Landon Donovan has really been enjoying retirement. He's getting married, doing all kinds of fun projects with his time and not holding back his thoughts when interviewed. The normally reserved U.S. soccer legend gave an interview with ESPN FC and said that if USMNT Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann can't defeat Mexico this Saturday, he should be fired.
Finally! Someone who agrees.
In case you didn't know, the U.S. will "host" Mexico in Pasadena, California, at the Rose Bowl for a one game playoff this Saturday for a coveted 2017 Confederations Cup spot. The term host is in brackets as history has shown that games in that behemoth stadium are always pro-Mexico crowds. Extremely energetic crowds.
It's been a rough year for Klinsmann, with the lowlight coming during the summer when the U.S. lost to Jamaica in the 2015 Gold Cup semi-final round, an historic loss on many levels. The most embarrassing of which is that the U.S. hasn't lost at home to any Caribbean team since 1969 against Haiti.
After losing the 3rd place match against Panama, and looking poor at best in a pair of recent friendlies against Peru and Brazil, things are quickly spinning away from Jurgen. The fans are becoming increasingly disenfranchised with the silver tongued coach, even though he enjoys the full support of USSF President Sunil Gulati.
When asked about this string of bad results, Donovan said Jurgen should practice what he preaches:
"Around the world, if a player plays poorly and a player has a bad string of results, they get dropped from the team," he told ESPN FC. "Well, the same holds true for the coach...The reality is that now, anywhere else in the world, if this coach had those results, and they lose this game against Mexico, they'd be fired. I think if Jurgen wants to hold all the players to that standard, then he has to be held to that standard too."
There are those who say that Donovan's remarks are simply sour grapes. It's no secret that he and Jurgen haven't seen eye-to-eye much, culminating in the United States' all-time scoring leader being left off the 2014 World Cup squad. Even during his U.S. testimonial match, Jurgen was still talking sour about Donovan. Even if Landon's comments come from sour grapes, are they really wrong?
Shouldn't coaches hold themselves to the same standards they demand of players? Shouldn't their performances be examined critically and judged accordingly?
When even a cursory glance is given to Jurgen's coaching tenure, it paints a very negative picture. He has failed to build up any kind of continuity, constantly changing his starting XI game to game, both in tactics and players. Even during the Gold Cup, Jurgen was still experimenting with his lineup, leaving the players out of sync. His tactics were responsible for the infamous loss to Jamaica and his failure to motivate the players lead to the loss to Panama a few days later. Jurgen took what was one of the fittest teams in the world and over trained them to the point where hamstring and ligament injuries are common and the team looks exhausted by the end of matches.
Jurgen's tactical revolution resulted in lots of Route 1 soccer, bypassing his most talented players. Speaking of which, his player choices, both in whom he calls up and where he places them, have been questionable at the best of times. At the worst of times, fans get Alejandro Bedoya, one of the best wingers in CONCACAF, lining up at defensive midfield against Brazil, the last preparation game before Mexico.
Landon is certainly right. If any coach in Europe, a place Jurgen claims is the bastion of pressure, had that string of results he would be fired.
If he can't guide the U.S. to the Confederations Cup, it would be the perfect time to fire Jurgen and find a replacement. Qualification for the 2018 World Cup begins next month in November. Going into the semi-final round with a coach who has nothing but failure attached to him, with few ideas about how to turn things around and possibly losing the confidence of his players isn't a recipe for success.
Just ask the 2013 Mexican National team.