Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Thomas Rongen says that Jurgen Klinsmann may not be the right person for the US Men’s National Team Head Coach position.
In an exclusive interview with Soccer Morning, Rongen said “On the highest level, I’m not so sure that Jurgen Klinsmann is the right person for the job, quite frankly.
“Yes, he was a great player. Yes, he was a sexy choice. If I take a look at the 2002 team that almost went to the final four under Bruce Arena and if I look at the team now, I don’t see huge progression. I see a team that lacks identity. That plays different systems. I see a lot of dual-citizen players. There’s a lot of things that remain somewhat questionable.
“There’s a little bit of disconnect between players and coaches, which is never a good thing. The American coach knows the American player real well. That’s one of the reasons why Bob Bradley and Bruce Arena were successful. They know what makes US players tick.
“It’s a different animal than players who have come through Bayern Munich or Borussia Monchengladbach or Tottenham Hotspur where the landscape is so much different. I’m not sure if the coaching staff (Berti Vogts, Andreas Herzog and Klinsmann) really identify and understand what makes the American player tick.”
Rongen, who was the United States U-20 head coach from 2001-2005 and 2006-2011, was
asked about the situation at the US youth levels and whether the system is being run efficiently.
“I think our environment still is not great,” said Rongen.
“The development at younger ages, which is still far from perfect, is not even close to what it is in the rest of the world.”
