Klinsmann

It took less than a day, but LGM called for his hiring, and the US FA took note and duly responded.  Correlation, or causality?  You be the judge.  And for our next trick, we’ll solve the manufactured debt ceiling crisis.

Considering how swift the appointment was made, especially in light of the past difficulties the US FA have had with negotiating with Klinsmann, it’s safe to assume that this hiring was a done deal before Bradley was fired.

What I like about this hiring, as I implied in yesterday’s post, is that Klinsmann is more likely to give the next generation a solid look.  Bradley was in stasis, and we were left wondering how the next generation would be discovered, let alone develop.  Plus, Bradley let Giuseppe Rossi get away.  Klinsmann is a solid tournament manager, as evidenced by Germany’s 2006 run with an sub-par side — my German mate in Plymouth during that tournament predicted that they wouldn’t get out of the group stage, and yet they finished third.  His brief tenure with Bayern was largely successful, and he’s credited with revamping their youth academy.  Consistent with his negotiations with the US FA, he demanded considerable control at Bayern, and was eventually sacked for not getting along with the directors.  Hopefully the US FA have given him acres of space to just get on with his job.

What I don’t like about this hiring: Klinsmann scored 30-odd goals for Spurs.

While Bradley’s career with the USMNT is over, and I believe his replacement is a superior choice, he should be lauded for the run in the 2009 Confederations Cup, especially that match against Spain in the semi finals, which I posted about here at LGM at the time (I’d link to the posts, but I can’t seem to make the archive work that far back.)