Latest news with #JürgenKlinsmann
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Klinsmann wants Müller to continue in US, Hoeness doesn't
Munich's Thomas Mueller sits on the bench ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final soccer match against between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Sven Hoppe/dpa Thomas Müller should continue his career in Major League Soccer after the end of his 25 years at Bayern Munich, former Bayern player and coach Jürgen Klinsmann has said. Müller, 35, is yet to decide on his future after his trophy-laden Bayern career ended on Saturday when Bayern lost their Club World Cup quarter-final 2-0 against Paris Saint-Germain in Atlanta. Advertisement Müller come on for the final 10 minutes for his 756th first team match, almost 17 years after he got his first Bundesliga start in August 2008 under then coach Klinsmann, who integrated him into the first team from the reserves. Klinsmann, who has been living in California for many years and was also US national team coach, said in a column for Kicker sports magazine that he hopes Müller will take the plunge into MLS. "I wish that he continues for a few more years, and of course that he includes the US adventure in his considerations," Klinsmann said. "He has everything to give football in the US another push, like Lionel Messi and Marco Reus as well are doing." Advertisement Messi plays for Inter Miami and Germany's Reus for Los Angeles Galaxy. LA could also be a destination for Müller in the form of Los Angeles FC who are said to be interested in the 2014 World Cup winner. "He would surely have a lot of joy, and of course I hope that in this case it would preferably draw him to Los Angeles," Klinsmann said. Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeness meanwhile expressed scepticism about a possible US move for Müller. "I always said that it would be better for him to retire. But if he really wants to do it then he should," Hoeness told reporters on Saturday in Munich. Advertisement Hoeness agreed that the MLS has improved in quality but warned that "when you have played at Bayern and then in Los Angeles - it is not the same thing." Müller said on Saturday he was "aware that it was the last match" but that there was no decision yet. "You have to process the events first. I'm still fully in work mode. Everything else will come gradually," he said. One scenario is however out of the question, staying at Bayern because of Jamal Musiala's severe leg injury sustained on Saturday. Müller named such suggestions "tawdry" and board member for sport Max Eberl insisted that "this is actually not in our thoughts."
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mauricio Pochettino is bringing fight and focus back to the USMNT
There is something cosmically funny about all of this. Late last summer, the United States men's national team went out and hired the most qualified manager it could find. The one with the most impressive coaching resume far of anyone US Soccer had ever employed on the men's side. The most expensive, certainly. By a multiple. The man brought in to arrest the tailspin the USMNT had slowly slipped into after the 2022 World Cup. To finally unlock that elusive next level. To help a golden generation, or at least a shiny one, come good at last. To salvage something, anything, from a World Cup played mostly on home soil a year from now. Not to squander it all. Related: Diego Luna double fires US past Guatemala and into Gold Cup final Advertisement And what should Mauricio Pochettino add to the US national team's brew of aptitudes and attitudes but pluck and grit? The very same underdog mentality, the ferocity and fitness, that had once taken the US from global laughingstocks to merely unembarrassing and then to internationally competitiveness. That sort of mindset had a ceiling, it was decided a decade and a half or so ago. And the Yanks kept on bumping their heads into it. So they hired Jürgen Klinsmann to sprinkle his fairy dust over the team, except he didn't understand how to execute his own lofty plans and dismantled the team's mentality-monster culture in the process. And then Gregg Berhalter brought it back for a bit, only to misplace it again. That was still more or less the shape the US was in three weeks ago. A mirthless two-loss debacle at the Concacaf Nations League in March. Two more defeats to Turkey and Switzerland, both playing at three-quarters speed, in early June. The Americans were underdogs again. Long shots. A soccer community mumbled to itself about those 10 regulars lost to rest and injuries and the Club World Cup. Since then, something elemental has been reclaimed. The USMNT are competitive again, proud again. By going back to basics. Advertisement They ground out a 2-1 semi-final result against Guatemala in St Louis on Wednesday, courtesy of Diego Luna's 15-minute brace, to reach Sunday's Gold Cup final with Mexico in Houston on Sunday – a record 13th appearance in the regional title game. In the broad assessment of Pochettino's time in charge of the US – likely following the World Cup when he'll probably go chase after some other project, as is the wont of the most sought-after managers – Sunday's penalty shoot-out win over Costa Rica in the quarterfinal will likely loom large. The Americans prevailed in a feisty game, matching the intensity of an opponent intent on making a slugfest out of the bout, showing some personality at long last. On Tuesday, Pochettino elaborated on just how much he appreciated the urgency with which his team had rallied around Malik Tillman that day. The American attacking linchpin was taunted by some of his Tico opponents after missing a penalty, whereupon a big scuffle broke out involving the entire US team. 