I love Soccer. At least I do now. I started watching Soccer during the 1994 World Cup when the games were hosted in the U.S. and my appreciation for the sport has only grown every year. But now I absolutely love it. At this point today, I am liking Soccer more than any other sport. Which leads me to our first foray for this Journalist Watch Blog.
You may or may not know, but the United States Men's National Team (USMNT) is internationally considered to be a moderately good team. The USMNT has only started seeing "success" during the last 20 years beginning with the aforementioned 1994 World Cup. Since that time, the nation has developed Major League Soccer, Youth Soccer Academies and its USMNT has won a few low grade tournaments and placed in some more upper echelon tournaments. The best placing by far was during the 2002 World Cup when the US enjoyed a Quarterfinals game. Despite all of this seemingly growing success, the United States still lags far behind the true powerhouses of the world. To make matters worse, the US team’s playing style will keep you in contention, but will also keep you away from a true championship. The US team is typically known for strong defenses, tenacious play, and the hopes of scoring on an open counter attack. Though effective at some level, not nearly good enough to compete with the Spains, Brazils and Germanys of the world. So, in June 2011, the USMNT hired Juergen Klinsmann as their coach to lead them to the promise land. Klinsmann had tremendous success as a player (World Cup 1990 winner with Germany and 1996 All-Tournament honors in the EuroCup) and pretty mixed success as a coach (2006 Seminfinal Placement in the World Cup, fired during the year with FC Bayern in 2008-09.) But he had a reputation as a revolutionist in Soccer. More importantly, he had a lot conviction and the courage to strip a team down and start over again. In many people’s opinions, he was exactly what the team needed. Everyone knew starting over would be very painful, but they also knew the US could not continue with business as usual.
Fast forward to March 2013 and we have this beauty of an article written by Brian Straus when he was with Sporting News Magazine http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/story/2013-03-19/jurgen-klinsmann-us-mens-soccer-coach-national-team-usa-american-world-cup-2013. I say was, because Mr. Straus was fired after writing this piece. Some say it was a result of the piece while others claim the magazine was just cleaning house and soccer writers were an easy cut. Either way, he was gone. The article caused a huge shit storm in the World of Soccer as it tells the tale of a helpless US team being lead by an inept Head Coach who spends more time focusing on unconventional physical fitness methods rather than actually teaching the players how to properly play soccer. Please take the time and read this article. Despite all of the horrible defects, it is well written. Kind of like a fantasy novel or some other form of fiction. Once done, please scroll down to my dissection of this now infamous piece.
Analysis
Bottom line, this article is a total piece of shit. Despite the fact that the entire piece is built on 100% anonymous quotes and a few lines from a German Players autobiography, but it also buries any and all facts that dispute the overall theme while embellishing the facts the support the author’s obvious preordained bias. I've read this article multiple times and I am going to break it down in very specific categories.
1.
Anonymous Sources - Now I know journalists would have
very little to write about if it were not for anonymous sources. Many people
don't want to attach their names to the bomb they are about to drop for fear of
the fall out. But journalists that use anonymous sources also have to bring in
other facts to make sure what is being said is not taken out of context. That
in there lies the rub. This article is ALL anonymous sources, and we are
treated to not only what the anonymous sources think about the situation, but
what they think others think or feel about the situation…and after the disappointment
of losing a World Cup Qualifying game to Honduras to boot. Let’s take the opening salvo in the article
concerning the player Carlos Bocanegra. Since you have already read the
article, I won’t spend time explaining how important Bocanegra has been to US
Soccer. But let’s just say, he has been
really important. Anyway, as it states
in the article, Klinsmann let Bocanegra (and the entire team) know that Carlos
would not be starting the Honduras game minutes before the game began.
Apparently, the blow was harsh and not well received by the anonymous source
and by Bocanegra himself. How do we know this? Because the anonymous source
said so, that’s how. HOWEVER, what is not mentioned is Bocanegra was originally
benched back in 2010 when Bradley, the coach before Klinsmann, recognized that
Bocanegra would be too old (he is 34) by the time the 2014 World Cup started.
