ASN: Andreas Herzog Pegged to Lead U.S. to 2016 Olympics

U.S. nationwide staff coach Andreas Herzog has a brand new function: Jurgen Kilnsmann’s shut pal and confidant will take over the under-23 staff that may try and qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

BY

Brian Sciaretta

Posted
January 24, 2015
9:02 AM

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IN AN ANNOUNCEMENT ASN predicted earlier this month, Andreas Herzog was named head coach of the US U-23 staff which is able to try and qualify for the 2016 Olympics later this yr.

Herzog, 46, has been an assistant coach of the US nationwide staff since December 2011 and his relationship with Jurgen Klinsmann dates again to their enjoying careers once they had been teammates on Bayern Munich. The 2 had been a part of the membership’s UEFA Cup championship staff in 1996.

As a participant, Herzog earned greater than 100 caps for the Austrian nationwide staff which included appearances on the 1990 and 1998 World Cups. He additionally scored 4 targets in 27 appearances for the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2004.

The job is not going to be the primary head teaching job for Herzog, who was accountable for Austria’s U-21 staff from 2009-2011 whereas he was additionally an assistant coach for Austria’s senior nationwide staff.

“Andi has plenty of experience and knowledge in order to prepare this group for the international level,” Klinsmann mentioned in a press launch. “As a former coach of the U-21 Austria team, he has a lot of experience connecting to the younger generation of players. Having been with the senior national team these past years, he understands the challenges of putting together a team with players coming from all over. “Andi is totally able to step into this function, and he deserves this chance.”

The job is essential to U.S. Soccer which has positioned a precedence on the Olympic staff after the federation’s gorgeous failure to qualify for the 2012 video games in London. In that event, Caleb Porter coached the squad that didn’t advance out of a qualifying group that included Cuba, El Salvador, and Canada.

This yr Klinsmann has already used its annual January coaching camp to combine many Olympic-eligible gamers together with Luis Gil, Wil Trapp, and Shane O’Neill—who’re anticipated to play a big function with the staff.

Earlier this camp, Klinsmann revealed that CONCACAF Olympic qualifying would start this fall, thereby inserting a must speed up the progress of the staff.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to coach the U.S. under-23 national team,” Herzog mentioned. “We recognize the special place that the Olympic Games have in this country and we are committed as a group to qualifying for Rio in 2016. We look forward to putting together a team that will make all Americans proud. “We additionally know it is part of our duty to develop gamers who will have the ability to contribute to the senior nationwide staff, and that course of has already begun.”