Klinsmann stung and stunned by Costa Rica mauling

Not to the Galaxy. When El Tri lost a few days later in the United States, Tena was replaced within 48 hours by Victor Manuel Vucetich.

Before the game, reports in the US media had claimed that if they did lose to Costa Rica, Klinsmann’s job was at risk, with LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said to be potentially lined up.

Klinsmann’s team failed to respond.

The losses can be defended. Mexico qualified with 12 points. The Americans had no identity – or, in the words of midfielder Michael Bradley, they lacked “clear ideas”. They rebounded the following month to beat Costa Rica 1-0 in a Colorado snow storm and tie 0-0 at Mexico, and they went on to clinch a World Cup berth in the eighth match of the 10-game round. Germany and Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm was vocal in his assessment of Klinsmann’s managerial abilities during this time in his autobiography, noting that it was essentially up to the players to design their own tactics. “Are players playing for him?”, McBride said on ESPN.

Indeed, Klinsmann stuck with the same lineup and 4-4-2 formation that performed well against Mexico in the final hour of Friday’s loss.

Rather than taking the US forward to become a major power capable of asserting itself on the world stage, he had presided over a 4-0 defeat more in keeping with the dark years in which even reaching the World Cup was a challenge. The scene resembled a diplomatic version of LeBron James forcing David Blatt to clean his white board. The U.S. never really threatened offensively, and appeared to have little in the way of an organized plan. Was it exclusively Klinsmann’s call?

That’s why Jones and Bradley jogged to the sideline at first chance to convince Klinsmann to switch to a 4-4-2.

It was the biggest losing shutout margin in a qualifier since the US fell 6-0 at Mexico in 1957. There were other breakdowns on that play, including Jermaine Jones’s poor backpass to Brooks, but it wouldn’t have played out that way had Cameron been on the field. And that’s on the manager.

The loss on Tuesday was the 9th consecutive defeat on the road against Costa Rica. Feilhaber wasn’t even on the roster.

“(It is about) looking at each other in the mirror. As the technical director, he also oversees USA soccer’s youth program. He isn’t even with the team.

Juergen Klinsmann’s post-game news conference was only three questions old when he was asked the one that was on everybody’s mind: Is he the right man to lead the US national team to another World Cup?

Recent performances would indicate a change is required. Here’s everything to know about the second match of the fifth and final round of CONCACAF qualifying, and be sure to return for our live blog of the match before kickoff. Gulati chased Klinsmann for years before finally hiring him in 2011. Arena is a pragmatist, and his USA teams reflected that, employing a counterattacking style more dependent on organization than artistry.

The legend of Columbus and Dos a Cero came to a crashing end in the opening game of the Hex qualification round for the 2018 World Cup.