Really? I thought he was doing it as the coach of the team. This whole "German" thing reminds me of the Canadians that were offended because a Canadian-American chose to play for the US women saying that since she was born in Canada she needed to play for Canada. Not caring, or maybe realizing, that they had American born Canadian-Americans playing for them already. It just comes off as a tantrum, really. Although your first paragraph is odd. Americans always come back no matter how bad we are an underdog or how disadvantaged or how outnumbered we are. But our "German" coach saying we won't win is now insurmountable? Pack it in guys!
There is no question that JK does not tolerate beliefs, or opinions that don't mirror his own. I am fine with that as long as he sticks to the realm of coaching soccer, and his vision for the team. He can cut people that don't adhere to his soccer culture all day long because that is what his job is. As long as he wins he will be rewarded. HOWEVER, as soon as you starting commentating on cultures, or circumstances outside your realm of expertise, be prepared to get called out on it, just like anyone else. He is not immune to criticism. Listen, I am not saying that he should be burned at the stake or anything, it is just obvious to me that he has DEEP issues with many aspects of the American culture. So deep in fact, that he feels he needs to comment on them. Great, it is a free country. He can talk all day long. Just like everyone though, you are responsible for what comes out of your mouth.
Why would a coach of an American team in any sport say we're not going to win the championship before the tournament or season begins. Do you remember any Baseball, Football, Hockey, Soccer, Any college team answer the question with a 'nope'. Maybe we're just more tactful. It does have a sports psychological impact on the team whether you want to believe it or not. Now go tell your kids that they won't be president when they ask. Let's go out their boys and try to be successful and work our butts off even though we all know we won't win the World Cup. I can see the players look at each other with puzzled WTF? looks on their faces. Um, Thanks coach, I think. Seems like you just don't get what that public mentality does to a team.
It's not a meritocracy once you have invested a ton of money in a player. You and I both know that if you blow your budget on a player in a salary capped league, he MUST play if he is healthy. If you think Kobe rides the bench for 2 years because his numbers are down, while making that type of money .... well, I honestly don't know what to tell you John. There are tons of players in the NBA who get playing time they don't deserve because the team doesn't want to look like fools for having a highly paid player warming the bench. We obviously aren't going to agree on this, so I will move on.
I've been telling Wilbon to get of the country for years. Dude is always trying to make everything about race
The dude lives in LA. He is speaking about a player on a team where he lives, much like you are speaking about a coach in a place where you live. He did, what you are doing now. You have an issue with him doing it. But you are okay with you doing it. That would be like me telling you to shut up and only talk about what ever your job is.
Off the top of my head? Motivation. Sven Goran Erikkson used to coach England he just said they won't win the Cup, right? But you guys are making this seem like the coach of the Miami Heat just said they can't win, when in reality it is like the coach of...maybe the Lakers saying they arent going to win this year. How many people realistically expect them to?
Even thats not the same How many coaches enter a WC with a legit chance at lifting the hardware? 4? 5? out of 32? People need to get over themselves JK is confident they can get out of the group. Plenty of so-called fans dont even think that'll happen...are they not american enough? The whole debate is ridiculous
Try again for what? Pointing out that we went from 'Americans overcome everything' to 'Americans get butthurt if our coach is realistic' and that it is silly? I think that point was already made.
Remember the huge public outcry when Charlies Strong said the Longhorns weren't going to win the NC this year? Me neither. Was it because he wasn't German?
IIRC he made these comments even before the draw. I see nothing wrong with that. If he really said it days before the Cup I'd be slightly annoyed. Its not a big deal because its the truth. Only downside is that if we actually DO win it then haters will say it was an accident and JK deserves no credit
Puhleeeez, Kobe's contract is hardly typical. Franchises sometimes do pay players as a reward for prior performance but that too is an investment in the future to assure the labor force that they will be treated equitably if they outperform their current contract. Of course this is a discussion about money. Kobe's contract pays him money. The Lakers are not a by-invitation all-star workshop.
Yes, most attacking Jurgen for this are completely missing the context of the conversation. Then they attack Jurgen for looking foolish when they don't even understand the context and I'd argue are intentionally shifting the discussion. Kobe isn't even the only one on the Lakers who has a bad contract based on previous accomplishments which severely limits flexibility. That Nash contract is terrible too and for a guy pushing 40 yrs old, that's also due to what he was rather than what he currently is. For those arguing this discussion is actually about ticket/jersey sales and that makes it acceptable, look at how Kobe himself feels about the current Laker situation. “How can I be satisfied with it? We’re like 100 games under .500,” Bryant said. “I can’t be satisfied with that at all. This is not what we stand for, this is not what we play for. A lot of time it’s hard to understand that message if you’re not a die-hard Laker fan. It’s really hard to understand where we’re coming from, what we’re used to, what we’re accustomed to, which is playing for championships, where everything else is a complete failure. That’s just how it is. That’s how it was explained to me by Jerry [West] and all the other great Lakers who have played here, that’s how I grew up thinking and that’s just how it is.” Unfortunately for Kobe, his contract is a part of this mess, but it's also clear the on the court product is more important to him than whether Mr. Buss is making a profit off his jersey sales.
And Liverpool bid 2 million pounds for Cherno Samba, so does that mean that Green shouldn't be selected?
What's so insane about it? Unless it's insane that Klinsmann doesn't understand that sometimes sports figures are high paid due to marketing reasons and not sporting reasons (which isn't exactly unique to American sports, Beckham was still a great player in his latter years but not as great as his paycheck). Or maybe it's insane that he apparently touched a sacred cow?
until this world cup, wait till Fox gets it and then espn will treat it like the red-headed stepchild they treat the NHL as now. can't wait.
You can be realistic without saying we won't win it all. Its called having tact. Every internal thought or dialouge doesn't have to come out your mouth.
The salary isn't the point, it's analogous to one of the limited spots on the World Cup squad itself. Giving one of those spots to a player past his prime is like giving an inflated salary in a limited pool to a player past his prime (leaving aside the fact of whether or not Landon's past his prime to this degree, which most of us agree that he's not).
Not about Kobe--about the coach saying the USA not having a chance of winning before the tournament has even started. I didn't say it; somebody I worked with said it. I just quoted her by way of illustrating how it might play among the wider American public--the people who don't follow soccer closely like we do.
Huh, you might have hit on the real reason Jurgen doesn't like Landon: classic psychological projection.
As if Wilbon watches soccer or has seen a single US qualifier. There's a point to be made about Klinsmann hypocrisy fair enough, but these older panelists on Around the Horn or PTI don't know what they're talking about. Wilbon is NBA NBA NBA NBA and Chicago sports. That other guy Skip Bayless? He just says controversial things to spark outrage and drive ratings. Master troll.