U.S. Soccer

Who Should U.S. Soccer Pick to Replace Jürgen Klinsmann?

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New Coaching Options for the United States Men’s National Team

Oscar Pareja

The Oscar Pareja pick would arguably be the best choice because he is a great tactician and talent scout who plays young players when they are good enough to play. The younger talent in the United States is better than the talent of previous generations, and Pareja is a coach who will select those players for the national team and let them play, if they are ready. Pareja offers fresh perspective and new ideas without those ideas being bizarre. Pareja coaches skill soccer in the Latin American style, and this style of play is a more advanced and effective style of play than the overemphasis on hustle and physicality that the United States has too often played. Beyond all of these reasons, Pareja has a history of winning in MLS, and he has a history of knowing how to build strong lineups who play quality soccer in a more skilled and effective style. A big dose of Latin American style soccer is needed for the United States that only fields a couple players who play soccer the right way.

Bruce Arena

There have been reports and rumors that Bruce Arena might be the coach to replace Jürgen Klinsmann, and the positives of that switch would be that Arena plays a balance of attacking and defensive players and that he knows the American player pool very well. The real problem with Klinsmann as coach was his poor tactics that led to a lack of possession and creativity in the lineup, and Arena doesn’t normally omit skill players and playmakers from his lineups and rosters. Unlike other options, Arena has experience and success as a coach at the international level, but hiring Arena feels like the five years under Klinsmann served no purpose for the United States. Arena could have been the coach again back in 2011, so selecting him doesn’t really qualify as fresh ideas. Klinsmann overlooked a lot of qualified players from MLS, and Arena seems to better at identifying the standout MLS players, as he did when he signed Sebastian Lletget to the LA Galaxy when he was stuck in Purgatory with Wes Ham United.

Sigi Schmid

Sigi Schmid has been a successful soccer coach and scout in the United States for decades, and in a recent interview with Alexi Lalas for the Mutant Gene Podcast, he showcased his tactical acumen and ability to scout and evaluate players. Unlike Klinsmann, Schmid doesn’t have a history of poor tactics and bad player evaluation. Even now, Klinsmann continues to insists that Michael Bradley is a playmaker. Schmid has a track record of winning and scouting, and the biggest issue for American soccer right now at the national team level is fielding more technically-skilled players in their correct positions. One gets the sense with Schmid that he wouldn’t field a lineup without a combination of defensive midfielders and attacking midfielders, and this is the real area where the United States gets destroyed by elite national teams and not-so-elite national teams. The United States loses when the opposing team runs circles around them and keeps possession, and this is less likely to happen with a coach like Schmid who is tactically-sound. Schmid is responsible for scouting and finding many of the most talented American players, and this ability is needed to select rosters.

Tab Ramos

Hiring Tab Ramos to replace Klinsmann would involve simply promoting an assistant coach to head coach, and like the other coaching options, Ramos is a better tactician and scout than Klinsmann. Like Pareja, Ramos believes in coaching soccer played the right way, and he has shown that he balances attacking and creativity with the needed defensive play. As coach of the United States’ youth national teams, Ramos always selected the most skilled players that he had available, rather than going by other unclear criteria. Ramos showed that he made sure to field midfields that combined defending with technical skill and attacking play, and he also didn’t field players out of position in unsuitable formations.

Who Should U.S. Soccer Pick to Replace Jürgen Klinsmann?

With Pareja and Ramos, U.S. Soccer would be showing a commitment to selecting a coach who is looking to field a team that plays better soccer based on skill, and with Arena or Schmid, U.S. Soccer would be picking a coach who selects rosters and lineups better than Klinsmann. Arena and Schmid coach skill soccer, but Pareja and Ramos coach that style even more. Looking to play more Latin American style soccer rather than English or European soccer would be a bolder move by U.S. Soccer.

 

USMNT: 23 for Brazil (August 2013)

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The World Soccer Source 23-Man USMNT 2014 World Cup Roster Proposal 

(August 2013 Edition)

 

COMMENT:

This 23-man USMNT Roster Proposal is less conservative than other projections and predictions that you will find from other writers and websites.

The purpose of not just going with the current group of Jürgen Klinsmann regulars who are doing a good job at staying on top of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying table is not to purposely propose a group of inexperienced and young players for the sake of creating controversy.

