It appears that Jozy Altidore is on his way to Toronto FC. Nothing is official as of yet, but it looks to be done. That being said, USMNT Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann had a few interesting things to say on Wednesday.
FanSided
It seems not that long ago that Klinsmann was bashing MLS and the moves that his National Team players were making to come to MLS? Well apparently Klinsmann is fine with the moves Jozy Altidore and Mix Diskerud have made to come and play in MLS.
Wait, what?
We all know by now that Klinsmann and MLS Commissioner Don Garber had a little verbal spat with each other at the end of 2014. According to Klinsmann, Garber had apologized to him regarding the remarks he made to him in October.
Let me get back to the main point of this article. Why does Klinsmann approve of these two moves, but not the move to MLS that Clint Dempsey and Micheal Bradley made?
Apparently this is why:
"“You can’t compare Jozy with Mix Diskerud or Mix Diskerud with Michael Bradley,” Klinsmann said. “You know, they’re all in a different situation and a different moment in their career."
I get it. I really do. All four players are at different points in their career, but why bash two of your star players for the move and not two others that are on the rise? You would think that Klinsmann would be more upset with Altidore and Diskerud coming to MLS since they have a lot of years ahead of them.
Dempsey and Bradley, both still exceptional players, are getting a little older and it would make sense for the two of them to make a return to MLS. Maybe the biggest difference for Dempsey and Altidore is that Dempsey was playing all the time at Tottenham and Altidore couldn’t buy his way into the starting lineup.
Klinsmann had this to say about Jozy:
"“The biggest advice is ‘You gotta play. You can’t sit on the bench there and not be in match fitness, so find a team that gives you a chance to play. The most important thing is that he catches up with the rest of the group and plays again and scores goals on a regular basis.”"
And this about Mix:
"“In [Diskerud’s] case, there’s no Champions League team in Europe on a higher level that asked him to join them, so the options he had were probably not as attractive to him as the option he chose."
Klinsmann did acknowledge that he wants his players to play in Europe:
"“Do I, as the national team coach, want to see all of our players playing in the European Champions League? Yeah, absolutely. But that’s not reality; it’s not happening. And therefore whatever they decide, we’ll support the best way we can.”"
I just wish that Klinsmann could have said all this stuff when two of his biggest stars on the USMNT made the move to MLS in 2013 and 2014. It showed a lack of leadership in my mind that he couldn’t support the moves that his players made for their careers. Now before you say anything, I also agree as well that the players should being playing at the highest level possible. By them doing this, it allows out national team to do much better and compete much better at the World Cups.
I wonder how long it will be until he starts bashing MLS again and looking down on his players that have decided to come and play in MLS. Only time will tell.
I’d like your thoughts and input on this matter. Do you agree with what Klinsmann said or do you think he is trying to sound better this time around? Let me know in the comments below.
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