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| Jugen Klinsmann/skysports.com |
by Andrew Pregler
It was the World Cup dramatics that brought millions more to flock to US Men’s Soccer but these same dramatic victories may have hurt the program as a whole. After several disappointing finishes against global competition afterward, (including a blowout loss to the Brazilian B team) Bob Bradley was out of a job.
Enter Jugen Kilinsmann and enter in heavy expectations. With the hype that surrounded Klinsmann’s debut against Mexico, the results since have left many of those new fans disenfranchised with American soccer once again. The US Men’s team is 4-4-1 with Klinsmann at the helm and even worse for “branding” in that 2010 World Cup names such as Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Michael Bradley have been absent from the team’s matches for a multitude of reasons.
The stark reality is that the US Men’s National Team will not do well at the Olympics pending a repeat of Confederations Cup Magic. This is a team still finding a new system’s rhythm and struggling against CONACAF cupcakes while doing so.
The good news for Klinsmann: the future looks very bright for his squad. Striker Juan Agudelo looks like a future star and has been learning from EPL legend Thierry Henry with the Red Bulls. Midfielder Brek Shea has been training with Arsenal in the MLS offseason and the Gunners manager has expressed intrest in signing the young star in the future. Freddy Adu may have finally found his stride and has played well under Klinsmann’s style as opposed to Bradley’s more conservative play while Heath Pierce looks to solidify the back line of this young team.
Essentially, US Men’s soccer is not going to dominate headlines as it did this past summer. The team is too young, too green, and still too lost in it’s own system to make any noise. But looking at the future of 2013 and beyond, this team has more potential than any other seen before with a fan base that is ready to get behind the effort.
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