A Round of 16 finish at this summer's World Cup may or may not have been enough to satisfy the ever-growing appetite of US national team fans, but it did help earn head coach Jurgen Klinsmann consideration for a lofty award from FIFA.
Klinsmann was named to a 10-man shortlist for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football on Monday after a year in which he helped lead the Americans advance from the widely-considered Group of Death in Brazil before falling to Belgium in extra time of their Round of 16 game.
The US boss is joined on the shortlist by the likes of Joachim Low, who guided Germany to the 2014 World Cup crown, Pep Guardiola of Bayern Munich, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, and Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone. Three finalists will be announced on Dec. 1 and the final prize will be given out on Jan. 15 in Zurich.
The final decisions will be made by the captains and head coaches of the of the men's national teams throughout the world as well as international media.
Here is the full shortlist:
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Real Madrid CF), Antonio Conte (Italy/Juventus FC/Italy national team), Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany/ USA national team), Joachim Low (Germany/Germany national team), Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Chelsea FC), Manuel Pellegrini (Chile/Manchester City FC), Alejandro Sabella (Argentina/Argentina national team), Diego Simeone (Argentina/Atletico Madrid), Louis van Gaal (Netherlands/Netherlands national team/Manchester United FC).
