Copa America is Jurgen Klinsmann's chance to show he's the right man for the USMNT
The Jurgen Klinsmann Era is now five years old. And would it be considered a success? A failure? Somewhere in between?
There's no consensus on Klinsmann's reign so far, but that may change with Copa America Centenario. The manager's tenure, to this point, and where he and the team should go from here could be determined by the United States' play this June.
Whether you support Klinsmann or not is in part -- if not largely -- due to the expectations you placed upon him when he was hired in 2011. On that day, Klinsmann spoke extensively of establishing an American style that is "proactive" and made it clear that his leadership would be about more than simply wins and losses. The Americans were going to play better and be better than they had ever been before, making the jump from to the top tier on the world stage.
At least, that is what he promised. And many took him at his word, expecting that from Klinsmann. Others were more measured, cautioning against putting too big of expectations on a single person, but even those who didn't expect quite as much from Klinsmann had no doubt that the man was charged with pushing the American team to new heights.
Klinsmann had to be better than his predecessors, at the very least. He may have even needed to be extraordinary -- depending on who you ask -- but after five years, the team being better than they were before Klinsmann took over, and also improving, was a minimum expectation.
But they're not. The U.S. in 2016 is no better than they were in 2011.
The U.S. has found itself in trouble in the semifinal round of both of the last two qualifying cycles. A loss to Jamaica put their spot in the 2014 World Cup in jeopardy, and sent them into their final match of the round against Guatemala needing a result. And this time around it was a loss to Guatemala, their first loss to Los Chapines since 1988, that has their spot in the final round of qualifying on the line.
There was also the embarrassment of last year's Gold Cup, where the U.S. went out in the semifinals against Jamaica. It was the first time they had lost to a Caribbean team on home soil in 46 years and ended a run of five consecutive Gold Cup finals. It was also the first time they had ever been eliminated from the tournament by a team not named Brazil, Mexico or Colombia, and in all six matches at the tournament they struggled to look dominant and get shots away. Forget proactive, the U.S. played ugly.
For five years, the U.S. has struggled to play beautiful soccer. Or really even decent soccer. The "proactive" style Klinsmann promised is missing. Even when the Americans made it out of the group at the World Cup, the U.S. rarely had the ball and were every bit the defend and counterattack team that Klinsmann set out to change. They struggle in possession and creating chances, only really looking dangerous going forward when they leave themselves exposed at the back. And with ever-changing tactics and personnel, no discernable style, system or approach has ever taken hold, which doesn't bode well for Klinsmann when he promised so much.
The results have been lacking too. Especially in the nearly two years since the World Cup, people have rightly begun to wonder, "where is the progress?"
Klinsmann has had some highs. His teams have rattled off away wins against Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands and Germany in his five years. The Americans also captured the 2013 Gold Cup and made it out of a difficult group at the 2014 World Cup. Even now, they head into Copa America Centenario riding a four-match win streak. But most of his greatest signs of progress have come in friendlies, and there's been nothing resembling consistency, all while the team has plateaued, at best.
There's no doubting that the U.S. is short of great talent, and there's a generational gap right now with most of the best Americans either aging or a bit too young. But in 2016, the expectation isn't that the U.S. be able to make a major tournament semifinal -- the goal Klinsmann has laid out for the 2018 World Cup, when the young players will be more seasoned -- just that they be at least as good as they were through the 2000's, if not a bit better. For more than 18 months now, they haven't been.
Klinsmann needs to show that his team is at that level at Copa America Centenario, a tournament that is a major event for the sport in this country. Not only will it bring in millions of fans, but it's the top-quality competition and test that Klinsmann has been open about his team needing. This is the tournament Klinsmann has been craving, on the field.
Off the field, he needs to revive the country's belief in him and the team because right now, belief is in short supply.
The good news is there is no reason the U.S. would be unable to do that. Colombia is a good team, but hardly a world beater. They've struggled since the World Cup, while Costa Rica and Paraguay make for a tough group by Copa America standards, but again, they too have struggled over the last two years. This is hardly a Group of Death, and the Americans have been better than teams of Costa Rica and Paraguay's ilk for nearly two decades.
Getting out of the group shouldn't be a problem. And a competitive quarterfinal should be a minimum expectation, along with play that at least resembles the proactive style Klinsmann promised. All of that should be in the Americans' future, especially for a tournament that is being played on home soil. If they can't deliver that now, then there's little reason to believe they ever will under Klinsmann.
Where is that proactive style of play? Is the team any better than it was under Bob Bradley and Bruce Arena? Will Klinsmann be able to live up to the expectations he either set, or at the least welcomed, in 2011? It's scary that five years later, these are legitimate questions, but they are, and Copa America Centenario will be Klinsmann's chance to answer them. If he can't, then U.S. Soccer will have to ask themselves a question: "Where the hell is this team going?"
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