'It's the whole group,' Pochettino said, clearly delighted that the press conference had landed on the merits of a good scuffle. 'It's the keeper [Matt Freese] also, because he ran 100 meters to be in the fight. That was amazing. That means something. For me, I'm Argentino – we love to fight – that means a lot. 'That means that we are connected, that we care about my teammates,' Pochettino continued. 'That needs to be natural between them. We can select 26 players, but to be a team is a different thing.' Advertisement He liked, the Argentine said, that after four weeks together, team meals were lively. That the three tables the USMNT eats at have an energy sparking between them that makes them feel like one. Or something. 'That is a spontaneous situation that you cannot force, you cannot push,' said Pochettino. The long and short of it is the Americans are a team again. Certainly, there is sophistication at work in their run to the Gold Cup final as well. This incarnation of the USMNT is increasingly well-drilled in its defensive organization and attacking patterns. A team that was inexperienced and unfamiliar a month ago moves as a unit, shifts shapes in transition, zings the ball around cleanly. Within a clear structure, there is room for Tillman and Luna to express themselves, to roam and to assert their influence both creatively and as the team's high pressers. The Americans have scored some wonderfully well worked goals in this tournament. The victory over Guatemala made for a strange sort of game. The US were utterly dominant early and ran out to a quick 2-0 lead, only to spend the rest of the game defending it increasingly frantically against the world's 106th-ranked team, getting outshot 20-12. Advertisement Before a heavily pro-Guatemalan crowd at Energizer Park in St Louis, one of the spiritual homes of the American game, Guatemala played in their first Gold Cup semi-final in 29 years. They turned up with a roster that was domestically based but for six players active in the US and Canada and one each in Romania and Moldova. These were not pedigreed players, yet their countrymen in the stands roared for a second successive upset, after Los Chapines dispatched Canada on penalties in the last round. 'Today, I need to tell you, it was like to play in Guatemala, in Tegucigalpa,' said Pochettino. 'And that was good for our players, because it was an atmosphere we didn't expect.' In the fourth minute, Luca de la Torre shot from outside the box, following a long, crisp American buildup. Luna snuck ahead of his marker, José Rosales, snagged the rebound and then tucked it past Kenderson Navarro. Ten minutes later, Luna ran at the box, beat his man with a stepover and located a crack of space and time to rip his shot past Navarro at the near post. From that point, Guatemala would be the aggressors, forcing several strong saves by Freese and seeing a goal disallowed as it put ever more attackers on the field. In the 80th minute, 18-year-old Olger Escobar found some room in the American area and finally beat Freese to narrow the score, provoking a furious final assault. Few things in soccer are quite as dangerous as an unchained team, playing for the equalizer with absolutely nothing to lose. Still the US held on, avoiding the penalty lottery that nearly undid them in the previous round, collecting just enough clearances and disrupted Guatemalan attacks to see out the clock. Perhaps there was something slightly undignified in clinging on against a team that, on paper, ought not be a threat. The other interpretation is that it was a sign of growth. Advertisement 'It's the grit, it's the determination that we've been lacking, to be honest,' Luna told Fox. 'It's fighting to the end, every ball, every moment.' Presently, it's no use arguing with the USMNT's pint-sized scrapper. For he has come to embody its new ethos.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Mauricio Pochettino is bringing fight and focus back to the USMNT
There is something cosmically funny about all of this. Late last summer, the United States men's national team went out and hired the most qualified manager it could find. The one with the most impressive coaching resume far of anyone US Soccer had ever employed on the men's side. The most expensive, certainly. By a multiple. The man brought in to arrest the tailspin the USMNT had slowly slipped into after the 2022 World Cup. To finally unlock that elusive next level. To help a golden generation, or at least a shiny one, come good at last. To salvage something, anything, from a World Cup played mostly on home soil a year from now. Not to squander it all. And what should Mauricio Pochettino add to the US national team's brew of aptitudes and attitudes but pluck and grit? The very same underdog mentality, the ferocity and fitness, that had once taken the US from global laughingstocks to merely unembarrassing and then to internationally competitiveness. That sort of mindset had a ceiling, it was decided a decade and a half or so ago. And the Yanks kept on bumping their heads into it. So they hired Jürgen Klinsmann to sprinkle his fairy dust over the team, except he didn't understand how to execute his own lofty plans and dismantled the team's mentality-monster culture in the process. And then Gregg Berhalter brought it back for a bit, only to misplace it again. That was still more or less the shape the US was in three weeks ago. A mirthless two-loss debacle at the Concacaf Nations League in March. Two more defeats to Turkey and Switzerland, both playing at three-quarters speed, in early June. The Americans were underdogs again. Long shots. A soccer community mumbled to itself about those 10 regulars lost to rest and injuries and the Club World Cup. Since then, something elemental has been reclaimed. The USMNT are competitive again, proud again. By going back to basics. They ground out a 2-1 semi-final result against Guatemala in St Louis on Wednesday, courtesy of Diego Luna's 15-minute brace, to reach Sunday's Gold Cup final with Mexico in Houston on Sunday – a record 13th appearance in the regional title game. In the broad assessment of Pochettino's time in charge of the US – likely following the World Cup when he'll probably go chase after some other project, as is the wont of the most sought-after managers – Sunday's penalty shoot-out win over Costa Rica in the quarterfinal will likely loom large. The Americans prevailed in a feisty game, matching the intensity of an opponent intent on making a slugfest out of the bout, showing some personality at long last. On Tuesday, Pochettino elaborated on just how much he appreciated the urgency with which his team had rallied around Malik Tillman that day. The American attacking linchpin was taunted by some of his Tico opponents after missing a penalty, whereupon a big scuffle broke out involving the entire US team. 'It's the whole group,' Pochettino said, clearly delighted that the press conference had landed on the merits of a good scuffle. 'It's the keeper [Matt Freese] also, because he ran 100 meters to be in the fight. That was amazing. That means something. For me, I'm Argentino – we love to fight – that means a lot. 'That means that we are connected, that we care about my teammates,' Pochettino continued. 'That needs to be natural between them. We can select 26 players, but to be a team is a different thing.' He liked, the Argentine said, that after four weeks together, team meals were lively. That the three tables the USMNT eats at have an energy sparking between them that makes them feel like one. Or something. 'That is a spontaneous situation that you cannot force, you cannot push,' said Pochettino. The long and short of it is the Americans are a team again. Certainly, there is sophistication at work in their run to the Gold Cup final as well. This incarnation of the USMNT is increasingly well-drilled in its defensive organization and attacking patterns. A team that was inexperienced and unfamiliar a month ago moves as a unit, shifts shapes in transition, zings the ball around cleanly. Within a clear structure, there is room for Tillman and Luna to express themselves, to roam and to assert their influence both creatively and as the team's high pressers. The Americans have scored some wonderfully well worked goals in this tournament. The victory over Guatemala made for a strange sort of game. The US were utterly dominant early and ran out to a quick 2-0 lead, only to spend the rest of the game defending it increasingly frantically against the world's 106th-ranked team, getting outshot 20-12. Before a heavily pro-Guatemalan crowd at Energizer Park in St Louis, one of the spiritual homes of the American game, Guatemala played in their first Gold Cup semi-final in 29 years. They turned up with a roster that was domestically based but for six players active in the US and Canada and one each in Romania and Moldova. These were not pedigreed players, yet their countrymen in the stands roared for a second successive upset, after Los Chapines dispatched Canada on penalties in the last round. 'Today, I need to tell you, it was like to play in Guatemala, in Tegucigalpa,' said Pochettino. 'And that was good for our players, because it was an atmosphere we didn't expect.' In the fourth minute, Luca de la Torre shot from outside the box, following a long, crisp American buildup. Luna snuck ahead of his marker, José Rosales, snagged the rebound and then tucked it past Kenderson Navarro. Ten minutes later, Luna ran at the box, beat his man with a stepover and located a crack of space and time to rip his shot past Navarro at the near post. From that point, Guatemala would be the aggressors, forcing several strong saves by Freese and seeing a goal disallowed as it put ever more attackers on the field. In the 80th minute, 18-year-old Olger Escobar found some room in the American area and finally beat Freese to narrow the score, provoking a furious final assault. Few things in soccer are quite as dangerous as an unchained team, playing for the equalizer with absolutely nothing to lose. Still the US held on, avoiding the penalty lottery that nearly undid them in the previous round, collecting just enough clearances and disrupted Guatemalan attacks to see out the clock. Perhaps there was something slightly undignified in clinging on against a team that, on paper, ought not be a threat. The other interpretation is that it was a sign of growth. 'It's the grit, it's the determination that we've been lacking, to be honest,' Luna told Fox. 'It's fighting to the end, every ball, every moment.' Presently, it's no use arguing with the USMNT's pint-sized scrapper. For he has come to embody its new ethos. Leander Schaerlaeckens is at work on a book about the United States men's national soccer team, out in 2026. He teaches at Marist University.
Times
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Supporting Spurs is like owning a pet — it teaches you about reality of life
Look, either way, for Tottenham Hotspur fans, Wednesday cannot come soon enough. We are in the final of the Europa League — it still sounds bizarre — and if that wild, senseless team of ours actually wins the thing, it will result in the loss of our collective mind. I first saw them play QPR back in the mid-1990s. We didn't live hugely close, but I liked their kit. I was in my early teens and Jürgen Klinsmann was on the team. It was a really boring draw, if I remember. But oh how I would have taken such tedium later, as superb players like Luka Modric and Harry Kane came, excelled and then went, promptly winning stuff elsewhere. The nadir? Sitting in the lounge
