Benny Drops the Mic on Jurgen Klinsmann

Benny at MLS media day

Benny Feilhaber lobbed some truth bombs on the USMNT situation with Jurgen Klinsmann today. Reporters who still cover the squad will no doubt have more complete quotes and analysis and so on, but personally, I agree with Feilhaber a lot (more so than with Wambach or LD's comments, for example). Anyway, here's what I transcribed from the MLS media roundtable session.

(Benny was asked about being in the LA area at the same time as the USMNT team, and how did he feel about not getting a look under JK)

For me personally, I’ve accepted the fact that Jurgen’s not going to call me. If I played the year that I played this last year and didn’t get called, I’m not getting the opportunity under Jurgen. That’s something I just have to accept. It’s - I wouldn’t say frustrating,  I’m almost sad, because I feel like I’m playing the best soccer of my career, but I don’t get the opportunity to play for my country. So yeah, it’s something that I’ve just kind of accepted. It just is what it is. It’s not going to happen with Jurgen as the coach.

Does that drive you at all? Do you use that as motivation?

Not really. A lot of people get driven by things that they don’t get.  I’m more driven by being able to do things, like more in a positive way, I guess. I loved winning MLS Cup with Kansas City, I loved winning Open Cup, I love performing at a high level every week last year, getting goals and getting assists. All that stuff drives me. The accolades that come with it are not the thing that I’m thinking of, but that’s nice, too. All those good things drive me to continue playing well and I’m hoping that I continue that way this next year and for however long I can keep playing.

Jurgen seems to have an issue with MLS – does that surprise you for the coach of the US national team?

I don’t know. I’m sure there are some other coaches that said some negative things about MLS as well, but – is it surprising? Not really. From what I see, I think that Jurgen takes some players in MLS and uses the fact that they’re in MLS to maybe not call them up or whatever. You look at some of the top players that played this year – you take a Sacha Kljestan, you take a Dax McCarty, you take a Matt Hedges, I’m sure you could go on and on, these guys aren’t getting an opportunity. So it’s not just me, there’s people like that. There’s people in Europe, too. I can’t name a lot of guys, because I don’t know some of the younger guys, but like an Eric Lichaj, he’s been playing well in Europe for countless years and he hasn’t really been given any opportunity either, so, you know, there’s guys in MLS and guys in Europe who don’t get opportunities with Jurgen for whatever reason. I think that a lot of these issues  - and maybe I’m going off topic a little bit, but a lot of these issues that some people have with foreign players getting called in – I have zero problem with that. I think FIFA allows national teams to get players that weren’t necessarily born in certain countries, and I think that’s an advantage that any national team coach of any team should take advantage of, but I don’t think that that Jurgen calls in the best players that are available to him. That for me is a problem.

Benny back in his USMNT days

There’s players that are better than other players that he doesn’t get – that don’t get an opportunity with the national team. That for me is a bigger deal than anything else. Everybody points fingers at certain things, but for me, that’s the most important thing. I think the – I’m just talking now, because I know this wasn’t the question, but in regards to how a coach should approach a team, not just a national team, but just any team, there’s obviously two duties: One, that’s making the best team that you can possibly make with the players that are available to you and Two, try to continuously improve that team so that it doesn’t stall in any way and continues to improve. And for me, Jurgen seems to try to do the second one without doing the first one. He’d rather put young guys on the team who could potentially become important on the team and leave out players who can make the team  better right now. And for me, that’s the number one job of the national team coach – of any coach – is not to make the team as good as he can make it in five years, but to make it as good as he can make it right now and to continuously improve it for five years.  That he doesn’t do -  his job. Because there are players in the pool that do not get called in that have performed well enough on the field to get an opportunity. That is my biggest problem with how Jurgen selects his players. 

Incredulous Pass

Chivas USA did the unthinkable and let Benny Feilhaber slide on by.

Excuse me for a second while I pound my head into the wall.

I just don't understand how this club can continue to get things wrong when it comes to players. I'm not talking about the rank-and-file guys like Jimmy Conrad and Heath Pearce. I think coach Robin Fraser did well to bring in those kinds of MLS veterans.

But this decision to pass on Feilhaber is not Fraser's fault, really. This is an organizational problem as it seems the organization is somehow against bringing in top-caliber players.

What takes the edge of a tiny it - and I do mean tiny - is that Philadelphia also passed on Feilhaber. Chivas then aren't alone in their idiocy. Feilhaber wound up with New England, for now. Not sure if the Revs will keep him or if they will deal him elsewhere, but wherever Feilhaber lands his club will be better off.

