SB Nation

And now you've gone too far, Jurgen Klinsmann

It's a cookbook! - Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Get out.

Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, some say you should be fired for not meeting the standards set when Bob Bradley was fired. What's worse is that you got a second chance with the one-off CONCACAF Super Bowl to advance to the Confederations Cup and you still blew it. So congrats on that.

Technical Director Jurgen Klinsmann, the two men you hired to lead the U-23 national team to the Olympics were not up to snuff. Caleb Porter... well... good call on that. The current guy? I'm not even going to bother learning his name unless he manages to pull a rabbit out of his hat and coaches his team to the 2016 Olympics with wins Canada and Colombia. Some would say you, TD Jurgen, should be fired for these two seemingly lower hires. Then again, I don't particularly expect much out of the guy who brought on Aron Winter at Toronto FC or took a personal feud with Landon Donovan to extremely unprofessional levels.

But me? I'm just pissed that you seem to have something against the New York Red Bulls. In case you didn't know, Red Bull Arena is hosting a U.S. versus Costa Rica friendly on Tuesday, and despite shuffling the roster, not a single "home team" player was called in. Why? "Because f*ck you, that's why." (I'm assuming that's Klinsmann's reasoning for everything these days.)

Let's start with how you continue to ignore Sacha Kljestan, Luis Robles, and Dax McCarty. Some would say Sacha had his shot (many of them) and didn't perform. Okay, sure, fine, whatever. That's a commonly held opinion and I agree that we should simply shun players based on past performances just like we do with Chris Wondolowski. Besides, Kljestan would be an ancient 33-years old at the next World Cup, and we can't have that. Who needs a creative midfielder who is capable at maintaining positional discipline while playing as an advanced destroyer?

Luis Robles probably has the weakest case for deserving a look because this is a nation of goalkeepers, but have you seen the performances he's put in for the Red Bulls? Big save after big save after big save. This is not the same shaky legged foal that we saw in Germany and that one bad international tournament half a billion years ago. This is a confident, shot stopping heir apparent for the "veteran third" spot on the roster. Sure, you want to use that second backup on development (and who could resist Olympic heroes Bill Hamid and Sean "Butterfingers" Johnson or that guy Mexico doesn't want?), but would it have killed you to call up Robles for this one? Or call him up at any time? Are you even watching him play? Are you watching anyone play? Do you watch anything other than Billy Blanks Tae Bo videos?

And Dax McCarty... nothing? Seriously... nothing? What does this guy have to do to get your attention? I love Kyle Beckerman's game. He's brilliant at shutting down passing lanes and does it with such precision that most people don't even realize how much he adds when he's on the field. But... he's getting older. He's not going to be around forever. Will he still be covering the space in front of the back four at the World Cup in three years? (That is, if we qualify, and with you in charge, Jurgen, I think we all have our doubts.) Are you aware of how much Dax has improved his game since shifting to a defensive midfielder? Not only does he have a sort of magnetic draw to the ball, but he's gotten better at short, quick passes after regaining possession (a former weakness) and is also uncorking perfect switches without breaking a sweat.

"Jurgen! Jurgen, it's Marvin. Your cousin, Marvin Klinsmann. You know that new defensive midfielder you're looking for? Well, watch this!"

Why not call him up and have him do this for the Stars and Stripes on his home field in front of his club fans? I don't feel like guessing because I think we've all given up trying to figure out what's going on in your head, Jurgen.

Maybe the Red Bulls asked to not have these players called up while they pursue their second Supporters' Shield (Good luck with Ghana, Lloyd Sam!).

I shouldn't assume this is a "Jurgen hates the Red Bulls" thing, however. The U.S. program frequently called up Matt Miazga and a pre-injury Dan Metzger to the U-23s (although Sean Davis is out in the cold... which... your loss, I guess). Except you or your lackey DID take the chance the screw over the Red Bulls for fun. Kristian Dyer of Big Apple Soccer reported that the United States went back on their word and broke an agreement with the club.

A source familiar with the situation told BigAppleSoccer.com that the Red Bulls had agreed to let Miazga leave for the first two games of Olympic qualifying, meaning that he would miss Saturday's 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew but be back for Wednesday's fixture against the Montreal Impact. Miazga did receive a red card two games ago in a home loss to Orlando City, meaning that he would serve a two-game suspension.

The Red Bulls expected U.S. Soccer to respect the deal but on Tuesday, the organization was informed that Miazga was not going to be let go. He was on the gameday roster on Tuesday night but did not play in a 4-0 win over Panama.

That wasn't very nice. Not only did Matt sit out against Panama, but THE TEAM DIDN'T EVEN BEAT HONDURAS IN THE MATCH THAT WOULD HAVE QUALIFIED THEM FOR THE OLYMPICS. Why break the agreement? To save young Matt Miazga from taking a flight? How noble of you, Jurgen or Jurgen's lackey. Keep turning more of us into "club over country" fans.

Anyway, I'll wrap this up. We all know you're not getting fired, Jurgen. But I hope you do some soul searching and start calling up more Red Bulls and even some other MLS standouts like Ethan Finlay. If you don't, then I guess I'll just wait for the next coach and hope he'll be more open minded.

Also, this is more of a life lesson beyond soccer, but if you make an agreement, you should try to keep it.

In This Article

Teams
  • New York Red Bulls
  • Toronto FC
  • Montreal Impact
  • Orlando City
Players
  • Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls)
  • Bill Hamid (D.C. United)
  • Aron Winter (Toronto FC)
  • Caleb Porter (Portland Timbers)
  • Lloyd Sam (New York Red Bulls)
  • Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls)
  • Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls)
  • Sean Davis (New York Red Bulls)
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