11.21.16
ASN Morning Read: Jurgen Klinsmann Speaks
The United States men's national team coach talks about how he's feeling and tells the world not to worry: the Americans will qualify for the World Cup in Russia. Also, a video from U.S.-Mexico.
- In an interview with Reuters (conducted by the man who wrote his biography), he offered these thoughts: "When things go slightly wrong, there are some people who come out and are ready to chop your head off. In the long run, that’s going to make the development of the team difficult. It’s important to stay calm and be patient. "There are definitely issues to be addressed but there is no reason to exaggerate them or panic. I’ve been doing this for 35 years and there are always many reasons why certain things happen, both positively and negatively."
- He went further in a New York Times interview: "I’m not afraid. What you need to do is stick to the facts. Soccer is emotional, and a lot of people make conclusions without knowing anything about the inside of the team or the sport. I still believe we will get the points we need to qualify, and I am even confident we could win the group. The fact is, we lost two games. There is a lot of talk from people who don’t understand soccer or the team."
- Here is Brian Sciaretta's take on these articles: Condescending Klinsmann Calls Critics "Disrespectful"
- Some thoughts about changing the Hexagonal: "One possible proposal would be to extend the hexagonal to an octagonal: the top teams would still make the final round, but we’d see more turnover in those sixth to eighth positions, where teams can truly begin to make the leap. From a logistical standpoint, having more teams involved at the final stage means more teams gaining ranking points in competitive fixtures later in the cycle as well."
- Here's a nice little video to start your week:
