So would you like to be a big fish in a small pond or a little fish in a big pond? The vagaries of the big European leagues are what drew back Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey to the relative comfort of the MLS where they are assured of regular team appearances, decent money, and a chance to be the big kahuna. However, these homecomings are looked on with disapproval by US coach Juergen Klinsmann who believes the MLS does not foster the competitive environment that will make the players better.
“There’s nothing I can do about it,” Klinsmann said when asked if he was concerned about Dempsey and Bradley being able to maintain their levels playing in MLS. “I made it clear with Clint’s move back and (Bradley’s) move back that it’s going to be very difficult for them to keep that same level that they experienced at the places where they were. It’s just reality. It’s just being honest.”
Such comments can be construed as a warning to Jozy Altidore increasingly becoming frustrated with his situation at Sunderland with a lack of playing minutes. He’s already said if the situation doesn’t improve he’ll consider moving. Klinsmann wants him to stay on and fight through this lean patch.
Obviously these comments were not going to sit well with Don Garber, the MLS commissioner concerned about the negative light cast on the league. He was incandescent.
“When we have a national team coach who in essence is telling players when they sign with our league that it is not going to be good for their career – and not going to be perceived well by the national team coach who is selecting the US national team – that is incredibly damaging to our league.”
These are not new concerns as even David Beckham sought loan moves to AC Milan for national consideration reasons after Fabio Capello’s expressed doubts about the MLS keeping the midfielder sharp enough for the 2010 World Cup. Klinsmann’s prickliness rubs the wrong way but he does a point. If American born players lose that ambition to go play in the big European leagues where the quality and standard is light years ahead of the MLS then the USMNT could potentially never be more threatening than a regional force. The law of unintended consequences are a surfeit of Euro emigres wooed because of their dual nationalities which by itself is a double edged sword. The desired quality maybe there but dualism is a complicated issue because of the scent of opportunism or grappling with commitment issues.
However rather more importantly, is Klinsmann doing what he should be doing as coach? It’s hard to see Michael Bradley dropping off so far down in quality just because he plays for a struggling Toronto FC side and not AS Roma in the top echelons of European soccer. 2018 is a long way off and the US can afford to meander a bit with changing line ups and players switched to different positions. However Klinsmann might just be too experimental and doing less to improve on aspects the US does do well. As Matthew Doyle at mlssoccer.com points out Bradley just behind the two strikers was actually the best thing in the US performance against Honduras providing the assist for Altidore’s goal. And it was Mix Diskerud shunted to an unfamiliar role as deep seated playmaker with difficulties in holding duties as Honduras came back strongly in the second half. Timothy Chandler, another Euro emigre had a confusing game with his aimless overlapping runs and defensive lapses which meant the US defense was sucked into protecting that flank. There is also the worry Klinsmann a notorious fitness maven might be being too hard on the players as muscle injuries have plagued players like Matt Besler with the US conceding a number of late goals. Qualitative differences based solely on league distinctions are a bit of a smokescreen. Klinsmann taking too much of zag and a zig might be muddying the waters.