The Klinsmann Extension

Did we really need to Lock him up so early?

Jeff Carlisle's piece for ESPNFC.com reads quite similarly to what my initial thoughts were.  It felt presumptuous to extend Klinsmann through the next World Cup cycle while the returns on his tenure are still coming in, almost to the point of making the US Soccer Federation seem desperate.  But the more I consider the signing, the more impressed I am.  The investment in Klinsmann and his vision is one that has been made with the long term future in mind, and the initial results needed to be only as positive as qualification for Brazil in order to justify his extension.

In the article, Carlisle compares Jurgen's situation to that of Bruce Arena's in 2006.  It is a relevant example, but one that I feel actually demonstrates the opposite point once examined.  2006 was to be a referendum on the Arena era, and whether the admittedly impressive steps that been made under his stewardship were the beginning or the end of what he had to offer.  As much as I love the man and appreciate what he did for American soccer, he was not the one to lead us into the next phase of our development.  I still don't know for sure that Jurgen Klinsmann is, but I feel as though he has tapped into something that his predecessors have been unable to.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the Klinsmann experiment yields in the next four years.  Recent youth team results (as referenced by Carlisle) have little to do with the impact that he has made so far, but their performance over the next four years will be very much down to the culture that Klinsmann has instilled during his first two years.  Despite my initial skepticism, he has actually managed to turn the USA into a nation that believes we can win playing attractive soccer.  This seems almost unfathomable as recently as two years ago, when the promises of an attacking style didn't immediately materialize on the pitch.  I always believed that we could grow into one of the world powers, but it wasn't until Jurgen that the style that we needed for such a thing to happen began to materialize.

It seems to me that Sunil Gulati has seen enough.  If he had waited until after the World Cup had concluded to make his move on extending Jurgen, there is no positive scenario that could have played out.  If the US played well enough to advance from group G, there would be an increased concern about other suitors coming calling.  It is true that Klinsmann has lived in California for many years and seems genuinely committed to the American cause, but I have to imagine that his perceived failure at Bayern Munich still gnaws at him.  If he had the chance to take over as manager at a big club, the USSF would be put in the difficult situation of having to either overpay or over-promise in order to keep him.  And neither paying Jurgen $10 million a year or making him Sporting Director-For-Life sound like a good idea, even if he takes us to the semi finals.

So well done Sunil, lock that guy up.  I'm not saying I know for sure that it will end in a runaway success, but I can't think of anybody I'd trust more at this point than Jurgen Klinsmann.   Now that he is the Technical Director as well as Head Coach, the fate of the USMNT is squarely in his hands.