Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has come out in praise of US national team boss Jurgen Klinsmann after the German led the national team to a very good showing at the World Cup 2014. The US came into the World Cup anticipating a tough tournament due to a difficult group stage. There were in the same group as Germany, Portugal, and Ghana. This was billed as the group of death with the US being put as third favourites to qualify from it. However, the team managed a remarkable performance after reaching the last 16 of the tournament.
They came up against a Belgium team with stars like Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany, but they almost managed to beat the Europeans. This has been seen as an incredible achievement by the country where football is not one of the popular sports. However, the popularity has increased greatly in recent years with a number of kids taking to the game. Simeone, who was one of the best managers last season, managed to get his Atletico Madrid team, which was built on a shoestring budget, to the Champions League final and also to league success.
He says that Klinsmann’s achievement at the World Cup is simply remarkable considering the position football finds itself in the United States.
“Klinsmann has revolutionized football in the United States. He has been able to get a whole country behind the team, and that’s very difficult in the USA. But above all, he got the team working together and for each other – and they competed at an excellent level in the World Cup. It was a great collective effort – and that’s what seduces us as coaches,” said the South American. Rather than defend their way to the knockout stages, the US captured the attention by playing an attractive style of football.