Pressure on young U.S. players
By Brent Latham
ESPN INSIDER
For those urging Jurgen Klinsmann to be a bit quicker about integrating young talent onto the U.S. national team, the German has a simple response. If young players want to make the national team, they'll need to put in the work to become consistent professionals. In the meantime, the coach says America needs to have more patience with its young soccer stars.
"There should be a far more patient approach, also a far more down to earth approach," Klinsmann said on the eve of last week's World Cup qualifier, for which he selected only two players from the team that played in the Olympic qualifiers a few months ago. "Because of one good season, they shot up [Juan] Agudelo, [Teal] Bunbury and Brek Shea to the new faces of MLS, and I said, 'What's that?' They're just learning right now. They're all raw. Like Terrence [Boyd] is raw, and it's great. Let's see where Terrence is in three, four years from now."
The coach used the prematch chat to sound off on American youth talent and philosophy. The German ran the gamut of topics, including rushing young players along too quickly, the proper methods for players to reach the top of the international soccer game and the travails of Freddy Adu.
It's not that Klinsmann doesn't have confidence in the next generation of American players, the coach explained. He just feels that in the present day, young players need more time and space to succeed than they're getting in a talent-thirsty U.S. soccer world that is always looking for the next big thing.
<offer>"I really don't like the whole thing, to shoot up players at 18, 19. It's far too early without having nearly proven their qualities yet," he said. "And it's not just the qualities you see on the field; it's the qualities off -- understanding the job, living the right lifestyle, what it means to eat right, to sleep well. To understand all these elements takes years.
"I think I made my first cap at 24, or something; I don't remember. But I made over 100 over the years. And then Agudelo scores his first goal against Argentina, and they're telling him 'You own the world,' which is very difficult for a player to come back down, and when you're only 18, 19, what do you know at that age?"
A staunch member of a bygone era when players had little handed to them, Klinsmann said young American players' careers need to be based in the reality that no matter what's been achieved, there's always another step. Early success in MLS, or even a move to Europe, he pointed out, doesn't guarantee anything in the long run. The coach seems to slightly resent the modern hype machine surrounding young prospects. He does, however, realize the troubling effects those modern mechanisms can have on the development of young talent, particularly in a media-centric society like the United States.
"Our generation had a much easier task, because you could grow into your profession," Klinsmann said. "Older players were there to get you back on the ground if you flew too high. The environment changed. It's all the media attention, all the agents involved -- I never had an agent -- all these people surrounding you giving you pats on the shoulder after winning, blah, blah, blah. It's far more difficult for the generation today to understand the whole picture than it was for my generation.
Klinsmann said these players need to realize they are still in the early stages of development.
"Maybe in the U.S., the whole personal environment catches on a little too much," he said. "Friends, family, everyone tells you now, 'You made it,' and now all of a sudden, what? You made what? A pro contract in Europe? You made it. What's that? That's just a jumping board. We are happy that you are in Europe, but the work starts every day from the beginning.
"And in Europe, they have different levels, so work to the highest level. Because the highest level is a Champions League team, but still within the Champions League there are many levels. Wherever you are in your career, there's always a next level. Never become content. You've got to prove it the next game and the next game and the next game."
By way of example, Klinsmann touched on the ever-fluid situation of the much-traveled Adu, revealing that he had talks with the Philadelphia Union midfielder about what he needs to do to get back into national team consideration.
"We want [fewer] roller coasters with all our players," the coach said. "Imagine what [a roller coaster] Freddy Adu was on. Was that good? No, it wasn't. He knows that, too. So now, become a consistent MLS player, prove it, score goals and get 'X' amount of assists, and without it there's no national team. It's just normal."
Klinsmann said that even when players such as Adu fall out of favor, the door doesn't shut for young talent. Of late, Shea, Agudelo and even Jozy Altidore have found themselves on the outside looking in to different degrees, a development Klinsmann sees as an indication that the young Americans need to work even harder.
"I tell the young players, 'You have all the time; take your time,'" he said. "If there comes a down period, then you might be out, but it doesn't mean that we send you back to the club team and you're out of the picture. No, you just go there and work harder, harder, harder, to put yourself back in the picture. The next game's coming."
In the end, for Klinsmann, it all comes down to career improvement and getting the most out of the talent that does exist in the United States. Young players, he said, need to realize that talent and hype alone aren't nearly enough to succeed in the hypercompetitive world of international soccer.
"These young players need time," said Klinsmann. "We can't dig into every player's personal environment and see what friends does he have, what does he eat. Is it junk food? It will be an educational process, but it's [up] to them whether they take all those pieces to improve their career."
Notes
• Once-promising German-American forward Jann George has been shipped out of Nuremburg. Instead of German soccer, he'll spend the last year of his contract on loan to Slovakian Super Liga club FK Senica.
• Another formerly promising youth forward, Adrian Ruelas, was loaned out from Mexican champion Santos to Veracruz in the Mexican second division. Ruelas spent the last year on loan at Jaguares but played little.
• If it seems young Americans are popping up everywhere in the world, it may be because they are. Here's the story of 16-year-old Saalih Muhammad, a winger from California, and his potential move to Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.
</offer>
By Brent Latham
ESPN INSIDER
For those urging Jurgen Klinsmann to be a bit quicker about integrating young talent onto the U.S. national team, the German has a simple response. If young players want to make the national team, they'll need to put in the work to become consistent professionals. In the meantime, the coach says America needs to have more patience with its young soccer stars.
"There should be a far more patient approach, also a far more down to earth approach," Klinsmann said on the eve of last week's World Cup qualifier, for which he selected only two players from the team that played in the Olympic qualifiers a few months ago. "Because of one good season, they shot up [Juan] Agudelo, [Teal] Bunbury and Brek Shea to the new faces of MLS, and I said, 'What's that?' They're just learning right now. They're all raw. Like Terrence [Boyd] is raw, and it's great. Let's see where Terrence is in three, four years from now."
The coach used the prematch chat to sound off on American youth talent and philosophy. The German ran the gamut of topics, including rushing young players along too quickly, the proper methods for players to reach the top of the international soccer game and the travails of Freddy Adu.
It's not that Klinsmann doesn't have confidence in the next generation of American players, the coach explained. He just feels that in the present day, young players need more time and space to succeed than they're getting in a talent-thirsty U.S. soccer world that is always looking for the next big thing.
<offer>"I really don't like the whole thing, to shoot up players at 18, 19. It's far too early without having nearly proven their qualities yet," he said. "And it's not just the qualities you see on the field; it's the qualities off -- understanding the job, living the right lifestyle, what it means to eat right, to sleep well. To understand all these elements takes years.
"I think I made my first cap at 24, or something; I don't remember. But I made over 100 over the years. And then Agudelo scores his first goal against Argentina, and they're telling him 'You own the world,' which is very difficult for a player to come back down, and when you're only 18, 19, what do you know at that age?"
A staunch member of a bygone era when players had little handed to them, Klinsmann said young American players' careers need to be based in the reality that no matter what's been achieved, there's always another step. Early success in MLS, or even a move to Europe, he pointed out, doesn't guarantee anything in the long run. The coach seems to slightly resent the modern hype machine surrounding young prospects. He does, however, realize the troubling effects those modern mechanisms can have on the development of young talent, particularly in a media-centric society like the United States.
"Our generation had a much easier task, because you could grow into your profession," Klinsmann said. "Older players were there to get you back on the ground if you flew too high. The environment changed. It's all the media attention, all the agents involved -- I never had an agent -- all these people surrounding you giving you pats on the shoulder after winning, blah, blah, blah. It's far more difficult for the generation today to understand the whole picture than it was for my generation.
Klinsmann said these players need to realize they are still in the early stages of development.
"Maybe in the U.S., the whole personal environment catches on a little too much," he said. "Friends, family, everyone tells you now, 'You made it,' and now all of a sudden, what? You made what? A pro contract in Europe? You made it. What's that? That's just a jumping board. We are happy that you are in Europe, but the work starts every day from the beginning.
"And in Europe, they have different levels, so work to the highest level. Because the highest level is a Champions League team, but still within the Champions League there are many levels. Wherever you are in your career, there's always a next level. Never become content. You've got to prove it the next game and the next game and the next game."
By way of example, Klinsmann touched on the ever-fluid situation of the much-traveled Adu, revealing that he had talks with the Philadelphia Union midfielder about what he needs to do to get back into national team consideration.
"We want [fewer] roller coasters with all our players," the coach said. "Imagine what [a roller coaster] Freddy Adu was on. Was that good? No, it wasn't. He knows that, too. So now, become a consistent MLS player, prove it, score goals and get 'X' amount of assists, and without it there's no national team. It's just normal."
Klinsmann said that even when players such as Adu fall out of favor, the door doesn't shut for young talent. Of late, Shea, Agudelo and even Jozy Altidore have found themselves on the outside looking in to different degrees, a development Klinsmann sees as an indication that the young Americans need to work even harder.
"I tell the young players, 'You have all the time; take your time,'" he said. "If there comes a down period, then you might be out, but it doesn't mean that we send you back to the club team and you're out of the picture. No, you just go there and work harder, harder, harder, to put yourself back in the picture. The next game's coming."
In the end, for Klinsmann, it all comes down to career improvement and getting the most out of the talent that does exist in the United States. Young players, he said, need to realize that talent and hype alone aren't nearly enough to succeed in the hypercompetitive world of international soccer.
"These young players need time," said Klinsmann. "We can't dig into every player's personal environment and see what friends does he have, what does he eat. Is it junk food? It will be an educational process, but it's [up] to them whether they take all those pieces to improve their career."
Notes
• Once-promising German-American forward Jann George has been shipped out of Nuremburg. Instead of German soccer, he'll spend the last year of his contract on loan to Slovakian Super Liga club FK Senica.
• Another formerly promising youth forward, Adrian Ruelas, was loaned out from Mexican champion Santos to Veracruz in the Mexican second division. Ruelas spent the last year on loan at Jaguares but played little.
• If it seems young Americans are popping up everywhere in the world, it may be because they are. Here's the story of 16-year-old Saalih Muhammad, a winger from California, and his potential move to Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.
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