All eyes were on manager Jurgen Klinsmann as he named his roster for the United States men’s national team ahead of the start of 2018 World Cup qualifying this past week. While it is still just the beginning of the process, his decisions to this point reveal some interesting aspects of what he is looking to establish. There’s a lot of pressure on him to deliver because if he doesn’t, Team USA will probably be looking for a new bench boss. Here is a look at the four things that stand out the most about Klinsmann’s U.S. men’s roster.
The Youth Movement
While it is not a full-blown youth movement quite yet, there is no doubt that Klinsmann has targeted a number of young players in order to inject some fresh legs and pace in to his lineup. Klinsmann had promised as much following the last World Cup and he has made good on that promise by moving on from some of the older options available to him. We saw a bit of that when he passed on Landon Donovan and now that’s continued.
This time, he opted not to include star players like Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman. Perhaps the biggest sign that Klinsmann was willing to go in a different direction was his decision to keep forward Clint Dempsey off of his roster – at least for now. Klinsmann wants to see what some of his young strikers are able to do up front and it is clear that he will be committed to that process throughout the qualifying period. What’s interesting here is that by doing this, Klinsmann is putting the program first and his own job security second. He’s developing young players to build a brighter future…even if he’s not around to see it (if they don’t deliver results).
Finding The Right Fits
One question that a lot of soccer experts explored following the announcement of the roster was whether or not it made sense to keep a player as talented as Dempsey out while including a player such as Alan Gordon. However, the reality is that Klinsmann is committed to finding the right fits based on his perception of the players and their individual mentalities.
Dempsey might still be the more talented player but he might not be happy being used as a substitute while Gordon would relish the opportunity to come off the bench for the national team. Some of Klinsmann’s decisions have had much more to do with finding the right role players and chemistry more than anything else.
Matt Mizaga Is A Key Piece
For all of the talk about who made the team and who didn’t, it is clear that Klinsmann and his staff believe that 20-year-old Matt Mizaga is the real deal. Mizaga’s whirlwind season continued when he earned his first chance from the U.S. national team and there have been reports that the New York Red Bulls’ defender has also garnered interest from Chelsea as well. Klinsmann was forced to make a lot of tough decisions but it is clear including Mizaga on his roster wasn’t one of them as the young defender is considered a key piece on the American roster.
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It Is About Business
As much as some people want to criticize Klinsmann’s decisions, the reality is that it is all about taking care of business, which is illustrated by him calling on Fabian Johnson. Those two had a falling out that resulted in Klinsmann sending Johnson home at the last camp but it didn’t take long for the manager to ask his player to return. He swallowed his pride because he knew he needed his talent in the lineup. Klinsmann’s decisions have all been made based on what he feels is best for his team and there is no doubt about that. The only question left now is this: has Klinsmann’s decisions ultimately improved or hurt his team’s chances of qualifying for the 2016 World Cup? At this point, only time will tell but he firmly believes in his decisions.
