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Charm Offensive. Klinsmann has love for the American fan
USA Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann may not have always been able to charm all his players recently, but that hasn’t stopped him mounting a charm offensive on the American fans.
In four different press releases, sent out by four different MLS clubs, the coach singled out fans in that city for special praise. Fans in Salt Lake, Seattle, Kansas City and Columbus all came in for the treatment as did their stadia.
Let’s see how they stack up in the words of the head coach.
Klinsmann on Salt Lake – ‘When we ask where is the biggest support for us throughout the country? Salt Lake always comes up’
“Choosing Salt Lake for a very important game in the qualifying process is an easy choice. We think the crowd will give us huge support, loud, noisy, pushing us forward and giving us a lot of energy for 90 minutes.
Every point in a World Cup qualifier is crucial, and we need to have game in venues like Salt Lake where we know opponents not only have to deal with us, they will also have to deal with the crowd.”
When we ask the question ‘where is the biggest support for us throughout the country?,’ Salt Lake always comes up in that discussion. It has been proven in the past that this is another venue where we can ‘rock the boat’ and get a lot of excitement in the city around the game.”
Klinsmann On Seattle: ‘Seattle for a World Cup Qualifier was very high on our list’
“Going to Seattle for a World Cup Qualifier was very high on our list because of the fantastic atmosphere. It was a no brainer. We knew we had to go to Seattle and the sooner the better because it will hopefully give us an advantage in our game.”
Klinsmann on Columbus: ‘Amazing fans in Columbus … give us such a big hand’
“When the draw came out and we had to discuss all of the venues for our home games, we thought immediately: Columbus is the place for Mexico. Because of the past, because of the amazing fans in Columbus that give us such a big hand in such a crucial game.
There’s already history built in Columbus with that Mexico rivalry and the success gives the team confidence knowing we go into Columbus and this is the place to beat Mexico.
The crowd is amazing.”
Klinsmann on Kansas City: ‘One of the best venues in the United States’
“From an energy point of view, it’s one of the best venues in the United States. The stadium itself is a piece of art. It’s thrilling just to be in that facility.”
US Soccer’s own press release did not mention any of the cities above specifically, but did quote Klinsmann as saying:
“We are really excited about the venues we have selected for our home World Cup qualifiers.
“Winning your games at home is crucial, and we know that at each of these stadiums we will get amazing support from the fans.
There are so many great facilities in this country, and to be able to play in this many soccer specific stadiums in MLS cities shows how far this sport has come.”
On that last point, we can nearly all agree. The international side and especially the World Cup belongs in soccer stadia.
Don’t worry Jurgen. We painted over the graffiti already.
CenturyLink Field an hour before some soccer specific athletes took the pitch for a play-off game between Sounders and RSL in 2012.
More on USA World Cup:
Bradley: The Challenge is to Prove to Every American There’s no Sign of Anything Wrong
Seattle Awarded USA v Panama World Cup Match
Columbus Scoops USA v Mexico Prize
1 Comment
Of course, the atmosphere is created by ECS, and there is no designated supporters section or AO section yet. Not only that, the cheapest tickets are 50$ apiece. If you were looking for atmosphere, shouldn’t planned better USSF.