The source, and thereby the author, also failed to explain that Klinsmann had a
standing policy. If you don't start for your parent Club, then you don't start
for the USMNT. Bocanegra was not playing for his parent club, the Spanish
Division II Racing Santander and so should not have been surprised that he
wasn't starting. In fact, after this article was released to the world,
Bocanegra went onto his facebook to tell everyone that would listen that he
always knew where he stood in the eyes of Klinsmann. So in truth, his benching
was not and should not have been a surprise to anyone. Unfortunately, either the anonymous source
never told Straus about this policy or Straus didn’t feel like it helped his
piece. Instead, Straus made it sound
like Bocanegra was deemed the starter the night before, but by the next morning
Klinsmann changed his scatterbrained mind and benched the heart and soul of the
team.
This is only one example of how pathetic relying on
anonymous sources can be. Mr. Straus continued to make all kinds of subtle claims
and accusations throughout the piece with his anonymous sources and had the
tendency to position quoted statements at the just the correct moment to
emphasize a point. But things got worse when he started using anonymous sources
collected from a book. Apparently, one of Klinsmann ex-players while he was in
Germany, Phillip Lahm, was not a fan of Juergen. Mr. Lahm stated that Klinsmann
spent more time on fitness and less on tactics or some other shit. But the real
kick in the nuts is he stated that others (anonymous) felt that way too. So
Brian Straus used anonymous sources from a person he never interviewed. In
fact, Straus later said in an A.S.S. podcast that he knew nothing of Lahm or of
these sources. But only that the players of the USMNT were quoting them.
Absolutely unbelievable.
2.
Fact Manipulation - In fictional writing, it is
important to emphasize the important parts of a story in order to build tension
and the ultimate climax. Brian Straus
just so happen to use the same technique when writing this piece. We are treated to entire paragraphs of just
how Jurgen Klinsmann is known throughout soccer as not being a tactically
strong coach or how his assistant, Martin Vazquez, was a laughing stock when he
tried coaching the MLS Team Chivas USA.
Straus explains in loving detail that Joachim Loew was the true power
behind the throne during Klinsmann’s days with the German national team. We also learn that Klinsmann has a thing for foreign
born American players, choosing to play them instead of the Americans
languishing in the MLS. Klinsmann also
is so out to lunch, he has used 24 different lineups in 24 different games. And last but not least, the US team is
actually getting worse under Klinsmann’s terrible coaching style. Each of these points are such utter
falsehoods, it’s hard to know where to begin.
But here I go. The only way to do
this justice is to show how each of these facts are UTTER BULLSHIT
individually.
First, as it pertains to Klinsmann’s in game
tactical capabilities, that is NOT why he was brought to the US team. Klinsmann was brought to the team to teach a
brand of soccer. One that includes ball
possession, passing in closed spaces, 1 v 1 movement and a shunning of
conservative play. He also was in charge
of revamping the physical fitness programs AND improving the US youth development
academies within MLS. But when it comes
to the minute to minute game tactics, that is left up to Martin Vazquez. Let me use Football as an analogy. Take any successful Pro Football team. They have a head coach and an offensive and
defensive coordinator. Same thing in
Soccer. Klinsmann may be the head coach,
but Vazquez is the coordinator. And just
like in football, there are a lot of great coordinators out there that suck as
a head coach. So Vazquez’s unfortunate experience
with Chivas USA does not mean he sucks as a tactician. When you combine that with the German “offensive
coordinator” Joachim Loew, you start to see that Klinsmann is not a
micro-managing douchebag. In fact he is
a self-assured leader who lets his subordinates do what he hired them to
do. Joachim Loew has been on record saying
that Klinsmann is the true revolutionary.
He had the balls to tell the mighty German National Team that they don’t
know what they are doing anymore, and created an environment that allowed guys
like Loew to work his magic. Straus does
not seem to understand this. At this
point in the article, I started to realize that Straus’ experience with soccer
may be strictly as a writer. But again,
more on that later (article below.)
