Don't Absolve Jurgen Klinsmann For U.S. Debacle Against Argentina

Argentina obliterated the USMNT 4-0. It happened in front of a number of John Q. Casual soccer fans. Some misconceptions were rampant. Tyler was getting upset. Here are a few points that need to be clarified.

Soccer Is Not College Football

Argentina was “the No. 1 ranked team in the world.” What does that mean? Little. This is based on a flawed FIFA ranking system, based on an amalgam of weighted results, competitive and non-competitive, over the past four years. It has no predictive value. Its determinations can be non-sensical.

The United States, let us not forget, was FIFA’s No. 4 ranked side entering the 2006 World Cup. France, Euro 2016 favorite, is ranked 17th, as they were not playing competitive qualifiers. That is below the Netherlands, who didn’t qualify for a 24-team European competition, in 14th.

Even crediting the FIFA rankings, the U.S. beat Ecuador (No. 13) in the quarterfinal. They did not concede a goal from open play against Colombia (No. 3). They were a Chris Wondolowski finish away from beating Belgium (No. 2) at the 2014 World Cup.

Is Argentina one of the world’s best teams? Absolutely. But, the FIFA rankings don’t tell you that. Stop using them.

The U.S. Is Not a MAC Football Team

We focus on what the USMNT has not done. Let’s focus on what the team has done. The U.S. has exited the past two World Cups at the Round of 16. By some, that’s viewed as stagnation. But, that’s also an accomplishment.

Only eight countries out of 200-plus reached the knockout stage in both 2010 and 2014: Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Germany, Netherlands, Mexico, and the United States. Italy went out in the group stage of both tournaments. The U.S. is not Germany. It’s also far from a non-factor.

The U.S. has played the “No. 1 team in the world,” and acquitted themselves well on multiple occasions. Brazil won the 1994 World Cup. The U.S. held them to a 1-0 loss on a second half goal. Italy won the 2006 World Cup. The U.S. earned a 1-1 draw. Germany won the 2014 World Cup. The U.S. fought them to a 1-0 defeat. Losses, but no self-soiling and hasty retreats into a bunker.

We don’t consider the Confederations Cup a “major tournament.” But, in the midst of Spain’s three-straight triumphs was a 2-0 semifinal loss to Bob Bradley and the United States in 2009.

The U.S. has been to the Copa America semifinals before. The 1995 team, before the U.S. had a professional soccer league, got there. That team beat Argentina (3-0) and Chile in the group stage. It went down fighting 1-0 against Brazil.

Argentina are much better than the United States. But, the USMNT is not a powerless soccer backwater. Home-field advantage factored in. But, the U.S. were third favorites to win Copa America. The Argentines were clear favorites entering the match. But, advanced metrics still gave the U.S a 35 percent chance to win.

An Argentina evisceration was among a range of possible outcomes. But, it was far from an inevitable one. The U.S. had a chance. Jurgen Klinsmann did not set them up to take it.

Jurgen Klinsmann Effed Up

Messi is the world’s best player. We would argue he’s the world’s best player ever. He’s quicker than everyone else, he has better technique than everyone else, and he’s a mental step (or five) ahead of everyone else every time he plays. How do you stop Messi? Hope he isn’t fit or in form. If he is there is nothing to be done.

This U.S. team has personnel limitations. The American talent pool is broad, but shallow. There are a lot of professional players. No difference maker has emerged to replace Landon Donovan (retired) or Clint Dempsey (33 and in semi-retirement in MLS). Some interesting young talents have not quite emerged yet.

Last night’s team had a clear ceiling. That doesn’t absolve Klinsmann for sending it plunging through the floor. The U.S. team was not successful. It was not set up with a chance to be successful.

Argentina played a 4-3-3. Klinsmann countered with a 4-4-2. That creates a clear problem. The Argentines had three central midfielders. The U.S. had two. Factor in that the three Argentines were significantly better than the two Americans (one of whom was 34). And, oh yeah, Argentina has Messi who will drop back into midfield, get the ball, and pick out a perfect pass.

That sets up the U.S., rather obviously, to get run over in midfield. The rationale for doing that must be quite compelling.

The U.S. started the tournament in a 4-3-3. Klinsmann switched to the 4-4-2, to accommodate Dempsey. He’s the most impactful U.S. player going forward. Teams must score to win. Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Ecuador could not capitalize on the midfield numbers. Playing Argentina is much tougher.

For that second striker to be worth sacrificing a midfielder, he needs to run. He needs to pressure the Argentina back line to break up buildup play. He needs to be a plausible outlet for a quick counter attack.

Chris Wondolowski could do none of those things. He’s reliable in MLS. He’s also old (33) and slow. Without Wood in the lineup, Klinsmann should have rethought the formation, tried the better equipped Zardes, or built a time machine to go back and select Jordan Morris.

In effect, Klinsmann’s decision put the U.S. down to 10 men. The U.S. sent out a team that was incapable of holding possession, bound to be overrun in midfield, and was too slow to counter attack from deep. There was no route to victory. Change came after halftime, when the U.S. had already lost. The only stat you need: shots. Zero.

Klinsmann was a fantastic player. He cultivates team spirit. He’s rife with positive aphorisms. He has some swell-sounding ideas. England excepted, though, he’s not a well-respected coach within the profession.

Former Germany captain Philipp Lahm, who played for Klinsmann at Bayern Munich, crushed Klinsmann’s coaching acumen in his 2011 autobiography.

Klinsmann is far from a figure who should be immune from criticism. The problem for the U.S. isn’t the player or the coach. It’s both. But, that doesn’t absolve the coach.

There are better teams than the United States. There is no team that should render a well-positioned U.S. team that impotent and incapable and make one of the worst competitive defeats of the modern era acceptable. The first step toward becoming an elite soccer nation: accountability.