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USMNT: Firing Jurgen Klinsmann Is Not The Answer

By Bryan Zarpentine
Published on: 01:03 PST, Nov 16, 2016

The U.S. Men’s National Team suffered perhaps its most devastating and embarrassing loss ever on Tuesday night, a 4-0 shellacking at the hands of CONCACAF rival Costa Rica. Naturally, many news outlets like SI, Fox Sports, and Yahoo, not to mention many in the fan base, are calling for head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to be fired. Admittedly, Jurgen Klinsmann being fired would be deserved at this point. Recent results have not been acceptable and the team is clearly not moving in the right direction. However, that doesn’t mean that firing Klinsmann is the answer right now.

Firing Klinsmann only makes sense if you have someone in mind to replace him. This is an aspect to firing Klinsmann that most fans forget. Most fans can only think of the team’s recent form and think about getting rid of the man in charge. But they forget to ask that all-important question, “Who else you got?”

Klinsmann could be justifiably be fired after Tuesday’s loss and last Friday’s disappointing home loss to arch-rival Mexico, but on paper he’s still the most qualified person for the job, at least among people who actually want the job. Even the top coaches in MLS, aside from former USMNT coach Bruce Arena, are not as qualified as Klinsmann, as they lack an international pedigree and would be in over their head if asked to fix Klinsmann’s mess.

The lone exception to this may be Guus Hiddink, who was most recently the caretaker manager at Chelsea last season and has managed half a dozen international squads over the course of his career. Other than Hiddink, most managers who would conceivably be interested in the USMNT job and qualified to handle a national team like the U.S. already have jobs.

Of course, would Hiddink want the job? Without assurance that Hiddink would take the job, firing Klinsmann is not the right decision, much like U.S. Soccer would not have fired Bob Bradley in 2011 if they didn’t already have Klinsmann lined up to take over.

USMNT Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann during a training session. [Image by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images]

Firing Jurgen Klinsmann at this point would only be a reactionary move to poor results in the last two matches. Admittedly, there have been other disappointments and rough patches during Klinsmann’s tenure with the national team, but Jurgen has always persevered through those tough times and led the team to a notable achievement. Without the guarantee of hiring someone better or more qualified, firing Klinsmann would not be a rational decision.

Remember, the USMNT was in a similar position at this point in World Cup Qualifying during the last World Cup cycle. The USMNT opened the Hex with a loss to Honduras, a loss that was followed by reports of insurrection within the team. Sound familiar? Well, Klinsmann was able to guide the team through that rough period and get everyone on the same page, culminating in the famous 1-0 win over Costa Rica in the midst of a massive snow storm. Despite the rough start to the Hex four years ago, Klinsmann led the Americans to the top of the group, and he’s uniquely qualified to do the same this time around as well.

Firing Klinsmann right now would be nothing short of hitting the panic button, and there’s no need for that with eight games left in the Hex and four months for Klinsmann and his staff to make sense of the team’s recent struggles and find a solution. Mexico was quick to hit the panic button during Qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, making several managerial changes, and they were barely able to qualify. The USMNT does not want to follow that lead and be so quick to make a change based on a couple of poor results in difficult games.

USMNT Head coach Juergen Klinsmann prior to a friendly match. [Image by Christian Hofer/Getty Images]

It’s also important to note that aside from a road fixture with Mexico in June, the USMNT has already played its two most difficult matches of the Hex: home to Mexico and away at Costa Rica. The optics of Tuesday’s 4-0 loss are horrible, but the U.S. has never taken points in a Qualifying match against Costa Rica and it has never hindered them from qualifying for the World Cup. The road does get easier, and the USMNT is more than capable of winning each of its next three Qualifying matches, which could make everyone forget about this poor start to the Hex.

Klinsmann, of course, is not without fault, but firing Jurgen now would be too reactionary and not rational. His issue is that he’s over thinking and not sticking to what has worked for him in the past, as recently as this past summer when the Americans reached the semi-finals of Copa America Centenario. With four months to reflect before the next qualifying match, there should be more faith in Klinsmann’s ability to pull himself and the team out of the hole he has dug.

When Jurgen Klinsmann was hired in 2011, U.S. Soccer committed to him through the 2018 World Cup, and there’s no reason why a couple of bad results should change that, just like periods of frustrating results earlier in his tenure as USMNT coach didn’t result in him being fired. Fans are upset, and they should be, but firing Jurgen Klinsmann is not the answer. He is still the best coach for the USMNT right now. We simply must trust the process, and more importantly, trust him, even in the face of adversity.

[Featured Image by Simon Hofmann/Bongarts/Getty Images]

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