately shill" some make me out to be. I'm sorry you have joined into the insults. I disagree with many views on here and take exception to people unnecessarily attacking and insulting our players. I may become frustrated with being attacked, but try to be fair and respectful.
I listened to the Porter interview. He never elaborated on the 'motivate' comment. But in the same interview, he did state Nagbe had become a 'complete player'. Obviously, the man's dedication to being a top professional wasn't being questioned.
Lashing out because your point doesn't make sense? Here's the flaw in your (and Jurgen's) logic: the best players aren't the best just because they're "ultra competitive", and just because someone is "ultra competitive" doesn't mean they're a great (or even good) player. If that fallacy were true, Chris Wondolowski really would be one of the best American footballers. If that fallacy were true, then my girlfriend who gets ultra competitive when's she's challenged to a game of table tennis at a party would've been in Rio this summer. See the flaw in that childish logic? I can forgive you, but that Jurgen also believes it is troubling. I feel I also must explain once more why this "Dream Team" example is stupid: 1) the US cannot produce the a team of soccer players with the talent advantage the Dream Team enjoyed (hence: my Angola point) and 2) your example proves MY point, since the players from the Dream Team all had different demeanors; they didn't fit some narrowminded view of being red-blooded or competitive enough -- they were chosen based on their talent and achievements in the NBA. There are plenty in sports; I'm sure you know them all since you're like a sports expert or former hall-of-famer or whatever. Particularly in soccer over the years there have been brilliant but "complicated" players; compared to them Nagbe's hardly a problem child. I'd be more impressed with a coach that can harness his abilities than one that dismisses him. Porter got an MLS Cup out of him, so as I said, demonstrably Nagbe can achieve. Jurgen's specialty is supposed to be motivation, so he shouldn't shrink from the challenge of motivating a player who clearly can help the squad if he's all gung-ho about challenges as he claims. Either that, or he takes responsibility for shit-show that's relying solely on Bradley. Maybe team dynamics would be better in general if the team spent time doing tactical drills and building cohesion instead of running camp like a season of the The Biggest Loser where NT players compete to work out the hardest for Jurgen. Maybe you haven't noticed, but team dynamics look pretty shabby right now.
This may be the silliest conversation I've ever had on here. I haven't even said I personally wouldn't have played Nagbe. My simple argument is that most elite athletes are very competitive and mentally tough... this is a reasonable characteristic a coach would want in all his players (especially when the lack of competition throughout our program has been one of the reasons our players haven't achieved more). Those that aren't competitive and/or mentally tough tend to under achieve. No need to respond to your comments that twist my arguments. Again, please provide evidence of aututelic athletes that have succeeded. It an interesting theory and could see how that is characteristic could be helpful, but others are as well. He did turn down a call up weeks before he got a long lay off and important qualifiers. I'd love to know the story and withholding judgement, but at some point it is just what it is. Porter got an MLS cup out Portland. Being a member of an MLS championship team doesn't really say much. You are jumping to a lot of conclusions here. Again, a strong competitive environment is what JK is trying to create and a reasonable one. Apparently, Nagbe needs to learn how to fight for a position, which is understandable since he's never had to prior to this. If you are a superstar/difference maker, I guess you might be able to get away with it, but Nagbe (and all the other players people clamor for) isn't that. They look poor and they did in Honduras 4 years ago. JK has shown time and again that he can turn things around. If he gets the chance, I wouldn't bet against him.
Being a very important contributor on an MLS Cup winning says a great deal about a player's ability to impact a game. That JK has had to scramble to 'turn things around' on a number occasions is a problem.
http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2016/11/jurgen_klinsmann_says_darlingt.html "There are some statements out there that just are simply not true. Darlington is always in our picture. We observe him. We watch him. He didn't make it into the October games for personal reasons and we accepted that, but then for the two games against Costa Rica and Mexico, we just thought that other players were ahead of him. But you will definitely see Darlington come back into our group and prove a point that he belongs there."
Can someone talk to me about Nagbe's form? On talent alone, he needs to be no the squad and starting.