Recently, rumors have surfaced that Jurgen Klinsmann is in the running for the England job. If he leaves, here are seven suggested candidates to replace him.
Possible Jurgen Klinsmann Replacements
Jason Kreis
Currently, Kreis is always on the short-list for any US Soccer job. He spent one forgettable season last year with NYCFC, and is now unemployed. Since then he has been occasionally helping out with the USMNT.
Kreis’s claim to fame is the years he led Real Salt Lake, from 2007-2013, with his 4-4-2. There he became the youngest MLS coach to win an MLS Cup in 2009. While at RSL, he had a record of 102 wins, 77 losses, and 60 draws.
However, if the US wants to progress, Kreis may not be the best option to carry the US forward. He insists on staying with his 4-4-2, and the US personnel better fits a 4-3-3.
Tab Ramos
Tab Ramos currently is the US U-20 coach and youth technical director. Klinsmann occupies this role with the senior team. Ramos recently led the U-20s to the quarterfinals of the 2015 World Cup. However, Ramos has no experience coaching at the senior level. He would be a decent candidate for being an interim coach, but it is hard to imagine he would succeed as the senior national team coach yet.
Bruce Arena/Bob Bradley
These two coaches were lumped together because they are both former USMNT coaches. But, there club situations are much more intriguing places to be and would make it highly unlikely they would want to return.
Andi Herzog
Herzog is Klinsmann’s most trusted lieutenant. It would be very unlikely that he would stay on if Klinsmann left. The one positive aspect of Herzog’s coaching career is that he has previous national team experience, as an assistant and caretaker with Austria.
Roberto Martinez
Roberto Martinez is another unemployed coach, who currently works for ESPN. He was last with Everton FC, but has previously managed Swansea City and Wigan Athletic. While with Everton he led them to a fifth place finish his first year, but could never replicate that seasons form in the next two seasons. He was eventually sacked.
Martinez loves to have a proactive, attacking style, which seems good on the surface. But, he fails to ensure his defense is sound. That failure to defend properly is where his teams run into trouble.
Martinez is an intriguing option because of his attacking style and willingness to assimilate youth. Overall, his defensive ineptitude would really be troubling for the USMNT, since they already struggle defensively. So, he certainly would not be the best option for the US.
Oscar Pareja
Oscar Pareja might be the most controversial option, but also the most intriguing one. Curently, the former Colombia National Team midfielder is the head coach of FC Dallas where he has helped usher in a youth era. He has previous experience with the USMNT, as an assistant coach at the U-17 residency program.
At FC Dallas he has primarily used a 4-2-3-1. While the US doesn’t currently use this system, the team certainly has the players to utilize this formation. Especially right now, when there are so many youth players graduating and getting more playing time, the USMNT needs a coach who will play the youth. Take Copa America for example. Klinsmann left Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic, two integral players for the USMNT going forward, neglected on the bench most of the time. While one can’t guarantee Pareja would have played the aforementioned players, he certainly values youth more than Klinsmann.
Overall, I believe whenever Klinsmann leaves, Pareja is the best option to replace him.
