For complete World Cup 2014 coverage visit Yahoo Sports and follow @YahooSoccer SAO PAULO – There in the late afternoon sun on Monday, in the middle of the United States training camp, stood Jurgen Klinsmann, the German-born and trained coach. In front of him was a host of reserve U.S. players, with one end of a large elastic band attached to their backs, the other side held firmly by team assistants. Meanwhile a few coaches, Klinsmann included, stood in front of them and tossed balls at their feet, causing them to jump forward against resistance, kick them softly, jump back and then, rapid-fire, do it again. Among the players Klinsmann, who grew up near Stuttgart, was working with was Julian Green out of Munich, John Brooks of Berlin, and Timmy Chandler from Frankfurt. Back inside the Sao Paulo FC training facility here where the American team has called home, starters Fabian Johnson, of Munich, and Jermaine Jones, of Frankfurt, were receiving treatment after Sundays grueling match with Portugal up in humid Manaus. It was all in preparation of the U.S.s crucial game Thursday against … Germany. The German influence on this World Cup team is undeniable and will gather considerable attention considering the upcoming opponent. Five of the 20 field players on the roster (or one-quarter) own dual German-U.S. citizenship. Then there is the coach, who came of age during the Cold War, when the U.S. Military stationed hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Germany. He played with and attended school with many children of soldiers, so this all feels natural. (The father of each of the five of the German-raised players is a former U.S. serviceman.) Upon taking over the U.S. national team, Klinsmann made no apology about his interest in recruiting the very best American-eligible players he can find. The squad also includes players who couldve also played for Norway, Mexico and Iceland. Klinsmann believes foreign countries, Germany in particular, have superior youth training systems to America, although in his role with U.S. Soccer hes trying to change that. As such, he tries to tap into that development. The decision wasnt always popular – ESPNs Alexi Lalas, in particular, was public in his hope that the dual-nationals would embrace what it meant to play for the United States, not just the chance to play in the World Cup. He wondered if theyd fight as hard as a player born and raised in America would.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 13:24:23 +0000
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