United State women’s national team
forward Abby Wambach on the eve of her retirement offered U.S. Soccer one last piece of advice; fire Jürgen
Klinsmann.
Wambach, the all-time leading scorer in international soccer
with 184 goals, criticized Klinsmann for
his management of the U.S. men’s
national team before her final match against China on Wednesday night
“I would definitely fire Jürgen,” Wambach said in an
interview on the "Bill Simmons Podcast" released on Wednesday.
“Sorry, Sunil [Gulati, U.S. Soccer president], sorry, U.S. Soccer, but I don’t
think the litmus test on him has worked.”
Wambach cited Klinsmann’s player selection -- particularly
his reliance on dual-passport holders -- and his work with the youth system as
the primary reasons for her displeasure with the current setup.
“He hasn’t really focused enough attention on the youth
programs,” Wambach said. “Although he says he has, I don’t think he has. I also
believe the way he has changed and brought in a bunch of these foreign guys is
just not something I believe in. Wholeheartedly, I don’t believe in it. I don’t
believe it in my heart.
“And I love Jermaine Jones, I love watching him play, and I
love Fabian Johnson,” Wambach continued. “He plays in Germany and he’s actually
killing it right now after being sent home for 'faking an injury' [during the
CONCACAF Cup final against Mexico.] But I just think this experiment U.S.
Soccer has given Jürgen isn’t one I’m personally into.”
U.S. Soccer has relied on dual passport holders for much of
its existence, stretching all the way back to the first World Cup appearance in
1930 and through the modern era.
Several prominent men’s players -- including current,
German-born stars Johnson and Jones -- fall into that same category now, while
the U.S. women also rely on Canadian-born Sydney Leroux as one of their primary
options up front. Other nations also lean on the practice to strengthen their
national teams.
Even with those practices in mind, Wambach believes the
men’s national team needs a new coach to sort out some of its current issues
and set the team back on the proper track moving forward.
“It seems to me there are too many egos in our men’s program
right now and the biggest ego is the one leading the charge,” Wambach said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment