The criticism for one Jurgen Klinsmann has come swift and often following the USMNT 2-1 road defeat against Jamaica in World Cup qualifying in Kingston, Jamaica. The pressure going into the return leg fixture against Jamaica in Columbus, Ohio, was of monumental proportion. Questions regarding if the Jurgen Klinsmann era had already run its course started to surface in what has barely been a years journey in being the USMNT head coach. Now that the USMNT survived the return home leg fixture and defeated Jamaica 1-0 and now sit at the top of the group, I am curious to see what the headlines will read in regard to Klinsmann and the former German talisman’s plan and vision going forward.
That said, is the criticism missing the point? Maybe it is not about Klinsmann’s tactics or strategy or influence on the team. Maybe it is about something different, maybe even something bigger.
Is the USMNT now forever victimized by the growing success of Major League Soccer (MLS) as a league? If you look at the roster Jamaica features in their current World Cup qualifying campaign, seven players play their professional soccer in MLS.
What became immediate criticism for a team and a coach after a loss could have easily become praise for a league and a changing philosophy and domestic sport landscape. Not to say that the criticism is either fair or unwarranted. Simply I am saying that there is more to see, than what we actually see and praise could have been given in conjunction with the criticism with a different kind of vision.
The pundits are potentially doing MLS as a league a severe disservice when there is much room for praise given the recent results within CONCACAF World Cup qualifying all together.
The bigger MLS grows as a league, the more difficult it is going to become to qualify for World Cups and even Gold Cups for all teams in the CONCACAF region moving forward.
What could be considered an upset in Jamaica defeating the USMNT could also be considered a changing of the tide in how soccer will forever be played in CONCACAF. The more Jermaine Taylors and JeVaughn Watsons there are playing in MLS, the better Jamaica gets in the future. The more Roger Espinozas and Boniek Garcias call MLS their professional home, the better Honduras will be in the future.
MLS is now having an influence on the way soccer is played in the region directly and indirectly. The USMNT has to overcome the influence of the league going forward. Which should be considered a win for MLS as a league.
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Glenn, great, deep thoughts about the Jamaica games and the influence by MLS on the Jamaican team and others in the region. I completely agree. I recall thinking how the Jamaican team used to play less aggressive and tried to do more individually than collectively. much different today. They definitely match the style of the USMNT much better and that has to be attributed to the styles picked up in MLS as much as our creativity can be attributed to the MX, EPL, Bundesliga, and other leagues. I’m a fan of Juergen and hope he can get a couple of Cup cycles to develop that base we need to forever leave behind those games with 90 mins of long ball.
On the other hand, it can also be argue that the it begins to show that all it takes is a little financial backing in the other concacaf countries for them to show that they are just as good or better than the US. Lets not forget, the US did not invest much money in soccer before the 94 world cup. There is plenty of talent in other countries, just not enough financial backing.
What we might be seen here, is what you get to see a lot in England, one of the best leagues in the world ( EPL ), but take all the foreigners out of the equation and England struggles in the world stage. Just like England, the US needs to get away from the long ball, which is taught all the way to the lower levels and must learn to play more posession and creative soccer.
More money, better training facilities, better pay ( in comparision to the concacaf countries ), better nutrition, it all adds up. Now all we need is to let Klinsmann do his job for a couple of world cups and the US can finally get out of the long ball, counter attack, defensive type of game and beging to play more attractive, skill, creative, possesion game. Only then we can truly be a respected power in the region and around the world, not just by talk but also by showing it.
We are not as strong as we think we are, we just have more money. Let Klinsmann to his job, the one time we get someone that knows what he is doing, is the one time that people that dont know what they are talking about complain. It is very difficult to break the mold or bad habits of these players, specially since they have been raised playing a certain way. Klinsmann is not the problem, it is the environment that our players grow up in.