Thanks for the link, that was a fascinating and ultimately depressing article (depressing because it appears to ring true). Here are some snippets that had me nodding my head in agreement
" A different player said that at halftime of the qualifier in San Pedro Sula, with the U.S. fortunate to be level at 1-1, Klinsmann, “Didn’t really say that much. Just, ‘C’mon, we’ve got to win this game. They scored an unbelievable (tying) goal, and we can’t do anything about that. We’re going to win this game.’ It was never, ‘We need to do this. We need to change this.’ ”
That same player continued, “It’s always motivational. He’s a great motivator. He can make you feel you’re better than what you are.”
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One asked why the 4-4-2 formation that was so effective against Slovenia in the fall of 2011 hasn’t been used more often. A second player wondered how 14 months later the U.S. could look so disjointed in January’s scoreless draw against Canada after spending nearly three weeks together. Another asked why the U.S. is 1-2-1 in road World Cup qualifiers under Klinsmann, despite taking the lead in all four.
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And a fourth posed the biggest question of all: Is the U.S. even ready to play the style Klinsmann wants to see?
“They want us to play the beautiful game, but we’re not a technical team like the Germans. We’re not Spain or Brazil,” the player said. “What we’re good at is we work hard, we fight and we compete. We have great athletes and we’re a good counterattacking team. Maybe we need to go back to what we’re good at.”
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<This is just awful>
The divide is clear, deepening and international. For several U.S. born players, the increasing stature of Jermaine Jones, Danny Williams, Fabian Johnson and Chandler (and to a far lesser extent, Terrence Boyd)—all German born sons of American servicemen—is harming team chemistry.
“They stay to themselves. Jermaine is the leader, and the rest of them follow him,” one player said. “I don’t know if they don’t care."
“It’s like they’re here and they enjoy it, but they don’t care as much as you should to play for the national team,” said another player.
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“Things are boiling over,” a source said. “The feeling now is that this is (Klinsmann’s) last chance against Costa Rica.”