In July 2011, the United States Soccer Federation, also known as US Soccer, made a decision that would impact their Men's National team for the next five years. They hired their 35th coach in the history of the program, Jürgen Klinsmann, a former coach of the famous German and world renowned team, Bayern Munich. After a string of losses that disappointed United States fans, Klinnsman turned the team around and led the states to the best winning percentage in a year in the history of the United States. They then went on to win the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Then just a few months after, he qualified the team for the World Cup. Leading up to the 2014 World Cup, he faced controversy as he left Landon Donovan off of the World Cup roster. Donovan still today remains the player with the most caps, goals, and assists. He is known as one of the best American players to date. The USMNT(United States Men's National Team) was placed in the hardest group for the World Cup, and Klinsmann guided them through to move on to the quarterfinal, where they lost a close match to Belgium. On Monday, November 21, 2016, Klinsmann was removed from his position of Technical Director and the Head Coach of the USMNT. The reason for his removal was most likely due to his controversial comments in the media. These comments include statements about the lack of competition in the United States's Major Soccer League when he encouraged national team players to head oversees to play better competition.
Here is what this means for United States Soccer:
Foreign Players:
Klinsmann was famous for bringing in German-American soccer players onto the national team. He got under scrutiny early for this. Abby Wambach said "I would definitely fire Jürgen...sorry U.S Soccer, but I don't think the litmus test on [Klinsmann] has worked." She went on to say, "...the way he has changed and brought in a bunch of these foreign guys is just not something that I believe in." She went on to explain her love of watching Jermaine Jones and Fabian Johnson, both foreign players brought in by Klinsmann.
Youth Programs:
The United States has a very intense program for youth players called "The Development Academy." The players who play for these elite youth clubs are meant to be the best in the region. Currently, all of the youth teams are made of players of these academy clubs. They focus on development, train four times a week, travel all over the nation for games, and play all year round. Before Klinsmann assumed the role of Technical Director, they only played in the spring as players would play for their high schools. Klinsmann, in an attempt to make United States soccer similar to European teams, restricted players to only playing for their academy club if they were to take this route. Players and coaches from around the nation scrutinized Klinsmann for this rule. There is no word to whether or not this rule will remain intact under the new direction from the new coach.
Coaching Staff:
The United States Soccer Federation has already announced the Men's new coach, Bruce Arena. He was the coach of the USMNT until 2006, when he was replaced by Bob Bradley, who was fired shortly after the 2010 World Cup to be replaced by Klinsmann. Arena was also the coach of the Men's soccer program at the University of Virginia and led them to four national titles during his career with UVa. He left the team in 1996 to coach DC United, the Major League Soccer team in our nation's capital, Washington D.C. He then coached the New York Red Bulls for two years and then went on to coach LA Galaxy. He was won five MLS Cups and has been named the "MLS Coach of the Year" three times(1997, 2009, 2011).
Although this replacement is the end of an era for United States Soccer, and it has caused some fans to be happy and some to be upset, there is no doubt that the decision to bring Bruce Arena back into the program is a move that will help the federation.
