FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Why "the" MLS Hates Jurgen Klinsmann

A series of public comments by both U.S. National Team Manager Jurgen Klinsmann and MLS Commissioner Don Garber have the U.S. soccer world on edge.
Photo by Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

"The U.S. has made a lot of noise with MLS being introduced. Now look where MLS is. I know in the beginning there were eight or 10 teams and half of those were supported by [MLS co-founder] Phil Anschutz. Now, you have a league with 18 teams and growing next year again. There are development teams being introduced with the Academy program. It's come a long way, soccer in the United States." - Jurgen Klinsmann, August 1, 2011.

Advertisement

No one appeared to be a bigger advocate for Major League Soccer than Jurgen Klinsmann on the day he was announced as the new U.S. National Team manager. His comments that day reflected the view of someone who saw a league on the rise, and who realized the importance MLS would hold during his tenure.

Read More: The MLS Labor Battle Is Not Going to Be Pretty

Yet, since then, Klinsmann has consistently criticized the league that supplied almost half of the roster for his 2014 World Cup team. People inside MLS believe that at nearly every opportunity, Klinsmann has intentionally found a way to chide some aspect of the domestic league: MLS' summer schedule, the lack of a promotion or relegation structure, and the overall quality of play.

MLS executives seethe with each comment.

The public perception of Klinsmann is far different from his perception amongst the soccer community in the United States, according to one source close to MLS. The private view of Klinsmann shared by many who work within the league structure—according to the source—is that of a National Team manager whose ego has far exceeded any tangible accomplishments as U.S. manager, and whose bombastic personality has created an almost untenable relationship with MLS decision makers, which is to the detriment of soccer's long-term growth in the U.S.

Critics within the league believe Klinsmann has been empowered by a federation that anointed him as a savior from the moment he was hired. Those critics feel he has been given almost unprecedented power, and a benefit of the doubt that none of his predecessors received. Whether true or false, the perception is that Klinsmann doesn't have to answer to anybody.

Advertisement

The critique is certainly harsh—and if we look at the MLS heavy makeup of Klinsmann's teams—somewhat unfair. But it's become a popular criticism—at least within MLS.

MLS commissioner Don Garber's hastily-called press conference on Wednesday, in which he denounced Klinsmann's latest criticisms—that Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey would be hard pressed to continue to play at a high level while signed to MLS in comparison to playing in Europe—brought the issue public. But sources say that frustrations of MLS power brokers with the National Team manager have been brewing for a long time.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber. Photo by Noah K. Murray/USA TODAY Sports

Garber's passionate retort to Klinsmann's comments were viewed by many as the commissioner being overly sensitive to what seemed to be a fair assessment of MLS in comparison to leagues in Europe. In fact, several people queried seemed to be dumbfounded as to why Garber would take such a drastic step. Many in the media have characterized Garber's comments as a public relations disaster.

But such was the festering discontent with Klinsmann.

One assessment of Klinsmann's blunt MLS criticisms is that they come without actual analysis or, more importantly, without real solutions other than to suggest that European leagues are better than domestic leagues, a determination even a casual fan could make. Also, Klinsmann's perceived ripping of MLS is counter to his promise to help soccer grow in the U.S. His actions—strongly suggesting that U.S. players need to play in Europe and going after dual nationals—point to him wanting to ensure his own legacy without having any lasting impact on the game here.

Advertisement

Surely some of the overall dislike within MLS for Klinsmann can be perceived as jealousy. A handful of people believe they have worked tirelessly for the past 20 years building up U.S. soccer with little recognition, and now the camera friendly Klinsmann pops in and discredits all their work while taking credit for any gains. Many believe he has gotten a free pass from both the media and fans.

But realistically, we are years away from being able to make a fair determination on the Klinsmann era.

A rift between the National Team manager and the MLS commissioner creates a huge headache for U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati, one of MLS' founding fathers, Garber's close friend, and a former deputy commissioner of the league.

But what is the lasting effect of a feud between Klinsmann and MLS executives? MLS executives might not like Klinsmann, but it might not matter. Klinsmann will continue to select MLS players for his National Teams, and it's not likely that Garber will be able to muster enough support for Klinsmann's ouster.

Yet it's naïve to suggest that the fortunes of the National Team and MLS aren't tied together.

For all of MLS' problems—a murky player allocation system, low television ratings, a reliance on aging foreign stars—the quality of play in the league is undoubtedly better now than it was even five years ago. The development of a youth system—which is connected to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy—points to better homegrown talent appearing on MLS team rosters eventually. Many of these players will be funneled into the National Team pool. Some of these players—like Seattle Sounders fullback DeAndre Yedlin, whom Klinsmann gave a starring role at the World Cup—have already made Senior National Team appearances.

Advertisement

For better or for worse, MLS has and will continue to supply the National Team with its primary core of players. U.S. Soccer needs MLS to succeed. And both sides realize this.

But the two sides don't always have the same interests in mind. MLS is of course a business whose main goal is to make money, and to do so they will acquire players from many different countries, many of them the U.S.' CONCACAF rivals. MLS is not strictly a feeder league for the U.S. national team.

Neither Klinsmann nor Gulati were available to comment, according to a U.S. Soccer spokesperson. Also, neither U.S. Soccer nor MLS were able to confirm whether Garber and Klinsmann had spoken since the commissioner's press conference on Wednesday.

"I never meant to put anyone down in the MLS by saying we need the highest level possible for our players no matter where they play," Klinsmann told Reuters on Thursday night in his first interview since Garber's comments. "It was just an attempt to explain that players need to always strive to the highest possible level."

Klinsmann called the whole situation a misunderstanding.

But Garber's anger was not only about Klinsmann's most recent comments. It was about an accumulation of comments.

Klinsmann's backers can argue that his comments about MLS help bring up important issues that deserve to be addressed. More importantly, it can be argued that the criticisms have been spot on.

But the issue isn't necessarily Klinsmann's freedom to have an opinion on these matters. It's what people perceive as his motivation for expressing these thoughts. At MLS, the belief is that Klinsmann uses these comments to promote the one thing he cares about most: himself.