By Ben Nicholson
September 3 – Jürgen Klinsmann (pictured) has again voiced his discontent with the MLS calendar, stating categorically that the structure is “not working anymore”. His wish is for the MLS to “extend the season. Obviously you get 21 teams next year. Start earlier, finish later, but open these slots for the national team program.”
A few weeks before the World Cup Klinsmann expressed his concern about the advantages that other nations have over the US in terms of fitness. He noted that because players abroad often get to play double the number of the games the MLS provides, home-based US players are left a step behind.
Now his platform of complaint is focused around the scheduling of the MLS fixtures. He bemoans the pressure to preserve national team players for domestic clubs, comparing the situation to his nearby competition.
“Canada, Honduras, Costa Rica, Mexico, whoever plays in MLS, the foreign guys, they all go. But I compromise my own players? It’s because the coaches say, ‘We need them now badly to go towards the playoffs. Now it’s really going to get hectic.’ There’s something wrong, then, because the other nations, they benefit from the professional league in MLS. They call them because it’s a FIFA fixture date.”
The problem, he claims, extends beyond the senior team too. A subsequent effect of meandering MLS fixtures is the stifling of the development system.
He said, “You want to not only build your senior national team to the highest level, but also at the same time – this is what all other teams do – you have your U23 camp, they have U20 camps, they have U18 camps with games, meaningful games. Those slots are made to develop your national team program, globally. In the past we compromise that because we want MLS to do well, and we want to do well as well.”
Framing his wishes, for an extended season with international breaks, around the comparative betterment of the US in the world of soccer is an astute tactical maneuver that, if anything can, could move the patriotic nation towards his vision.
He at least has Sepp Blatter convinced, who expressed the belief that the MLS had taken the decision to adopt the European calendar during a press conference in Canada this August. This caused significant confusion all round for no offer had been made by the MLS. In fact MLS Commissioner Don Garber had recently publicly opposed any such notion, and as things stand there appear no plans for it.
The obvious obstacles in Klinsmann’s way, and the reasons for Garber’s resistance, is that extending the season into winter months makes playing opportunities difficult. Certain areas of the US suffer hard winters with heavy snow and freezing temperatures that make playing conditions difficult, as well as discouraging fans from taking the stands.
Furthermore, the MLS scheduled is currently designed to avoid conflict with the other more strongly followed sports leagues in the US, like the NHL, NFL and NBA. Pitting soccer against these historical nation favorites could prove a premature call for war. And the scheduling would become more complex too by the fact that many MLS clubs share stadiums with these other sports leagues too.
For the time being it looks as though Klinsmann’s grumbles will be just that. However, if he successfully conveys the impression to the public that the US’ national team are disadvantaged, those grumbles could cause some other, bigger, rumbles.
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