Juergen Klinsmann leads USA to a draw in his first match as head-coach.
Europeans and some Asian countries regard football as the best sport in the world. The Americans play a different kind of football and they refer to European football as ‘soccer’. Juergen Klinsmann grew up with the term ‘fussball’ set firmly in his ears. Klinsmann played for many a famous club and is a popular man in California and in the rest of North America.
The excitement surrounding the US national team hasn’t been great in recent months. However, Klinsmann’s hiring partly woke the fans up. In his first match, the blonde German, lovingly known as ‘Klinsi’ in Germany, led his side to a very good result against the largely dominant Mexicans.
The US got off to a rough start. They conceded relatively early in the match. Michael Bradley was guarding Oribe Peralta inside the box. The cross that came in from the right wing was a good one and Peralta stuck a foot out to put the ball across the line. Bradley marked his man well but there are some things that one can do very little about.
Juergen Klinsmann did not seem angry at all on the sidelines. He encouraged his side more and more to get them going following the goal. He made a couple of telling substitutions in the second half bringing on the brilliant Brek Shea as well as Robbie Rogers.
In the second half, the US seemed to be interested in attacking. Carlos Bocanegra was denied by a very good save from Francisco Ochoa, the Mexican keeper when he headed in following a Landon Donovan corner.
Brek Shea took on various defenders on the left-wing as the second half neared to an end. He played in a prefect ball across the face of goal for the unmarked Robbie Rogers, a player Klinsmann has known since the lad was fourteen, to pounce and salvage a draw for the States.
In-fact, Klinsmann made his biggest statement before the match got underway. He gave the starters jersey numbers 1 to 11 and the reserves 12 to 18. He didn’t allow any names to be placed behind the jerseys. His message was simple to grasp. He proved to the American players that they represent their country and play for their country rather than themselves.
Klinsmann, as usual, took the positives out of the match. His post match comments reflected his positive attitude. This is what he had to say:
“I think we can be very satisfied with that performance. It was great to see some young players stepping into this team and being guided by the experienced ones. The spirit and the energy from the experienced ones, it's fun to watch. It's enjoyable to see how they go for it.”
Rogers and Tim Howard also had only positive comments about Klinsmann. This is what Howard had to say:
“I think we are building something great here.”
This statement might be premature but Howard could be proved right in three years’ time.
The excitement surrounding the US national team hasn’t been great in recent months. However, Klinsmann’s hiring partly woke the fans up. In his first match, the blonde German, lovingly known as ‘Klinsi’ in Germany, led his side to a very good result against the largely dominant Mexicans.
The US got off to a rough start. They conceded relatively early in the match. Michael Bradley was guarding Oribe Peralta inside the box. The cross that came in from the right wing was a good one and Peralta stuck a foot out to put the ball across the line. Bradley marked his man well but there are some things that one can do very little about.
Juergen Klinsmann did not seem angry at all on the sidelines. He encouraged his side more and more to get them going following the goal. He made a couple of telling substitutions in the second half bringing on the brilliant Brek Shea as well as Robbie Rogers.
In the second half, the US seemed to be interested in attacking. Carlos Bocanegra was denied by a very good save from Francisco Ochoa, the Mexican keeper when he headed in following a Landon Donovan corner.
Brek Shea took on various defenders on the left-wing as the second half neared to an end. He played in a prefect ball across the face of goal for the unmarked Robbie Rogers, a player Klinsmann has known since the lad was fourteen, to pounce and salvage a draw for the States.
In-fact, Klinsmann made his biggest statement before the match got underway. He gave the starters jersey numbers 1 to 11 and the reserves 12 to 18. He didn’t allow any names to be placed behind the jerseys. His message was simple to grasp. He proved to the American players that they represent their country and play for their country rather than themselves.
Klinsmann, as usual, took the positives out of the match. His post match comments reflected his positive attitude. This is what he had to say:
“I think we can be very satisfied with that performance. It was great to see some young players stepping into this team and being guided by the experienced ones. The spirit and the energy from the experienced ones, it's fun to watch. It's enjoyable to see how they go for it.”
Rogers and Tim Howard also had only positive comments about Klinsmann. This is what Howard had to say:
“I think we are building something great here.”
This statement might be premature but Howard could be proved right in three years’ time.
