Jurgen Klinsmann: I'd have taken USMNT to final four of 2018 World Cup | ESPN FC

Jurgen Klinsmann speaks exclusively to ESPN about how much the USMNT have been set back after missing the FIFA 2018 World Cup. Klinsmann believes if he had remained head coach of the national team the United States would have had a “great shot” of reaching the final four in Russia. He also discusses Germany’s possible “arrogance” in the past and thinks Joachim Low and his team will have learned their lesson.
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[@AngryJawa0094]

I’ve always believed letting him go was a mistake and I’m sure I’m not alone in this line of thought

[@bernman23]

You should be. Doesn't align remotely w/ reality. Not a golden generation, but he depleted the roster over the course of years w/ his biases, was tactically naive, and alienated his players publicly. It led to, from mid '15 to late '16, w/ a few games in Copa America that saw everyone available and motivated from just criticism as an outlier, to historically bad results in the modern era. Dug a hole in qualifying. And it required digging out. Nothing suggested he was the man to do it. Affinity were for his name and being from Europe. The problem was the corrupt, incompetent boobs who made that decision, hired him, and other shitty coaches like him since. Could have hired Marsch instead of Arena, Lopetegui instead of Gregg.

[@coryf6460]

@@bernman23 Thank you. A sane person in this sea of people with short memories.

[@Delboy0]

Easily the greatest US coach ever and when you look at the huge number of top ranked teams his US team beat. He was thrown out as soon as the results went bad because Americans didn't like him challenging the status quo. He said MLS was not an elite league US internationals should be playing in. He said soccer was too white, suburban and upper class to find players who cam compete internationally against the rest of world. He said the soccer media should be more critical of American soccer players and not act like cheerleaders. And he said the US soccer should abolish the pay to play system to make US grassroots youth soccer more about finding the best talent and not about finding rich parents willing to play the inflated costs. When all those former US pros who make a killing with the travel teams heard about Klinsmann wanting to aboilish this system and mess with their money, they started attacking him in the US media and where waiting for the first dip in results to put pressure of the USSF to get rid of him. The US has never been at the level of his team since he left.

[@AngryJawa0094]

Delboy0 nailed it

[@TB12Pats]

To have fired him 2 games into qualifying, against the 2 best teams in concacaf, is a a disgrace. What a joke.

[@LaggyMcstutters]

Best coach we’ve ever had.

[@ajslittlebigadventure2184]

It’s true

[@raoulduke8720]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@krumbleme2]

Goes to show how little you know about the game

[@LaggyMcstutters]

@@krumbleme2 i stand by what i said and plenty of people agree with me. We were beating quality teams and advanced in a group with germany portugal and ghana. No way he doesn’t qualify for 2018.

[@danm9459]

@@LaggyMcstutters plus also a 4th place finish at the copa america in 2016 wasn’t that bad of a result

[@SeanFinnegan]

I don't doubt Klinsmann... I doubt the players on that squad

[@dylanuboldi1328]

Jurgen was 1000 times better than Gregg is. Just imagine if he was still the coach and had the depth and talent of players that we have right now.

[@ahmedabughalia4957]

I think he cared for the team way more and he wanted to help the team become competitive

[@supremejas9281]

Who says final four of the World Cup bruh just say semifinals😂

[@renewedservant7]

It’s an American thing lol

[@mauricedarden5686]

@Tba Zizou you say that as if it's a bad thing

[@justiceforjuicy6765]

Americans homie. We’re built different

[@prometheustv6558]

@@renewedservant7 He’s German tho

[@renewedservant7]

@@prometheustv6558 good to know

[@cameronearland5716]

The humiliation that followed after the Klinsmann sacking was the greatest thing to ever happen to US soccer. The arrogance of MLS and college soccer, the entitlement of the us athletes, growing up in the pay for play system which fostered the suburban soccer mom orange slices image of soccer, and the old culture/american way of doing things all died in one night on that pitch in Trinidad & Tobago. And from those ashes, something special is brewing.

[@davinalopez-oz1ez]

Lmao yes a Copa america group exit.. truly special

[@amirhash7390]

To be honest with the teams that were in the knockout stages on the right side of the bracket, I don’t doubt it

[@rlubin9356]

Now they are but they really weren't too bad under klinsmann

[@chrisgarry22]

Yeah no wonder why England made it to the semis.

[@TB12Pats]

They really weren’t.

[@LaggyMcstutters]

Will Pierre the team in 2014 made it out of a group with germany portugal and ghana so i dont doubt what jurgen says.

[@Hrvo182]

With that team, not even the other Jürgen could've done it

[@chrisgarry22]

Are you telling me that Michael Bradley, Joey Altidore, Omar Gonzales, Brad Guzan, Bobby Wood, and a 100 year old Tim Howard weren’t good enough?

[@DawkBrawlin]

@@chrisgarry22 who

[@edi.duzit23]

@@chrisgarry22 lmao relist those names bro 😂

[@benoitwaffle5439]

All it took was a couple wins over Leverkusen and Freiburg mixed in with draws against Gladbach and Frankfurt and we have Swaggy J back!

[@alexandergago4665]

Big mistake by USSOCFED to fire him... Thank you JK for all you have done for 🇺🇸

[@phantomphan873]

We need him back. Berhalter is a disaster

[@patlerman9653]

Best coach the USMNT has ever had. Got us out of the group of death.

[@crzymuthafacker5825]

Should’ve never fired him. With him we were competitive with some of the top teams in the world and now we can’t even score a goal.

[@edi.duzit23]

Is everyone here after the world cup? Lol

[@michaelgarcia7353]

I hope he returns one day🙏

[@williamMaezawa]

Yeah he did return to coaching but not for America but for South Korea

[@krumbleme2]

I hope not

[@Hehehehhehehehehehehehhe78]

Bring back Klinsmann

[@pablocuevas243]

As a Mexican fan this man was an amazing coach man. Y’all’s federation messed up by letting him go. He truly cared for the team And players.

[@cristianoronaldork5787]

Klinsmann was not a great tactician, but he had a knack of finding hidden talents or making players play above their level. It would’ve been interesting to see him stay as the technical director.

[@cinnaminson0653]

You out tactic teams that have clearly better talent.

[@znhait]

Klinsmann thinks way too highly of himself. I'm hoping his statement was entirely based on the fact that finishing 2nd in that group would have meant facing Colombia and Sweden. Even then, Colombia are slightly better than the U.S., and Sweden are probably of equal quality.

[@locker-roomdwarf3549]

GOD BLESS

[@coryf6460]

No. What we thought was a Klinsmann problem at the time was actually a talent problem. The USMNT just isn't very good. They waited too long to integrate younger talent into the team. They pushed MLS players into the national team (post-Klinsmann) casting aside a large portion of their talent pool. The guys they have just don't get up for international games (looking at you Canada) part of that is that they're tired (looking at you Bradley) and part of that is coaching from Klinsmann, Arena, and Berhalter, aaaaand the rest of CONCACAF has gotten better. Klinsmann wasn't solving any of these problems. Just because Berhalter and Arena are huge jokes doesn't make Klinsmann a good coach or immune to all the problems that US soccer has. Sometimes we view history through rose colored glasses.

[@TBSSSecret]

lol this is a wild opinion.

[@coryf6460]

@@TBSSSecret Well, now I know your podcast is trash.

[@TBSSSecret]

@@coryf6460 OK CODY

[@ryanschembri4139]

england and croatia not all that and got to the semis because of weak draws... however those teams are still miles ahead of the USMNT, even sweden were in the quarter finals, saying the US could get that far isnt terribly far fetched

[@znhait]

When you make such a statement without qualifying it, e.g., provided some luck with the draw, one has to assume that he means the U.S. would have been one of the top eight teams at that tournament.

[@Meepmeep888]

let’s face it, Americans failed to agree w his agenda of putting European based players first. Encouraging players to go to Europe where, without a doubt, is the present and future, best place for footballers. Americans lose it wen they hear that we can’t be the best and do it the American way. Klinsmann knew wat the program needed but unfortunately had a run of poor form and we unrightfully fired him in reaction to that

[@chrisgarry22]

IDK, think we need to once again, go the European route with a manager. Whether it’s an Italian, a Frenchman, a Brit, Spain, a German...just don’t go the MLS American route.

[@pogfee]

There is an internal struggle between putting the best product on the field and growing the game in the US and doing what is best for the long-term health of the game in this country. They need the MLS to help identify and develop talent even if they sell the top guys overseas, like we've seen with Richards, McKennie, Adams, Davies, etc. . The US soccer federation does not want a coach who publicly trashes the MLS the way Klinsmann did.

[@alexpopescu3503]

Klismann could lead USA into top4 at the world cup 2018 for sure

[@Delboy0]

Easily the greatest US coach ever and when you look at the huge number of top ranked teams his US team beat. He was thrown out as soon as the results went bad because Americans didn't like him challenging the status quo. He said MLS was not an elite league US internationals should be playing in. He said soccer was too white, suburban and upper class to find players who cam compete internationally against the rest of world. He said the soccer media should be more critical of American soccer players and not act like cheerleaders. And he said the US soccer should abolish the pay to play system to make US grassroots youth soccer more about finding the best talent and not about finding rich parents willing to play the inflated costs. When all those former US pros who make a killing with the travel teams heard about Klinsmann wanting to aboilish this system and mess with their money, they started attacking him in the US media and where waiting for the first dip in results to put pressure of the USSF to get rid of him. The US has never been at the level of his team since he left.

[@ahmedabughalia4957]

They somehow didn't appreciate his efforts and he is right. Us players have to go abroad for great development

[@ppoenicke]

Generally more pro-Jürgen than other USMNT fans. But the semi-finals comment is crazy.

[@pogfee]

@@sixfiftychris did you not see the players we had available in 2018? Our best player was a child

[@user-uf3rh8kf9s]

The interviewer meant to say uninterest.

[@SlickOnTop]

US Soccer is a bureaucratic and nepotistic mess at the moment. I really fear that the USMNT won't qualify again for the 2022 world cup.

[@pogfee]

They'll qualify for '22. Even if the federation is still a mess they have more experience and significantly more quality players than they did 4 years ago that will more than make up the difference. It's not like we missed it by much, all we needed was a point against Trinidad and Tobago, I don't care how bad the management at the top is... that should happen every time.

[@donchristiaan9832]

Ja

[@nFWAYGo]

Can you imagine a all American European base team? We would be better off. Instead MLS is a must for the ussf what a joke

[@selerim]

He lives in US for years even when he was playing in Europe so he understands how US soccer is.

[@Shiestyyyyy]

I wish they never let him go

[@cweeks4504]

Had he had more time I think he could have. Especially with the players we have now.

[@leonardowilson7709]

IMO bring him back

[@krumbleme2]

No

[@ahmedabughalia4957]

Shouldve never fired him. He was the best coach and sacking him would've been a mistake becuase of what he gave to the country and after klinsman's departure, the U. S. wasn't the same as before

[@krumbleme2]

You are out of your mind if you think he was the best US coach.

[@frv7956]

US just isn't that good at soccer. Probably because our most talented athletes play other sports and don't grow up playing the beautiful game. I kind of prefer it that way. I'd rather root for my favorite player's team in the world cup.

[@defcon2544]

The brothaz in the NFL and NBA would make terrible players.

[@frv7956]

@@defcon2544 It's possible you are right, but I just mean we don't really grow up playing soccer here. There were probably many potentially great soccer players here who pursued a different sport and didn't reach the top in that other sport.

[@HxA310]

@@frv7956 talent is growing now in the u.s 😹

[@deew_knird_reeb_ekomS]

@@frv7956 I grew up playing soccer but baseball was my true love, so you might be onto something here

[@ajslittlebigadventure2184]

100x better than Berhalter

[@DarthRamzan]

man what kind of dope is he on, share it with the class plz ;p

[@betterdays29]

LONG LIVE KLINSMANN! This team is his vision. He got ridiculed for telling the young Americans to go to Europe. And now the team is majority players who play in Europe lol

[@mbanoni]

Big cap

[@loversroll1]

He sound more american than Germany.

[@knutthompson7879]

Ha ha, no he wouldn't have.

[@Electrifying316HBK]

"All the young talent US have at the moment" There is literally only 1 player that's any good and that's Pulisic.

[@davidlilian566]

Electrifying 3:16 Tyler Adams? Sergino Dest? Josh Sargent? Zach Steffan? DeAndre Yedlin? Weston McKinnie?

[@Electrifying316HBK]

@@davidlilian566 My bad, Sergino Dest is alright as well. Forgot he chose US over Netherlands. Nice, USA has 1 great and 1 good player.

[@tdipepsi]

Miror B GOD lol maybe like how he did Donovan

[@BarDownBully2508]

The problem is Berhalter is ignoring better players in favor of MLS players. Arena 2.0

[@muffindudeswag]

@@davidlilian566 I’ll take every name except Sargent and yedlin. I’ll take pefok over Sargent

[@LoftusBlake]

This isnt womens football.

[@skl4189]

Crazy all the delusional idiots in the comments thinking Juergen was a good coach. Newsflash the players hated playing for the national team under him and their morale deteriorated gradually over his tenure which resulted in the 2018 disaster. Stop drooling over his name and where he’s from. He was not the right fit for the us

[@Fadzhirulz8p]

Why he leave the us national team? For me.. he is a good head coach for us national team....

[@deew_knird_reeb_ekomS]

He was fired.

[@rody1964]

Jurgen, please coach the Chilean men's team for qatar!!!... I've been messaging everybody in chile for it..... you would be perfect for our Chilean team and bring it back to the golden generation :)

[@juanmartin903]

He would have...with Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson, Carlos Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo.

[@cooltu2000]

greatest us coach all time we beat Holland

[@MartyD]

🤔🤔🤔

[@XerxesGammon200]

Greatest German striker of all time ♥

[@prometheustv6558]

Is Gerd Muller

[@DawkBrawlin]

@@prometheustv6558 hmm

[@alfredfeuerstein9517]

Fraud🤮🤮🤮

[@wizeconomics]

Is he on xanax? The way your coaching Korea right now, your about to set a world-record on being sacked as a coach.

[@STARDONGYEE]

Noooo

[@johnkingangimwithiga]

😅

[@cesarjusto14]

He was the main reason they didn't make it

[@momhips7131]

Him being sacked was THE reason we did not qualify. He was fired after the first 2 matches. At home to Mexico, lost by a bs goal, and away to Costa Rica. The 2 toughest matches in the group.. -but you’re right it was definitely Klinsmann’s fault when we drew Panama, or lost at home to Costa Rica, or what about the draw to Honduras? Or was it his fault when we lost to Trinidad?? We would’ve gotten through the group in 2nd or 3rd place easily if he was given what he and all of US soccer deserved.

[@ASHpastyGAMER]

He drunk?

[@victorescobar9976]

Idk about that.

[@defcon2544]

What a waste of time, a true setback, for the USMNT with Klinsmann as head coach.

[@joker-sn1qh]

Klinsmann accents is USA version

[@chinglee100]

Didn’t he draw to Guatemala this guy is delusional 😂😂😂😂

[@luismiguelpereira9092]

Love this joke

[@user-eb3ir1pr3l]

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Klinsman is a bad coach, but final four? Seriously? You couldn't beat teams like Panama, Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago, this is a joke....

[@superlex611]

If he was there

[@momhips7131]

He qualified for the 2014 World Cup with the most points any concacaf team has ever gotten. Then got out of the group of death. Then was fired after the first two qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica... try again bud.

[@AndroidPoetry]

This guy is totally delusional

[@ahmedabughalia4957]

At least he made the team competitive. But now, they became like San Marino and italy

[@figofigo7908]

He feels confident making final four him is delusional

[@chuchu-mh2jw]

1st comment. 1st in premier league Ynwa

[@bhbh2256]

He might have been a good player, he is a horrible manager and pretty lazy one… ESPN fc really could not anyone better?

[@JustSomeDamnCalifornian45]

Imagine him with the current squad?

[@krumbleme2]

No