The tumult set off by Brexit proved only the beginning of possibly the worst week ever in the UK in recent history. Making things even more grim? The English national team’s 2-1 defeat on Monday at the hands of tiny Iceland in the UEFA EURO 2016 round of 16. But how could the country that formalized soccer lose to one with total population smaller than its major cities? And how to fix it?
The answer, some English soccer journalists are saying, lays with Jurgen Klinsmann. After England head coach Roy Hodgson retired immediately after the loss, some are looking to the USMNT’s head coach to staunch the bleeding.
So what’s the reasoning? Let’s take a look at the English pro-Klinsmann arguments. We’ll start with the Independent’s Mark Ogden, who gets major firsts-ies points on the Klinsmann train by arguing for his hiring before England even lost. His column, published on Thursday, June 23, called him the “ideal candidate” for the job:
“Five years into his reign as head coach of the States, Klinsmann has only enhanced his reputation and that of the team he has now guided to the World Cup second round and the last four of the Copa America,” Ogden wrote in the Independent. “Hugely popular in this country following the impact he made on and off the pitch with Tottenham Hotspur in the 1990s, Klinsmann would also bring charisma, experience and a proven track record to the job.”
The idea has only seemed to pick up steam in the hours since Hodgson’s resignation. In the Telegraph, a panel of sports writers weighed in, two of them landing in the pro-Klinsmann camp. The German would “represent a giant leap forward in tactical terms, a perennial English failure,” wrote James Ducker.
His colleague Ben Rumsby agreed. “I would really like to see what [Eddie] Howe could do with this young England side but fear it may be too early for him,” he wrote. “So, I would sound out proven international managers first, starting with Jurgen Klinsmann.”
Over at the Mirror, a similar panel weighed in, and there, Klinsmann got two votes of confidence, too. John Cross called him “a manager and player with pedigree.”
His colleague David McDonnell, meanwhile, went more in-depth. “Having laid the foundations for Germany to become World Cup winners in 2014, he has further enhanced his reputation with the USA,” he wrote. “He knows English football from his time at Tottenham and would command respect from England's players, as a World Cup winner, European Championship winner and a striker of world-class stature.”
And finally, in a concise, 140-character-limit format, here’s Martyn Ziegler, chief sports reporter for the Times:
