US Soccer’s mistake in firing its best coach ever cost the
country a World Cup berth.
America what were you thinking? You had the best boyfriend for
you and you broke up with him. What happened? Couldn’t you see he was great? He
was the best man for you but you listened to your jealous friends. They kept
talking in your ear that he was no good for you. What did they know? They nitpicked and got you all riled up until you succumbed. After
the break up, you made an even worse decision and got back together with your
ex. And your ex led you down a hole that you will not recover from for over four
years.
The United States Men’s National Soccer Team’s (USMNT) hopeful
saga and eventual downfall has been in the works for years. US Soccer hired
Jurgen Klinsmann in 2011 as its 35th head coach of the national team
after letting go of a competent Bob Bradley. Bradley was solid, leading us to a
Confederations Cup final and top of our group in the World Cup in 2010. But the
feeling was that Bradley probably could not to take us to the promise land. In
fact, the truth was that we fired Bradley because we had our eye on an
absolutely stellar coach. This guy once coached Germany to third in the World
Cup and got hired at Bayern Munich. US Soccer had its first chance to corral a
world-class caliber coach. We yearned for ultimate success so we turned to the
best US soccer investment ever. Yearning for Klinsmann was a reality.