Out with the old, in with the new."I think we have some very interesting youngsters coming through the ranks,” U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann remarked in the press conference following the 1-0 loss to Belgium on Tuesday.
It is the reality of the situation for Klinsmann; the window of opportunity is closing for a lot of the stalwarts of the national team.
Regulars like Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Carlos Bocanegra, and Steve Cherundolo are all going to be over the age of 30 by the time the next World Cup kicks off.
Why is that age significant? It is the rough cutoff spot for soccer players in the new coach’s system.
When Klinsmann led the German national team to a third place finish at the 2006 World Cup, he only had three field players over 30 on the roster.
For those who argue that talent is cyclical, Germany only brought two players over that mark to the 2010 World Cup. The Germans finished third at that event.
Prior to the Klinsmann era, Germany had five field players over the age of 30 on the roster at the 2002 World Cup, but only took four players under 23, which was the most populated age group for next two World Cup finals.
The style that Klinsmann preached, and then his assistant Joachim Low modified at the next World Cup finals, is built on fitness and youthful legs.
Perhaps this is the reason that eccentric FC Dallas star Brek Shea has already caught the eye of the new U.S. boss.
“[Shea]'s full of energy, he's creative, and he’s fast and has a good physical presence,” Klinsmann said. “He's one of the kids we are going to build over the next cycle.”
The coach went on to mention New York Red Bulls forward Juan Agudelo as another piece for the coaches to build for the next cycle.
‘Building players for the next cycle’ was the crutch for the coach during the press conference and should be a specialty for his staff given the current makeup of his assistant coaches.
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