Klinsmann Denies Rumors he Will Coach US Next

June 26th, 2006 | by: WC Bob |

Almost as soon as the final whistle blew on the United States’ World Cup campaign the speculation started as to whether coach Bruce Arena would stay on or if he would be replaced. One name that has come to the surface of the rumor pond is that of Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

The Klinsmann to the US rumors are a natural one considering the German spends his time living in California. Funny how his fortunes have changed considering before this World Cup began there were some in Germany who were calling for him to be sacked.

Now that he has led his team to the final eight and has done so by allowing his players to play an attractive style of football, Klinsmann is a hero once again.

Today he tried to downplay the speculation that he will coach the United States after the World Cup.

“That doesn’t interest me at all,” Klinsmann said when asked at a news conference in Berlin about his interest in coaching the U.S. team, who were eliminated at the group stage.

“At the moment, I’m only interested in my job and that has to continue to the final,” said Klinsmann, who has yet to say what his future plans are. His two-year contract with Germany expires after the World Cup.

Of course those are the words that he needed to say at this time, but only time will tell if they turn out to be true. Personally, I think that the United States position would be the perfect one for Klinsmann. He would be able to live at home, work in an environment where the expectations and pressure are not that great, and still coach a team that is likely to be a lock for the World Cup in 2010.

In return, the United States would get a legendary player who knows the game and has experienced World Cup success as a coach.

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http://germany.worldcupblog.org Harvey

Not to mention that Klinsi looks better in a polo shirt than der Bruce does!
diego

Does anybody else think that Klinsman’s passionate goal celebrations on the sideline are one of the coolest things about watching this very entertaining German side??
It is so refreshing to see a consumate professional like him jumping around like a crazed kid. Very un-german-like but awesome to witness.
I think his love for attacking footbal and his passion for the game are contagious and it shows on the way his team is playing.
I am 100% rooting for HIM.
Cajun Nick

Diego,

Yeah, I also think it’s pretty cool to see such passion.

On a strange note, though, after one of the goals in the Sweden match (I think it was the first), Klinsmann and the rest of the team leapt off the bench to celebrate.

The players all began hugging each other, and Klinsmann looked desperately like he wanted to get in on the hugs, but no player was returning the gesture. Finally, one of Klinsmann’s assistant managers gave him a hug.

I know that the Germans have turned in their opinion of Klinsmann, but have the players?
Karl

I love his goal celebrations. They always look as if he scored the goal himself. None of this high and aloof disppasion you see from Jose Mourinho and his ilk.
Dave Hamilton

It would be fitting for Klinsi to quit if he won the Cup after all the flak he has taken from the German press and “experts.” Truth is, he has done a better job than Vogts or Rudi. Maybe the Germans need to see what they would have if he left. Perhaps the Kaiser would coax Matthaeus back. After all, if Romario is still playing..
Claude

Klinsmann is coming to the US but to be with his family in Huntington Beach, CA. Why would he want to coach a bunch of losers? I doubt that the US would have even qualified if they had to play some decent teams. The US thinks soccer is boring (strange coming from a country that loves that “action” sport of baseball) and as long as they have that mind set they will never be really successful in soccer.
Andrew

Wait a minute, do I hear a generalization? Why yes I do.

Lets being by blasting your arguement of “losers”. Support your point please. Because they went out of the group stages in one, if not,the hardest groups within the tournament.

I do agree that the US needs to step up its friendlies program by playing some of the better nations out there but its hard given player’s club schedules and given the fact Bruce Arena didn’t seem to like to play the harder nations so we were even more the Dark Horse, so they didn’t know what to expect come game time.

When has anyone called baseball an “action” sport? Americans love Basketball and Football over Baseball, its ranked 3rd. I do agree that they need more emphasis on football (soccer) but this comes with time and with success, everyone loves a winner and people love to jump aboard the band wagon. The US is in a tough position but I think more and more people are starting to recognise football (soccer) within the United States.
Michael

I am not going to pretend to have as much knowledge as some others posting on this site, but I do think that bringing Klinsmann in to succed Arena would be a smart move. Arena has boosted the level of the U.S. team and to take it even further a change in coaching is needed. Having a coach as smart and passionate as Klinsmann will step up the American team’s game.

Either way, I am supporting the U.S. team not just because they are my home team, but also because I believe that we can field a national as strong as any other nation.
OZ

Greetings to all!I want the US to succeed as much as the next guy, but let’s start with a coach with international experience! Also in response to those who say our best athletes play other sports, look at a similar sized country like Brazil. Their team is obviously made up of their best athletes suited for soccer,not basketball,rugby,track or any other sport! Keep plugging away USA, some countries have been playing soccer for over 100 years and have never been to the “show”!

Thanks-
Claude

Andrew, should I start with the US only scoring one goal in this world cup? The only other goal was an own goal by Italy. In the last 5 world cups the US exited in the first round (1990, 1998 and 2006). In 1998 the US came in dead last. The US did have a friendly against Germany in early April and lost 4-1. Other world cup teams found friendlies to play against world cup teams but it appears the US wasn’t interested in playing friendlies in Europe prior to the start of the world cup. The US has one great player and that’s Keller the GK. When the US starts producing players that generate large transfer fees from Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Muenchen, Chelsea etc. then you will see a team that will really shine at the world cup. Finally baseball is #2 in the US and the NBA is #3.
Aakash

i want to throw so much money at hiddink, he bails on his contract with the russians and coaches the americans instead…make it happen sunil gulati!
ludwing

wow i really didnt think about hidink but god thats a good idea… although i dont see it as helping the growth of passion for soccer here in the USA…. i mean i don’t want to “buy” a world cup…and i sure don’t want to play the german way either(klinsman)… we need to make our own style.. and one that would work… just like brazil has their samba soccer, argentina has their tango soccer.. netherlands and their orange machine…. usa need to rock and roll…. i am dissapointed in bruce… but im very pestimisitc about this stuff… i personally think REYNA has sucked since the first time i saw him play.. mcbride has not done anything since 2002… so how about bringing in another american coach..maybe somebody like “the man” ERIC WYNALDA… i mean he did want taylor twellman to be in germany… maybe we wouldnt be having this dilemma right now is taylor was there…
usafootyfan

USA needs to “Rock n Roll”? Huh? more like USA needs to follow Dempsey’s example. In your face, run at players, Hip Hop style soccer.
Martin Coady

Scoring does seem to be a problem for our guys but that also appears to be the case for the game in general these days. It seems to me that an unacceptably high percentage of goals were scored from set pieces in this cup, which leads me to my point: While Klinnsman is certainly a great coach from the dollars-and-cents perspective (he wins), my view of the northern European game in general and specifically of Germany and England, is that these teams spend most ot their practice time on set pieces and most of their game time dribbling around hoping to pick up a close-in free kick or a penalty.

It would further appear that they spend the rest of their practice time diving, which improves their chances of getting those set pieces. Funny how a guy who can stay on the ball at the midfield under a serious challenge goes down from a shirt tug anytime he is within 30 yards of the goal line. Funnier still, how the referees continue to get fooled. At least three games were decided on questionable penalties in this cup and when Italy was able to avoid giving set-piece chance to the Germans, they (the Germans) faded then folded (although Italy was certainly one of the benafactors of the unwarranted penalty bonanza).