On the contrary, the purpose is that this group of players below represents a sincere attempt to not just survive the group stage but to give young, talented, and athletic players the chance to try and raise the level of play of the USMNT.

For example, Gyasi Zardes and Mario Rodriguez are on the list over Eddie Johnson, which will seem almost comical to many people.

The reason that this writer selected Zardes and Rodriguez, despite the excellent combination of skill and overall athleticism of Johnson, is that this writer believes that these two young and internationally inexperienced players, if they happen to play for whatever reason over starters like Juan Agudelo or Terrence Boyd, will relentlessly attack the goal no matter the opponent more so than Johnson will.

It’s important to remember that Rodriguez is highly-regarded by Tab Ramos, and Rodriguez plays in Germany. Additionally, Zardes is widely-considered an extremely talented striker in MLS circles, and Zardes seemed to have no problem playing against Real Madrid yesterday who were fielding a strong line-up, including Casemiro at the defensive midfielder role.

 

Here is the roster proposal:

 

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad GUZAN, Tim HOWARD, Nick RIMANDO.

CENTER BACKS (4): Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE, Andrew FARRELL, Shane O’NEILL, Michael OROZCO FISCAL.

OUTSIDE BACKS (3): Chris KLUTE, Kofi SARKODIE, DeAndre YEDLIN.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS (3): Michael BRADLEY, Geoff CAMERON, Benji JOYA.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS (5): Freddy ADU, Joe Benny CORONA, Clint DEMPSEY, Mix DISKERUD, Benny FEILHABER.

FORWARDS (5): Juan AGUDELO, Jozy ALTIDORE, Terrence BOYD, Mario RODRIGUEZ, Gyasi ZARDES.

 

NOTES:

-There are 7 defenders as opposed to 8 because Geoff Cameron plays center back as well as both outside back positions.

-Michael Orozco, Geoff Cameron, Andrew Farrell, Shane O’Neill can all play as outside backs and as defensive midfielders.

-Geoff Cameron is as much of a center back as he is a defensive midfielder.

-Benji Joya is a box-to-box midfielder listed with the defensive midfielders.

-Freddy Adu and Benny Feilhaber are on this roster proposal. Both of these players are highly-valued by World Soccer Source for their proven-ability and record of performing and making a positive impact at the international level regardless of the opponent. Many Americans and non-Americans consider these two players to be inconsistent and lazy playmakers with a poor attitude, but World Soccer Source considers them to be invaluable midfielders for the USMNT due to their ability to bring creative and quality passing and attacking play to a national team that lacks these qualities.

 

USMNT Starting XI Proposal (4-1-2-1-2): Howard; Yedlin, O’Neill, Farrell, Klute; Cameron; Bradley, Joya; Corona; Agudelo, Dempsey.

 

ROSTER ALTERNATES:

FORWARDS: Teal BUNBURY, Alonso HERNANDEZ, Eddie JOHNSON, Tony TAYLOR, José VILLARREAL.

MIDFIELDERS: Landon DONOVAN, Junior FLORES, Luis GIL, Joe GYAU, Jeremy HALL, Perry KITCHEN, Dax MCCARTY, Brek SHEA.

DEFENDERS: Matt BESLER, Omar GONZALEZ, Fabian JOHNSON, Eric LICHAJ, Michael PARKHURST, Jonathan SPECTOR, Caleb STANKO.

GOALKEEPERS: Cody CROPPER, Tally HALL, Bill HAMID, Clint IRWIN, Sean JOHNSON, Dan KENNEDY, Luis ROBLES.

 

 

USMNT Back Four Options

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Chris Klute (right) might be the best American left back. (Photo: Eamon Queeny / The Columbus Dispatch)
Chris Klute (right) might be the best American left back. (Photo: Eamon Queeny / The Columbus Dispatch)

 

Recently, World Soccer Source examined a Front Six option that Jürgen Klinsmann could start for the USMNT to maximize what he learned from World Cup qualifying and the Gold Cup, but the defensive Back Four is still a big question mark.

In the Front Six, this writer advocated that the USMNT start Geoff Cameron as a midfield destroyer with Michael Bradley as more of the box-to-box variety of defensive midfielder with a line of three attacking midfielders in front of them: Landon Donovan, Joe Benny Corona, and Clint Dempsey.

