U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati (left) and new men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann (right) pose during a press conference on Monday, August 1.
Monday’s press conference to introduce Jurgen Klinsmann as the head coach of the Unites States Men’s National Soccer Team was very low-key. There was no promise of bringing a World Cup to American soil for the first time and making the U.S. a force to be reckoned with in the soccer world.“Its come a long way, but we have a ways to go still to break into those top 10 in the world,” he said.
Instead, Klinsmann spoke about his hopes for the game at all levels in the country. The German-born coach, who moved to the United States 13 years ago, wants to help develop the entire U.S. soccer program from top to bottom during his tenure, which runs through the 2014 World Cup.
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“The foundation is youth,” Klinsmann said. “How they should be trained, how often they should train, how much time they should spend with the ball, how they should develop their talent.”
Klinsmann sees several people in U.S. Soccer as very important in improving the country’s youth soccer programs. One of those is Claudio Reyna, former captain of the men’s national team and the current Youth Soccer Technical Director. Klinsmann said he wants to work closely with Reyna throughout his term. Another person the new coach mentioned is Tab Ramos, coach of the U.S. Men’s U-20 team. “I want his perspective, and I want his information about what’s coming through in the U-20 and U-17 level even if I have seen some of those games already,” he said.
Coach Klinsmann addressed how he’ll be coaching the Men’s National Team, saying he’s going to take his time and develop a style that works for America. “I have my own ideas for the program. And I will, step-by-step, introduce the ideas that I have, always double-checking if it suits the American game,” he said. “I’m not coming in here to be the European guy.”
The media packed into New York City's Niketown to hear from Klinsmann.
At this point, however, Klinsmann isn’t sure what the American style of soccer is. “I deeply believe that soccer in a certain way reflects the culture of a country. Having studied the U.S. culture over the last 13 years, it’s quite a challenge.
“It is important over the next three years, especially in the beginning, that I have a lot of conversations with people engulfed in the game here to find a way to define that style,” he said.
The idea of having conversations and being open to ideas early on seems to be a recurring theme with Klinsmann. He has not yet picked a coaching staff. In the U.S. team’s upcoming friendlies, Klinsmann plans on inviting guest assistant coaches, seeing who works best and moving forward from there.
The first challenge for the new coach comes just nine days after his introduction, when the U.S. faces Mexico in a friendly at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on August 10.
Bobby Melok 