Jurgen Klinsmann right to speak his mind on MLS

United States Men’s National Team boss Jurgen Klinsmann isn’t afraid to speak his mind, and that shouldn’t be a bad thing.

United States Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is once again busy making friends in early February. Several months after Klinsmann got into the slap fight heard around the Internet with Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber and not long after his side failed to post a victory for the eighth time across nine encounters — the USMNT have lost five straight friendlies (gasp!) — Klinsmann hit out at the fitness levels of some of his players, particularly of some who play for MLS sides, while speaking with Scott French of MLSSoccer.com:

"“It’s difficult for me now to get them out of vacation. Some of them played their last game in October. In October! I want to help them get back into shape, get back into rhythm, but, oh, by the way, we’re going to play [two friendlies]. So some learned over time and prepared themselves really well, and some don’t have that knowledge yet.“They don’t have that ‘oh, OK, at the beginning of December, go to Athletes’ Performance in Phoenix and get myself fit.’ That culture we don’t have yet. What the other sports are doing really well, they use their preparation for preseason, four to six weeks prior to going into preseason with their NBA team, NFL team of whatever, they go to these fitness institutes and they get themselves fit.”"

Klinsmann then appeared on FOX Sports 1 program “America’s Pregame” on Wednesday afternoon, and he had more to say on the subject:

"“We’re doing a camp with the domestic-based players, the MLS players here, in Los Angeles. We play a game on Sunday against Panama. We we just try to get them…coming off of their offseasons into a rhythm and prepare them for a long 2015 year, so we have six more months to get them ready for hopefully a very exciting Gold Cup.”"

Klinsmann when asked if there is anybody to blame for the fitness levels of certain players not meeting his expectations:

"“I don’t blame anybody. It’s just reality. What happens here is that, maybe soccer is not as far yet as American football, baseball, basketball, where athletes in their offseasons basically go in their own preparations before they join the preseason with their professional teams. We don’t have that culture yet.The MLS season goes nine months. They should take the month off, but then they should go back into preparing themselves for the next year. A couple of guys haven’t done that and that’s why they’re looking a little bit shaky right now. But we’re going to get them back on track and hopefully they’ll learn out of it.”"

Klinsmann continued:

"“My wish is, at the end of the day, the domestic league here, the MLS, goes to an 11-month season like the rest of the world and then they shorten a little bit of their vacations, but they get back into a rhythm right away and then they are prepared for it. Extending the season of MLS would solve my issue that I have right now, but we’re working on it.”"

While I understand why Klinsmann would want MLS players to be with clubs 11 months out of the year minus those pesky FIFA dates, he has to get that the league is not, all jokes aside, a developmental tool for the USMNT. MLS is what every other professional sports league: A business first. The same can be said for every league that follows the European calendar. No MLS club is going to operate 11 months out of the year under the league’s current structure.

Klinsmann must also understand that the MLS season is technically 11 months long. Players meet up with clubs at some point in January, and the campaign doesn’t end until MLS Cup in December. The problem that does not have an easy solution as of February 2015 is the setup of the MLS Playoffs which begin at the end of October. There is zero chance that the league will abandon the playoffs so long as postseason games are included in television deals. That’s just the reality of the situation.

Best of luck getting the MLS Players Union to sign off on a deal that would keep footballers with their clubs for up to an additional month just because Uncle Klinsy says so.

In the end, Klinsmann was speaking about professional athletes, individuals who have plenty of access to equipment that would help them be ready to go for Day 1 of a national team camp. Yes, there are plenty of MLS players who are grossly underpaid. A membership to Planet Fitness is $10 a month.

Just saying.

Klinsmann also spoke about “star players” leaving Europe to play in MLS:

"“Well, there are two sides of it. Obviously, it’s exciting for having these players back in America for our fans to see them in the US, to see them in the stadiums, and get the national team players…a close look at them. From a competition side of it, obviously MLS is getting better every year. It’s growing, you know, it’s growing and getting stronger and bigger every year, which is exciting. But on the other hand, obviously you want your players in the most competitive environment possible, and that is still Europe. That is still the big leagues, still; the Premier League, the Bundesliga, the Serie A in Italy, the Spanish La Liga. That’s where the big music is played, so for me, as the national team coach, I hope to have my big shots in one of those big leagues and play Champions League in Europe.”"

Klinsmann continued:

"“But, I understand them. It’s also a time for them when they’re offered a lot of money and a lot of opportunities to come back, so my challenge is now, for the national team program, is to keep them up to speed and to keep them challenged to the highest possible.“It’s down to their attitudes. They’re the big stars coming back. They’re the big fish in the small pond. Meanwhile in Europe, they are the small fishes in the big pond. I get that. Obviously, the financial reasons are behind that, as well. It is understandable in one way, but it is challenging to those players on the other side. So, we’re going to help them, the clubs will help them to keep the higher standards up and keep pushing the envelope there. But it is not easy for them, because you’re a child of your environment.“Soccer is not there yet where the NFL or the NBA or the NHL are in terms of peer pressure. They don’t have that same accountability here in the US that they would have in Europe where, if you lose a game, your club team in Europe, you get bothered the next day in the supermarket, at the butcher, the baker, wherever you go.”"

Of course Klinsmann wants the majority of his players, most likely all of them if we’re being honest about it, in the best leagues in Europe. MLS is comparable to the Football League Championship, the second division in England. That is the lay of the land in 2015. I would also, if I was the manager of any national team, prefer to have my full first-choice lineup playing against the best competition on the planet when on club duty.

What I enjoyed most about this portion of Klinsmann’s comments is that nobody can question that he “gets it” as it pertains to American footballers making returns to MLS when such opportunities arise. The likes of Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley are now able to make great livings playing in their continents of origin (Altidore and Bradley are in Toronto a.k.a. “Buffalo North”). Heck, they are even making more money than what they would have received had they attempted to continue their European careers.

Klinsmann knows what all smart sports people know about the business. Being a professional athlete is not, even though fans may not like to acknowledge this reality, about winning championships and trophies. It is first about making the best living/most money possible, because the career of an athlete can be finished in a heartbeat and before he sees his 30th birthday. Klinsmann understands that his guys are going to want to get paid, and he knows that both he and some in his team will need to make adjustments if the US program is to reach new heights.

Klinsmann raised some eyes when he closed the interview portion of the program with the following:

"“It’s a learning curve. The game will get more recognition. The fans will get more educated. The media will get more educated. But we still have a way to go. We all help to make this game grow in this amazing country. But it’s not going to happen overnight.”"

Some posting on websites such as Twitter took offense to these comments, as if Klinsmann was looking down on the US Soccer community and on those who cover the sport. Maybe that’s exactly what he was doing at that moment, but I, upon re-watching the segment a few times, saw it differently. I believe Klinsmann was referencing fans and mainstream media who, more often than not, ignore the sport except when the national team is playing meaningful games that are televised. Perhaps, as an example, Klinsmann was thinking of a particular company that thought it wise to feature Gus Johnson as lead play-by-play man for Champions League matches.

Perhaps.

To wrap it up for those of you in the “tl;dr” crowd: Klinsmann is a coach who is happy about some things and unhappy about other things. He wants his players in better shape, and Klinsmann believes that he is the smartest overall man in the room regarding his team.

So he is like every other coach out there.

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