Second, foreign players and their ascension in the
US team. When I read the article, I felt
like Jurgen Klinsmann decided that home grown American talent was not good
enough and brought in dubiously “American” players from Europe. Players who just so happen to have an
American Service Member as a father.
But, these players weren’t really American and their attachment to the U
S of A was more of a game then an actual devotion. Aside from being offensive to the American
military fathers of these players, this again is NOT TRUE!! Let’s take the “leader of the German bunch”
Jermaine Jones. Jermaine Jones was
indeed born in Germany…when his mom and dad were married and his dad was
stationed overseas. However, when Jone’s
father moved back to the states, guess who moved back with them? Yep, Mrs. Jones and little Jermaine. Jermaine spent a number of years in Chicago,
Ill and Mississippi. His two parents
eventually divorced and he moved back to Germany with his mother. But the real kick in the balls is, Jermaine
Jones joined the US team in 2010…before Klinsmann was hired. AND he is the top rated American holding
midfielder in the world. Top, as in the
best. Also, it is strictly not true that
Jurgen favors foreign players. He has
repeatedly stated that he wants more MLS players on the team. Klinsmann has beaten the drum begging US players to stay in the states and grow with MLS rather than go to Europe and ride the bench or take a chance. In fact Straus even concedes that in his
paper…with one sentence. But that point
is glossed over. As I stated before,
Klinsmann starts players that start for their parent club. He has demonstrated that time and again. If you start for the MLS team, you will get
the nod over the player that is riding the bench on an English Premier League
team. Which is WHY the aforementioned
Carlos Bocanegra recently left Spain to go to the US so he could start with the
MLS team Chivas USA and improve his USMNT chances.
Finally, as it pertains to the 24 different lineups
in 24 games leading to US Soccer going backwards and getting worse. This out of everything is the worst of them
all. It has been well documented that
Jurgen used 24 different lineups, because at no time did he have the same players 24 times. A number of players were out due to either
injury, or they couldn’t leave their parent club, or they were suspended due to
yellow/red card accumulations.
WTF!!! Also, you know that little
fact that Straus glosses over? You know
the one that says the US had the best record in its history in 2012? We only beat Mexico in a friendly…in
Mexico. We have never beaten Mexico in
Mexico. At least not in 75 years. Ever.
The stadium is 120,000 people strong.
The Mexicans want to beat one team every year. The Amerians.
La Azteca is rated as the best and most intimidating soccer stadium in
the world. Straus has no idea what a
complete idiot he is for making any US victory in Mexico seem like anything else
but a major break-through. But the best
part is, after Straus’ article was released, the US is now on the longest
winning streak in its HISTORY and leading the World Cup Qualifying bracket.
3.
Credibility – Here is what I think of Brian
Straus. This is my opinion and I have no
anonymous sources proving this, BUT, I think he doesn’t know diddly shit about
soccer. I think while he was at the
Washington Post he said “I am an ambitious guy.
I need to find an avenue I can get ahead in. I can’t report on football or baseball. Too much competition. How about soccer? The numbers are going up. There are sporting magazines that still don’t
mention soccer. I can break into the
sporting journalism business via soccer.”
And off he went. But if he did
any homework on Klinsmann, he would have found this excellent article http://www.ocregister.com/articles/klinsmann-29794-germany-german.html. After this article was written, Juergen Klinsmann took the German National team all the way to the Seminfinals in 2006. The current German National Team still uses the same techniques to this day that Klinsmann implemented 7 years ago. Klinsmann is well regarded as the man that made the Germans a national powerhouse again.
I bet Straus would have thought twice before writing
his little piece.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed researching and writing about it. I’ve listened to Brian Straus say he has no idea why everyone was so mad. The article was bout the players not about him, blah, blah, blah. If he looked in the mirror and said “did I have an agenda before I wrote this piece,” I think he will find that the answer would have to be yes.