To read that article and more about the logic of the Front Six click  HERE.

Combining that Front Six with either Tim Howard or Brad Guzan in goal, the best defensive back four is an area that is very much a pressing issue. The popular opinion seems to be that Matt Besler is a lock at one of the center back spots, and that is certainly what Jürgen Klinsmann believes.

The entire defensive back four is still a big question mark because there are new outside backs on the scene who look as though they offer a package of skills and physical gifts that the United States Men’s National Team has never had. These outside backs are Chris Klute and DeAndre Yedlin, but it’s important to note that Andrew Farrell falls into this category too as he has been used as right back by the New England Revolution instead of his natural position of center back.

Therefore, the Back Four of the USMNT is nothing but questions. Is Matt Besler a lock as a starter? If so, who should partner with him at center back? Should it be Omar Gonzalez or should it be Michael Orozco Fiscal? Furthermore, is it possible that two completely different center backs are the best center back tandem for the U.S.?

One route that the United States could take would be to start Matt Besler at center back with either Omar Gonzalez or Michael Orozco, but give DeAndre Yedlin and Chris Klute a chance to start with them as the outside backs. This approach would keep the center back situation somewhat stable, but it would shake things up at the outside back spots.

Actually letting Chris Klute play against Bosnia-Herzegovina would be a bold move for Klinsmann, if he even puts him on the roster, but it would offer the U.S. the opportunity to really see a gifted and athletic left back storming up and down the left sideline.

DeAndre Yedlin has received much more media attention that Klute, but Klute is likely a more polished defender. Yedlin is a very promising right back who is skilled at attacking and defending, and using him against Bosnia-Herzegovina would be an excellent opportunity for Klinsmann to see two young and talented outside backs who are both exceptionally fast facing off against international competition for the full national team.

No one knows what the best defensive back four for the USMNT is, and the only way to really know is to play outside backs like Yedlin and Klute and see what happens. Anything the U.S. can do to make its defense more equipped to deal with fast and skilled attackers is necessary.

There are several defenders that need to be tested and evaluated by Klinsmann. At center back, Klinsmann needs to see how Shane O’Neill can do with the full national team, and it would be useful to see Andrew Farrell playing his preferred position of center back.

Looking at these two players in regards to their defensive qualities, their comfort on the ball, and their high-level of athleticism, it is possible that Shane O’Neill and Andrew Farrell might prove to be a better center back tandem than Matt Besler plus Omar Gonzalez or Michael Orozco.

If Andrew Farrell can play as an outside back and as a center back, one idea of a list of eight defenders would be Andrew Farrell, DeAndre Yedlin, Chris Klute, Fabian Johnson, Michael Orozco, Shane O’Neill, Omar Gonzalez, and Matt Besler. It’s important to note that Geoff Cameron would be listed as a midfielder, even though he obviously excels as a defender as well.

This list presents the USMNT with the opportunity to start a back four of DeAndre Yedlin, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, and Chris Klute, but it also allows for a number of other combinations of center backs and outside backs. For example, Michael Orozco can start as a right back, and Fabian Johnson could start at left back.

Given the group of players listed above, the United States could start any number of defensive back fours. One option would be to start Yedlin, Orozco, Besler, and Klute. Another option would be to start Orozco, Gonzalez, Besler, and Johnson. The youngest and most experimental option would be to start Yedlin, Farrell, O’Neill, and Klute.

These are back fours to consider, and using one of them behind Cameron, Bradley, Donovan, Corona, Dempsey, and Altidore would offer Klinsmann the opportunity to learn more about what his best combination of players is, and there might be more than one. This system allows Cameron and Bradley to cover for Chris Klute and DeAndre Yedlin when they make attacking forays.

Really progressing as a national team will require some new faces to be allowed to play, in order to truly test out more of the American player pool.

While a Front Six made up of Cameron, Bradley, Donovan, Corona, Dempsey, and Altidore is a tactically sound and proven group of players, the best defensive back four for the U.S. is unknown.

Maybe starting Yedlin and Klute will improve the USMNT, and maybe Andrew Farrell deserves a shot to play his natural position of center back or perhaps start at right back over Yedlin.

It’s time to see if there is room to improve the defensive back four of the United States.