He took an unsung group of young players to third place in the World Cup under indescribable pressure, lives in California and speaks fluent English. And former Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann is available. The United States fired coach Bruce Arena on Friday. The U.S. is looking for a coach and likes Klinsmann.
Could it be that easy?
No. A lot stands in the way between Germany’s latest soccer hero and him coaching the sleeping giant that many consider is the U.S. national team. Mainly time. Despite a nation and a national federation begging him to return, Klinsmann resigned his post as Germany’s coach Wednesday, citing burnout.
In a press conference in Berlin, Klinsmann indicated it’s the kind of burnout that may preclude U.S. Soccer’s timetable.
“I just feel not capable of continuing the work with the same amount of energy and power,” Klinsmann said. “I have the feeling of being burned out and am planning to absolutely have a year of vacation.”
Klinsmann, 41, has had no contact with the U.S. since the World Cup ended and when asked by reporters whether he was interested in the U.S. job said, “Absolutely not.”
However, he is acquainted with U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati. He sent Klinsmann a congratulatory e-mail after Germany’s quarterfinal victory over Argentina, and they exchanged e-mails after Germany’s 4-1 win over the U.S. in a March friendly.
It’s clear the U.S. has its sights set on Klinsmann. He was under intense pressure after a modest run-up to the World Cup even though Germany’s best players were deemed too old and its most promising players were too young. However, Klinsmann elected to use the young players and they stormed through the World Cup, winning five straight before eventual champion Italy beat them in the semifinals, 2-0 in overtime.
Klinsmann also lives in Huntington Beach, Calif., and refused to leave, despite Germany’s federation urging him to relocate to Germany. He is familiar with the U.S. scene, U.S. players and U.S. culture.
“I’m sure we’ll talk to Juergen,” Gulati said in a nationwide conference call Friday. “He’s an international coach living in America who has expressed a desire to remain in America. It’s not productive to get into specific candidates. But what I’m reading, I believe a lot of people believe he’d be a good candidate.”
But one reason Klinsmann chose to live in California was anonymity. He enjoys living where people don’t know him, his two children or his American wife. He would weigh that factor if he became the U.S. coach.
The U.S. has some time. Arena’s contract runs through December and the meat of the U.S. schedule begins in January. That’s almost six months.
“If it’s the right person and he can’t start for a few months, I think we’ll be willing to wait,” Gulati said. “If it’s the right person and he’s available in three weeks or two months, that would be better.”
Money is not an issue with Klinsmann. He was a German legend, with 47 goals in 108 caps, and his 11 World Cup goals stand tied for fifth all-time. He was a star for Bayern Munich, and German soccer insiders say he has invested wisely and never has to work another day.
The buzz in Germany is his burnout is legit and it would be surprising if he took the U.S. job within six months.
“He’d also lose face,” said Milan Pavlovic of Suddeutsche Zeitung, Munich’s top paper. “Right now he’s some kind of demigod. We all understand his desire to go back to his family. Staying at home, leaving for home, everybody said naughty things about him before the World Cup, but that has changed and we give him the understanding.
“If he takes the U.S. team now or in the next month or two months, that would devastate the image he has right now. To not lose face, he’d have to wait six months.”
Gulati would not discuss other candidates but U.S. Soccer officials won’t limit the search to American coaches. Those falling in that group would include Glenn Myernick, Arena’s assistant and former Colorado Rapids coach; Chicago Fire’s Dave Sarachan, the winningest coach in Major League Soccer history; and Chivas USA’s Bob Bradley, Arena’s assistant on the 2002 World Cup team.
John Henderson can be reached at 303-820-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
