The current manager for the U.S. Men's National soccer team (USMNT) Jurgen Klinsmann , made a pretty inflammatory statement prior to any team stepping onto a pitch in the hot and humid, loud and lurid República Federativa do Brasil. Well...inflammatory to anyone who didn't agree with him but the trouble was most Americans did agree with him. At least those who care about soccer or at the very least don't hate it.
“...for us talking about winning a World Cup,
it’s just not realistic...Today, even before the
World Cup starts, to say we should win? It's just not realistic." Washington Post
American sports enthusiasts aren't used to the coach laying down the honest truth as he sees it. We are used to the coach speak that is supposed to insulate from being wrong while implying the potential to be right. "if we give it our all and everything falls into place it should be a competitive game." No duh, coach! I don't have to be a sports expert to know that if both teams show up one of them is likely to win. It is a little irritating to hear sports interviews and feel like you just wasted 5 minutes becasue you recieved no new information.
That is why I like Mr. Klinsmann's style. The USMNT escaped the group of death with a win, a loss, a tie, and a bit of help from Ghana. Now that the team has actually proven something he is voicing a little more confidence in their abilities.
"No one expected us to get out of the group, they said we had no chance,
but we took that chance and we move on and now we want to prove a
point." Fox Sports
Now, I know winning the World Cup and escaping group play are two very different things but to listen to a coach who has realistic expectations and provides encouragement and optimism based on results is rather refreshing.
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