The baker’s son from Goeppingen, Germany, finally has hit the big time.
If that was the reaction Friday to the news Juergen Klinsmann had been named coach of the U.S. national soccer team, then it was way off the mark.
Klinsmann, who turns 47 on Saturday, has been a household name in international soccer for more than two decades, so the fact he has become the 35th man to hold the U.S. coaching reins is only the latest step — or misstep — in an already storied career.
One thing is certain: None of the 34 coaches who preceded him had his credentials — either as a player or as a coach. Klinsmann helped Germany win the 1990 World Cup, captained the Germans to the 1996 European championship and coached them to third place in the 2006 World Cup.
U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said Friday that Klinsmann has “the experience and knowledge to advance the program.”
He had it five years ago, too, but no agreement could be reached, and the job went to Bob Bradley, who was fired Thursday. Based in California for the past dozen years or so — his wife is American — Klinsmann has had ample time to study the U.S. soccer scene.
He has not always been impressed by what he has seen and is on the record as saying U.S. players need to be pushed much harder if they are to raise their standard.
Klinsmann has ludicrously little time before he and his team are put under the microscope. The U.S. has a friendly scheduled against archrival Mexico on Aug. 10 in Philadelphia, after which are friendlies on Sept. 2 against Costa Rica in Carson, Calif., and on Sept. 6 against Belgium in Brussels.
So Klinsmann has only days to put together a coaching staff. He might announce it Monday at his introductory news conference in New York
He also needs to decide whether he will simultaneously coach the under-23 team that will attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London (Klinsmann won a bronze medal with Germany in the 1988 Seoul Games), and if not, whom to put in that position as well as the under-20 coaching job.
There has to be continuity of style and philosophy throughout the U.S. program, and Klinsmann has to have confidence and trust in the age-level coaches beneath him.
As for the U.S. roster, fans will expect immediate change, if not in personnel, then at least in tactics and approach. In short, they want to see the U.S. in 2012 playing like Germany in 2006.
gjones@tribune.com
