Well you guys can have your "Fire Klinsmann" thread. I'd like to start a knew one. Thank you Jurgen. I like what you have done with the USMNT program. I like how you have everyone who plays for us buying into the program, buying into everything. Everyone plays for everyone else. You may make controversial decisions, but that's what I love about you. So, Jurgen Klinsmann from I and many others...THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for getting us through the Group of Death. Thank you for making soccer fun again. THANK YOU.
He deserves so much credit. So many freaking haters on this board and all he's done is won (32-12-9 record as coach). He makes controversial choices and I like that. I was never a fan of Beckerman but Klinsmann (well beckerman's play) has really brought me round. Also he seems to be using his roster instead of just the 14-15 guys that we expect to see play. John Brooks, YEDLIN (!>!), Davis, Gonzalez. He's really gotten it right and he deserves all the applause he gets
I'll give Klinsmann's performance a C. He met minimum expectations. We got through by the skin of our teeth on goal differential thanks to Pepe's red card and Portugal's epic meltdown vs Germany in game 1. That gets us to the same place we were 4 years ago. If we can advance from there I think Klinsmann deserves some praise for our performance. As of now he's still a guy who's epically stupid roster decisions almost prevented us from advancing over very weak Portugal and Ghana teams.
Yep, and he absolutely proved he deserves the extension he got. Yeah, maybe we could have pulled out a point today if we have Landon Donovan over Brad Davus...but guess what we don't and we still got through. Jurgen has clearly made this whole USMNT thing about actually being a team. Having great individuals is good and all, but it is more important about being a TEAM. USA is the ultimate TEAM and we've got a bright future. I'm glad we got Jurgen on our side. We've never had a coach who has won as much as Jurgen has, so I'm ALL IN.
I was very critical of some of his roster selections and still wish he had brought Donovan and Boyd but full credit to Jurgen for getting this team through the group of death, especially with the Jozy injury and all the travel involved for our team. A great coaching job by him, never put a foot wrong with his lineups/substitutions.
lol go back to the fire Klinsmann thread. This is for the other half of big soccer. And weak Portugal and Ghana sides? Seriously dude, you have no clue what you are talking about.
Minimum expectations? Link me to your posts about how the US should breeze through the group and go to the semifinals? I'm waiting....
Gotta love a guy who thinks a soccer legend who won the world- and european cup, who coached the german nationalteam, who made the US play good soccer, for which they earn respect from fans all around the globe with each game, and who just managed to lead the most unlikely team out of the group of death made "epically stupid roster decisions".
Go to the "Minimum Expectations" thread. That's exactly what I said. Minimum expectations is to get through the group, anything less is a failure. We got through the group about as narrowly as possible thanks to a ridiculously bad performance by Portugal in game 1 and Ghana giving away the game with an own goal today, followed by their keeper handing Ronaldo the ball and saying here, kick this in the back of the net. Either of those things didn't happen and we'd be on a plane on our way home right now.
Getting out of the group of death, sans Jozy, is meeting minimum expectations? On what planet? In what universe? But I can see as an LAG fan, you likely have a different agenda. Most here are pretty damn excited, except for fans of a certain club which almost immediately are following up a berth in the round of 16 with even more whining.
i was always happy with klinsy as our coach. but in the world cup, for whatever reason, we did our best impersonation of Greece. we cant continue playing like we did against germany by letting the opponent dictate play. i hope against belgium well see a more assertive USA.
Well in my honest opinion the result about making it out of the group was not a minimum expectation. Any of the 4 teams could have been eleminated. The way the US team did was skillwise a c- (with an A+ being spain 4 years ago) but teamspirit wise it must have been 2nd to none. His "stupid" roster decisions gave the US team a major upside for years to come. Otherwise there might not be a Greene nor a Johnson. I have to admit his ingame decisions are questionable from a "noncoach" point of view, but i guess you always got doubters. Portugal wasnt weak vs the USA nor Ghana, Ghana was a major let down though. You got a shot at belgium in the next round( given that that they make #1 spot in their respective group. @Grok: but those things DO happen and thats part of the sport.
there are a Million "if these things didn't happen, than xyz" events in every game, and exponentially more in every tournament. what you said is a weak ghana and portugal. neither of these teams are weak, which is what made our group the group of death.
Well if we are playing the if game, since the hypotheticals are fun.... If Jozy Altidore doesn't get hurt 10 minutes into the tournament, if Geoff Cameron and Michael Beasley don't make two of the worst mistakes they have ever made on the USMNT, if FIFA didn't schedule us to travel the most distance of any team in the entire Group stage and if we didn't have to play in Manaus (the Amazon) we would have won the group. But woops....we are through anyway. Thank you Klinsmann!
Personally, I think Klinsmann's in game decisions are brilliant. It's his roster decisions that are the only question in my mind. But he earned the right to be trusted after this tournament.
Shouldn't you be trolling elsewhere...? No it shouldn't by the way. We beat Ghana and Drew Portugal and gave up the fewest amount of goals vs. the best team in the group. We earned our way through fair and square. If you play the games in a different order (Germany, Portugal, Ghana rather than Ghana, Portugal, Germany) the whole story changes.
If Sully Muntari and Prince Boateng lose it and start an in club fight over the millions they were promised and not delivered... etc. Seriously guys, we lost. I'm glad we advanced but we snuck through with a loss, and you're celebrating it like we've uncovered the tactical genius that is going to lift us to the promisedland. Portugal and Ghana imploded, we went through in second, Klinsmann is a genius.
Maybe Donovan would have suffocated the other players with his appearence. I dont really know him, but there must be a reason he is out. I see a link between some players perform way better without him than with him. I think his roster decisions seem legit.