The Galaxy coach will replace Jürgen Klinsmann. But if he is a stop gap until 2018, who are the long-term candidates?Let’s get the obvious out of the way — Bruce Arena is the USA coach until at least the 2018 World Cup. In Arena’s favor, he’s done the job before, knows the US set up, and has also taken them to a World Cup quarter-final in 2002. Though if you’re going to consider that a success, you also have to consider the failure to get out of the group in 2006. Related: US Soccer confirm Bruce Arena will replace Jürgen Klinsmann Related: US fans wanted Jürgen Klinsmann out but they may come to regret his exit Continue reading...
The moustachioed fist-pumper is allowed to be a head coach in the NFL. Nothing is more absurd than thatSo many sporting sporting icons of this generation – from Tim Duncan to Alex Rodriguez – have stepped away from competition without ever receiving their due for all they achieved. While the Jeters and Kobes almost get over-appreciated on the way out, other legends are taken for granted and only truly appreciated long after they’re gone. Let’s not make this mistake with Jeff Fisher. Yes, Jeff Fisher is a sports legend. For years now his career has very much been the stuff of legend, for what bad head coach hasn’t been delighted and inspired by the tale of the mustachioed fist-pumper who remains...
A report this week says 88% of US fans back ‘pro-rel’ but a lack of any clear plan – or willingness on behalf of owners – remains an obstacleIn a more conventional soccer universe, Indy Eleven might be preparing for a 2017 season against the likes of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders. In only their third campaign, the team from Indianapolis finished second in the second-tier North American Soccer League: runners-up in the standings to the New York Cosmos, who also beat them on penalties in the championship playoff. With average attendances of about 8,500, the club is hoping to get approval for an 18,500-seat stadium. In a couple of years it is not hard to imagine Indy...
The German coach had many faults but he leaves the game in America in a much better place after his time in chargeThe end came on Monday, in a terse press release from US Soccer, with a couple of nice quotes tacked on. Jürgen Klinsmann, the manager hired to great acclaim in 2011, was out of a job. Two bad losses – to Mexico and Costa Rica – in World Cup qualifying proved too much for USSF President Sunil Gulati to stomach. It is thought that the LA Galaxy coach, Bruce Arena, will return to the job he held from 1998-2006. Related: Jürgen Klinsmann out as US soccer coach, Arena favored as successor Related: What options does Jürgen Klinsmann have?...
Cleveland are heading for an 0-16 season but they can take comfort from the fact that they won’t trouble some of the league’s truly terribly teamsThe Cleveland Browns are bad. They are very bad. They hover pitifully at the bottom of the uninspiring AFC North with an 0-11 record, and it doesn’t take much imagination to see them going 0-16 this season. Were it not for the Cavaliers’ NBA title and the Indians’ near world championship, the Browns’ misfortune would be chronicled in headlines that prominently include the words “Cleveland” and “woebegone,” “hapless” or “misfortune.”On Sunday, as if to show how bad they really are, in a 24-9 loss to Pittsburgh, the Browns gave up eight sacks, lost one quarterback...