ASN: US Roster: What Klinsmann Stated, and What We Heard

Because the 2014 World Cup camp opened in Palo Alto, Calif., U.S. nationwide group coach Jurgen Klinsmann spoke about his roster, his plans, and the following three weeks. After which John Godfrey interpreted his phrases.

BY

John Godfrey

Posted
Could 15, 2014
10:04 AM

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WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT POSITIONAL BATTLES

“Going into Stanford now there will be more 50/50 situations: Center backs, fullbacks, two or three midfielders, and strikers that will compete for spots. The good thing about the next three weeks before we have to name them on June 2 is that we can see them every day. We can see them compete with each other day-in and day-out. We play our scrimmages; we see a lot going on. We get a feel for the chemistry, which is very important for the spirit of the team, the way they help each other and bond with each other, before naming then on June 2 the 23 going to Brazil.”
WHAT WE HEARD:
This can be a actuality present now. And I am Jeff Probst, Padma Lakshmi, Donald Trump, Tim Gunn, and Simon Cowell rolled into one.

WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT EXCLUDING EDDIE JOHNSON

“His comments and recent couple weeks actually had nothing to do with the decision. I spoke with Eddie for a long time on the phone and I tried to explain this as well as I can.”

WHAT WE HEARD:

See “chemistry” and “spirit of the team,” above.

WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT LANDON DONOVAN
“I don’t see Landon as a midfielder coming in, I see him clearly as a striker.”

And:

“He has to win a spot and convince the coaches that it’s the right decision to have him be a part of the team. It’s just normal. For me this is very, very normal, and again, with all the appreciation, with all the admiration for what he’s done throughout his career, which is extraordinary and deserves the compliments that he gets, but soccer is about what happens today and what you do today, and what you hopefully do tomorrow.”

WHAT WE HEARD:
Soccer is about what occurs in the present day.

WHAY KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT JOZY ALTIDORE
“Jozy remains to be a really younger participant and he’s going into his studying curve. We’ve got labored with him now during the last three years, and he’s gone from a a lot youthful participant right into a extra mature participant, enjoying superb video games for us and scoring vital objectives for us. Nonetheless, we see Jozy in his improvement part. Jozy just isn’t constructed but. Jozy has not reached his potential but. Our job, as coaches, is to assist him attain his highest potential. I feel the following two months shall be an enormous a part of that subsequent studying curve for Jozy Altidore. I’ve all the time mentioned that he has upside; he hasn’t proven it but elsewhere possibly. Clearly he has to work the following couple of weeks to verify our belief, which we predict he’ll completely do. However I feel he’s nonetheless a participant to be developed; he’s not there but.”

WHAT WE HEARD:

I do not assume Jozy has arrived but. The larger query: Does Jozy assume Jozy has arrived but? The Sunderland debacle could be the start of the top or the top of the start—it is as much as him. If Jozy works his tail off, earns his beginning spot, and scores a few objectives this summer season, he can transfer to the next stage. If not, nicely, Main League Soccer must spend that $90 million/yr one way or the other…

WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT TIMOTHY CHANDLER

“Timmy has done extremely well throughout most of the season. The last part was based on a knee surgery that he was out, and I was always in touch with him. He knew that he has to do a lot more work to come back into our picture because of the situation that happened in Honduras and how I looked at the team developing, and the team did extremely well last summer obviously with World Cup Qualifying and the Gold Cup. He got the message and worked harder and played on a very high level throughout the season until the knee surgery came. I encouraged him to keep going and he is fully fit again. He played the last two games—he was disqualified on the weekend—but the two games before he played. I had him scouted many times in training and I think he is a player that can make a difference if he is on his highest level. He has experience playing against very good and strong players throughout Europe, and that’s why he earned his way back into the group.”

WHAT WE HEARD:
Determined occasions name for determined measures. I don’t know who shall be beginning on the again line for us on June 16, and if Chandler is not 100% dedicated we’ll drop him roughly 30 seconds after the Azerbaijan match.

WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT OMAR GONZALEZ

“We aren’t involved in any respect about Omar’s [knee] situation. It’s a really quick time period that he can’t go at one hundred pc so by the top of the week he ought to be at one hundred pc already. We could have him firstly of subsequent week at full velocity, going with the group. Fortunately, the harm wasn’t that unhealthy and it didn’t take him out for for much longer.”

WHAT WE HEARD:

Oh, I am fearful all proper—simply not about his knee.

WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI

“His personality, he doesn’t have to change anything. Every time he comes to the National Team environment, he gives you everything he has. He always goes 1000 percent. He knows he’s getting evaluated by the coaches and what he’s doing day in, day out. He personally doesn’t have to do anything different in how he has done things over the last year. We’re looking forward to working with Wondo because it’s always a pleasure to have him in camp. He is a competitor. He is determined. You give him a one percent chance and he wants to make it 100 percent at the end of the day.”

WHAT WE HEARD:
Bear in mind how I talked up Kyle Beckerman over and over to inspire my defensive gamers? That is what I am doing right here for my attackers. Fingers crossed!

WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT ALEJANDRO BEDOYA
“Alejandro definitely had a very good season with Nantes in France, and also the fact that he went there in the first place, he stepped it up and became more mature. He developed more drive and more consistency in his game and he showed that in his games with us as well. He confirmed his learning curve at Nantes also within our environment. That’s big. When you play games against Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique de Marseille, AS Monaco, and you play well and you might even score or create chances against those teams, that’s great and makes us proud as well. He’s taken a big step forward over the past 12 or 18 months and now comes another big step.”

WHAT WE HEARD:
Alejandro is on the airplane.

WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT BESLER AND ZUSI
“In each cycle between World Cups you’ve gamers coming into the group. First they’re sort of new and so they should get their ft moist, after which they turn into an increasing number of mature and an increasing number of accountable gamers. I feel each of them are position fashions in how one can see over a brief time period how they take over duties and the way they change into a very vital a part of a program. Each gamers are very pushed, they each know what it means to be a 24/7 skilled participant and so they stepped it up each couple of months, a bit bit extra, a bit bit extra.”

WHAT WE HEARD:
Each are on the airplane, and each are prone to begin.

WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT YEDLIN AND GREEN

“With Julian and DeAndre, now we have two enormous abilities being a part of that 30-man roster. I feel will probably be fascinating to see how they take that problem. They don’t have the expertise like different gamers have. It is going to be fascinating for us coaches to see how they take it on and the way they now compete for the 23-man roster. I feel in case you analyze each gamers, they’ve super upside of their improvement curve going ahead. We’ll see that now over the following three weeks if they’re prepared for a World Cup or not.”

WHAT WE HEARD:
Michael Owen did a reasonably good job for England in 1998, when he was 18. There aren’t a number of enormous abilities within the participant pool. I might like to take each gamers to Brazil.

WHAT KLINSMANN SAID ABOUT CAMP

“The subsequent three weeks are positively in regards to the kind they’re in. The gamers know I don’t have to call them proper now; they know they’ve a battle forward of them. It’s a every day competitors. It’s an superior competitors to be in as a result of it’s about going to the World Cup.”

WHAT WE HEARD:
The subsequent three weeks are positively in regards to the kind they’re in. The gamers know I don’t have to call them proper now; they know they’ve a battle forward of them. It’s a every day competitors. It’s an superior competitors to be in as a result of it’s about going to the World Cup.
That is what John Godfrey heard. What did you hear? Inform us beneath.