Based on the photo, Klinsmann could probably still suit up and play!

+1 ... he has a great through ball too. He plays better with the National Team because the quality of players there can do something with his crosses, through balls, and movement off the ball.

One luxury Klinsmann had with the German team is that they didn't have to qualify. His team before the World Cup was not performing very well. The Germans feared that they would get embarassed in the World Cup and was very critical of Klinsmann. But he was able to implement his attacking 4-3-3 system without the fear of not qualifying and by the time the World Cup arrived, Germany was running on all cylinders. With the USA, we have to qualify, so he has to work with what he has. If we were hosting, then we would see the "real" change.

+1

Should do a caption thing with Jones in that picture. What is he thinking?

Not sure when the next labor negotiations will begin again ... but you can bet that the player's union will push for a higher minimum and higher salary cap. $75,000 to $90,000 is a good start for a player minimum to live off of and maybe not have to take a 2nd job.

I am glad that Jermaine Jones is on the US Men's National Team. He's not Claudio Reyna (but who is?) ... think of him as Mastroeni but with much greater skill and acumen. He's like the 3rd or 4th best defensive midfielder in Germany ... and last time I looked, Germany's midfield is pretty good.

Shea is better suited for a super sub role at this time, especially if we need to score. Torres is another that is better suited as a sub, especially when calm on the ball is needed to hold possession to protect a lead and keep the ball away from an opponent needing to score. I think JK is doing a better job of pushing his new style of play ... while adapting tactics maximize our strenghts and trying to minimize opponents strenghts. Probably because at the beginning of his tenure, he was really trying to push his new style and gaining info on where he needs to adapt the tactics based on our personnel and strenghts.

Come to MLS!

Imagine if they had bags filled with urine thrown at them!

Jay deserves to be in the mix. He's a veteran, very experienced, and has been through the fire. He may not "pass out of the back" that well, but he sure can defend, tackle, and make life miserable for the opposing forwards. The younger guys can play in friendlies and home qualifiers. Have Jay be the back up to Goodson and Boca, especially in away qualifiers. Don't count out Gooch. He's out best CB when healthy, in-shape, and in-form. He was playing really well before he got injured and missed several weeks at the end of last season. He was out of sync for the early summer qualifiers.

It's kinda like Roger Goodell fining and suspending NFL players for things that would not hold up in criminal court. Spy-gate, bounty-gate, Ochocinco celebrating in the endzone.

Sounds interesting. What if Anelka and Drogba went here instead of China? Grab a few of those guys that goes to a Saudi team ... you might have a good team that can just cruise in NASL, play CONCACAF Champions League, US Open Cup, and get into the Club World Cup. That would be a real retirement team!

Leagues starting up so soon. Hardly a break for them professionals.

"Special" Copa America should replace the Gold Cup and "regular" Copa America. Play every 4 years in July, right after the Euros. Winner goes to Confederations Cup ... and the highest placing team from the other region. Have countries bid for it like the Euros ... would make lots of money and be entertaining to watch.

Good point, I didn't think of it that way. Imagine if they were terrorists and those were not fireworks?

JK should have brought Lichaj and Shea. Even if it's just to be subs or to experience the games from the bench. Not sold on Parkhurst nor Castillo, just not good enough at this level.

Donovan did not seem like himself all game. He did not assert himself and take guys on. Always passed back or to the middle, never beat a guy to the end line and deliver a good cross, except in the last minutes of the game. Altidore's performance is a reminder of why he is not starting. Not finishing his run and not anticipating that Bradley might square it to him is just really unacceptable. Gomez is not the best back to goal player, but he was much better than Jozy. Johnson played extremely well ... except for the unnecessary foul on Ruiz near the end of the game. He did not need to commit that foul as Ruiz's touch was heavy and he had defensive help. That foul was a bit "naive" and it cost a win. Why didn't Donovan, Dempsey, or Bradley take our free kick shots on goal? Gomez and Jones are not free kick specialists. Disappointed that the US didn't get the 3 points. I agree with other posts, we should be beating teams like Guatemala on a regular basis, home or away.

A bit fff topic. Instead of the Gold Cup and Copa America ... I think CONCAFAF and CONMEBOL should combine for a tournament that is held every 4 years. It can have qualifying or simply use the top 8 FIFA teams from each region to create the 4 groups. Winner is tournament champion and their respective confederation. Champion of the other region is determined by the highest finisher. Those two go to the Confederations Cup. Not quite UEFA Euro's but more exciting than just Gold Cup and Copa America. Also, good competition and experience for the USA. Make them tougher for those pesky CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers! Possible groups: Group A Brazil / Peru / El Salvador / Honduras Group B Agentina / Ecuador / Costa Rica / Panama Group C Uruguay / Paraguay / USA / Jamaica Group D Chile / Columbia / Mexico / Canada

Italy has been a great move for MB. He is picking up new skills and reading the game much better from an offensive perspective as evidenced by his numerous through balls in these recent US National Team games that put other players into dangerous attacking position.

Got up a little after kick-off in th 5AM timeframe. Still half asleep and through blurry eyes, saw a 1-0 scoreline and thought, "wow, we're down to mightly Portugal already". Then my vision adjusted and I realized, we are up 1-0! And the Donovan scores / deflection. Fully awake by then! If we had gotten that handball call against Germany. We would have had a chance to beat South Korea and be in the Finals. Imagine that!

Nastier ... I think it was 1998 World Cup? Germany vs USA, Reyna gets a knee to the back within the first few minutes, was never effective the entire game, USA lose. If this was an actual World Cup match, JK would have changed tactics and played more defensively. But the difference is that we would be able to actually possess and take it to the other team when we have the ball and not just counter quickly, lose the ball, and defend again.

There's only one Finals ... there will be a game 4.

Would like to see an article on why the Netherland club teams aren't as good as they used to be. I remember when AJAX was doing quite well in European football. Lots of talent still comes from the Netherlands, but are the teams just that poor financially?

Marquez to Chivas USA would be cool