Players like Feilhaber don't come along very often, at least in the gift-wrapped form he was presented to Chivas. Usually, this kind of player would require some scouting, some persuading, some negotiating to land. But Feilhaber would have joined Chivas without much hassle. His contract is already done and taken care of. That he is a local product (lived in Irvine, attended UCLA) would have made him a local-boy-does-good sort of story.

Instead, Chivas USA continues to show their lack of gumption, lack of aggressiveness. They're going to try and nickel-and-dime their way to contention, and thus far that has yielded zero playoff series victories in four trips to the postseason.

Benny's payday?

My SI.com editor Jonah Freedman tells us that Benny Feilhaber is seeking DP-like money to return home and play in MLS. He also mentions three clubs that have been mentioned before with Benny - Houston, Chivas USA, San Jose.

I agree with Jonah - and not just because he's my editor. Benny does not equal DP money. I wouldn't fork over more than $200 K for Feilhaber. He's essentially unproven at the club level, though clearly he's very talented.

While I think Chivas USA and San Jose would be eager to get ahold of him, I don't expect either club to overpay for him. Chivas would likely have to get rid of an existing midfielder to accommodate him while San Jose probably doesn't want to start its franchise off by overspending. So far, their player personnel moves have been rather calculated.

At some point, Feilhaber is going to realize that his best option - at least in the short term - is on this side of the pond. If he brings his alleged salary demands down, then a move might be easier facilitated.

Right - finally

When Raphael Wicky trained last year with Chivas USA, it seemed everything was moving swimmingly - he liked the club, they liked him. I wrote then that he was coming to the team because it seemed it would happen.

Except it didn't.

Until now. Wicky comes on board as the team's latest international player - but not a DP. Chivas sold their DP spot to New York, remember?

That also caused me to remember what Wicky said about Benny Feilhaber at the time - that he needed to be somewhere where he could play. Problem is, it's still not really happening at Derby.

US: Best goal of 2007

In a year that started off with Landon Donovan scoring a penalty against Denmark and culminated with Steve Cherundolo scoring at South Africa, the United States national team scored quite a few goals in 2007. There were 29 goals scored in between Donovan's PK and Cherundolo's match winner.

Of all the 31 goals the US scored this year, though, some stood out from the rest. While Donovan's scoring run during the Gold Cup was historic, it wasn't exactly stirring. After all, PKs are PKs, whether they are emotional or not.

Really, there were a few goals that stood out. Donovan's breakaway to put the nail in the coffin in the United States' 2-0 win against Mexico in Arizona in February was memorable. So was his strike against Ecuador in March... the third goal. Goals 1 and 2 were nice but 3 was a beauty.

But easily the best goal of the year for the U.S. was Benny Feilhaber's goal against Mexico on June 24. Feilhaber's volley wasn't just a wonderfully executed strike, it was an emotional match winner in the best rivalry this region has to offer. And it came in the confederation championship. When you think of it in those terms, it's one of the top goals the U.S. has scored in the last 10 years.

Anyway, here's the goal for you to re-live.

Oh Wicky, what a pity

Swiss international Raphael Wicky is in the process of joining Chivas USA. I had an interview with him yesterday as part of a larger piece I was writing about the L.A. team.

He's nice guy and was very patient with my questions, so I continued to ask them. I was curious, for example, about what Wicky thought about the American players who had come to Hamburg, Preston Zimmerman and Benny Feilhaber.

"I cannot tell much about Preston," Raphael replied. "I only know him from some training. But Benny Feilhaber, I’ve known him now for two years and he made a lot of progress in the last two years. He had some very good games last year in the Bundesliga in Germany. But I think it’s difficult. It’s better for him if he leaves Hamburg, because there are a lot of players there in his position. It’s still the dream for young American players to go to Europe and play in the big leagues and earn a lot of money. That’s what Benny is doing at the moment. But he also told me that one day, he wanted to come back to America and play. Everybody has to choose their way in life. Some may choose to stay here, because maybe they like their life here and they have families here. Another one may choose to go to Europe. Everyone has to choose for themselves."

I told Wicky that Benny was, in fact, leaving Hamburg to go to Derby County in England.

He nodded. "That is good for him, I think."

Both Rafael and Benny were affected by the coaching change in Hamburg this season.

"The [new] coach preferred to go with other players. That’s soccer. In Hamburg, there are 25 players at a high level and there are a lot of choices. He made his choice. I have to accept it. That’s life; that’s soccer," said Wicky.