The Jurgen Klinsmann era in United States soccer is over.
U.S. Soccer announced on Monday that it has relieved Klinsmann of his managerial duties after more than five years at the helm of the men’s national team.
The decision comes on the heels of the U.S.’ consecutive losses to start the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying. The U.S. fell 1-0 to Mexico in Columbus, Ohio, before getting run off the field in a 4-0 loss to Costa Rica in San Jose.
Numerous sources on Monday indicated that LA Galaxy boss Bruce Arena will likely be named the interim manager before the USMNT resumes qualifying n March. Arena led the USMNT from 1998--2006 before leading the Galaxy to three MLS Cup titles (2011, 2012, 2014) in nine seasons with the club.
Klinsmann took the reins from Bob Bradley in 2011 and became the 35th head coach in U.S. men’s national team history. He went 55-28-15 in that time and over the team's appearance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup as well as two CONCACAF Gold Cups and the Copa America Centenario earlier this year.
Seattle Sounders Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris, Herculez Gomez and Brad Evans all played under Klinsmann. Former Sounders Eddie Johnson and DeAndre Yedlin played for Klinsmann as well.
A former German national team legend and prolific forward, Klinsmann scored 47 goals for his country in 108 caps. He helped West Germany win the 1990 World Cup and a unified Germany capture the ’96 European Championship. He spent his 17-year career playing most notably for VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, AS Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich.
Klinsmann managed the German national team from 2004-06 and led Die Mannschaft to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup. He then coached Bayern Munich from 2008-09 before accepting the United States job two years later.
Klinsmann’s U.S. highlights include beating Italy for the first time ever, earning the first win against Mexico on Mexican soil, leading the United States to the Knockout Round stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and reaching the semifinals of Copa America Centenario this past summer.
Disapproval with Klinsmann began in 2014 when he infamously left Landon Donovan off the World Cup roster. Things magnified the following year when the U.S. were upset by Jamaica in the semifinals of the Gold Cup and ultimately finished fourth after losing in penalty kicks to Panama in the third-place game.
The dismal start to the Hex — and now a rougher road than expected to to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia— marked the end of the line.
