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United States sack Head Coach and Technical Director Jürgen Klinsmann

U.S. Soccer

Former Germany international Jürgen Klinsmann has been sacked as Head Coach and Technical Director of the United States. The announcement was made by U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati on Monday.

Gulati released a statement on the U.S. Soccer website announcing the decision to sack the 1990 FIFA World Cup winner:

Today we made the difficult decision of parting ways with Jurgen Klinsmann, our head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team and Technical Director.

We want to thank Jurgen for his hard work and commitment during these last five years. He took pride in having the responsibility of steering the program, and there were considerable achievements along the way.

Many are aware of the historic victories, including leading us out of the Group of Death to the Round of 16 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but there were also lesser publicized efforts behind the scenes. He challenged everyone in the U.S. Soccer community to think about things in new ways, and thanks to his efforts we have grown as an organization and expect there will be benefits from his work for years to come.

While we remain confident that we have quality players to help us advance to Russia 2018, the form and growth of the team up to this point left us convinced that we need to go in a different direction. With the next qualifying match in late March, we have several months to refocus the group and determine the best way forward to ensure a successful journey to qualify for our eighth-consecutive World Cup.

There has never been a greater time for soccer in this country, and with the support and efforts of the millions of fans, sponsors, media and friends, we look forward to continued progress in the game we all love.

Klinsmann began his tenure as head coach of the United States Men’s senior national team on July 29, 2011. The 52-year-old gaffer compiled a 55-27-16 record during his tenure including a record-setting 12-game winning streak. The United States reached the Round of 16 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and finished fourth in the 2016 Copa America Centenario.

But the poor performances in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers were not to the satisfaction of U.S. Soccer and the govering body of football in the US decided to call a halt before it’s too late.