Risky choice to keep Klinsmann for four more years

Photo credit: US Soccer

When we heard that Klinsmann would remain as coach of the US Men's National Soccer team for another four years and would also become a technical director, many of us questioned this decision's wisdom. Two World Cup cycles with the same manager almost never pans out.

This is true for many teams around the world, but even more so for Team USA. While the first cycles for coaches like Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley were hugely successful internationally, their style became stale and the rest of the world caught up with their strategies.

Bruce Arena may have gotten the US to the quarterfinals in 2002, but 2006 saw them score one goal and manage a unlikely tie against eventual World Cup winners Italy. Lacking Chris Armas, a clear attacking role, an aging Claudio Reyna and an under-used Landon Donovan resulted in a forgettable tournament.

The same goes for Bob Bradley. After a stellar Confederations Cup in 2009 and a great group phase in South Africa 2010, his miss-use of Ricardo Clark and reliance on Johnathan Bornstein gave Ghana the upper hand. And that was really the end for the coach. A year later the lack of depth in his team during the Concacaf Gold Cup contributed to a clear defeat to Mexico in the final. 

US Soccer made the right decision in replacing Brdaley with Klinsmann in 2011. The former German star's tactics and depth building were slow to kick in but eventually paid dividends in 2013 with important victories abroad, a Gold Cup win with a largely-experimental squad and record-breaking points and number one qualification in the Hexagonal tournament of World Cup qualifying.

But USA is in certain peril with their World Cup draw. Germany, Portugal and Ghana are all extremely talented and with a greater number of technically superior players like Mesut Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin Prince Boateng. It will take a little luck and playing the games of their lives to get through this group.

And what if there's another three-and-out in Brazil 2014? And a loss at the Gold Cup and no Confederations Cup again? Might we have jumped the gun already? Complacency? Lack of inventiveness for US Soccer directors?

There might be some positives, of course, with Klinsmann as a technical director. Player development from a young age is key for future tournaments. The involvement of MLS is another step forward. Finally, exploiting the German connection and adding Bundesliga players to the pool remains advantageous now and in the future.

As fans, we hope the best for him and that the decision to keep him another four years turns out to be a good one. Examples are available when it comes to second cycle coaches for other countries: Hernan Gomez and Luis Suarez for Ecuador, Sven Goran Erikson for England and Raymond Domenech for France. Need we say more?

Atahualpa remains the key as Ecuador advances to the World Cup

Photo credit: via Instagram

 

For several months late last year and during the spring of this year it seemed like Ecuador could do no wrong in its World Cup qualifying campaign. Goleadas over Paraguay and impressive ties away to Venezuela and Uruguay. Every game at home they won. And then came a low. A tie versus Argentina at home and a loss at Peru and a tie away at Bolivia. Usually these games meant 9 points.

It was the Caicedo-Benitez tandem that gave Ecuador the dream of reaching its third ever World Cup. But suddenly we saw that this wasn't an invincible Ecuador. Dropping a game at Peru for the first time in five World Cup cycles gave Ecuadorians a scare that they might not make it. Then came the tragic loss of Christian Benitez.

But after the letdown of the Bolivia game in La Paz came one more chance to win at home at the Atahualpa. And that's what did it for Ecuador. The Uruguay game has come to signify the ultimate key to the World Cup for Ecuador. It was there that a Kaviedes goal in 2001 sealed their first ever entry into the tournament and it was there last Friday that Jefferson Montero put Ecuador in a position where the worst they could do was a continental playoff versus Jordan.

Ecuador ran all over all night versus the Charruas and Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani attacked but eventually subsided and rescinded control to the Ecuador defense. Was it the altitude?

Invariably, one has to give some credit to the altitude when it comes to Ecuador's impressive streak at home: 7 wins and 1 tie and zero losses. But one should say the same for Bolivia, correct? And yet the Altiplano crew cannot win at home and gets pummeled away. So yes, we have to give credit to an Ecuador futbol that has ascended leaps and bounds in the last couple of decades.

From the days of Dusan Draskovic to the rise of the Colombian guard in charge of the national team: from Maturana, who got the country ever so close to 1998, to Hernan Dario Gomez, the man that gave the country its ultimate wish in reaching Korea/Japan 2002, to Luis Fernando Suarez, who brought Ecuador to the round of 16 at Germany 2006. It was a decade-long progression that came to a stop with Suarez's second round and Sixto Vizuete. But Reinaldo Rueda picked up where Suarez left off in 2006 and Ecuador earned the right to own their house and defend their status as a South American force.

Is Ecuador a true contender? Hard to imagine it at this point. Results are based on playing in neutral venues in big tournaments and the country has been downright horrid in the Copa America. But one thing is clear, Estadio Atahualpa and Quito are fortresses that the team has guarded zealously and where players have shown all the emotion, athleticism and fantasy that make for great teams. In qualifiers it's a simple formula: win your home games and snatch a few points abroad.

Today the team lost away to Chile 1-2, but the goals collected in Quito along the way set them apart from Uruguay to clinch the fourth and final spot for Conmebol. Uruguay will now face Jordan in the continental playoffs and Ecuador is now in Brazil 2014--and deservedly so. Caicedo sealed it with a goal in Santiago, keeping the goal differential unreachable for Uruguay. 

For over two years the crowds in Quito watched the team win and score and protect their stadium. They made it clear that Ecuador is a talented soccer country and has been so for the last 16 years, but the extra catalyst is undoubtedly the 2700 meters all visitors must climb to defeat Ecuador at the Atahualpa.