Jurgen Klinsmann setting precedent, getting this part right

Freddy Adu’s name came up this week on our SI.com podcast as we tossed around opinion on those recent, flagging U.S. national team performances. Of course, Adu hasn't been part of the proceedings so far under Jurgen Klinsmann. So why was the young attacker suddenly topical?

Simple. Two goals in five matches says it all. Klinsmann’s team has a scoring problem. Inexperienced strikers who aren’t quite up to snuff internationally share the blame. So does a lack of creativity. (Lost in the debate is Landon Donovan’s absence, but that’s a topic for another day.)

So, Adu could probably add some spice to the soup in terms of additional ideas, more clever passing, more attacking variation, etc.  He’s one of the few players in the current U.S. pool with real tricks up his sleeve. But there’s a bigger problem to consider here for Klinsmann, and it’s about precedent. So, I think Klinsmann is absolutely correct in declining to summon young Adu. Read on for why …

Klinsmann has been clear about the need for players to be, you know, “playing.”  Talent that languishes on some European bench is not talent that’s going anywhere. So believes Klinsmann, who also stresses physical fitness. The best player in the world can't be truly match fit if he's not pulling regular duty over longer stretches.

Well here’s the thing: Adu is not starting regularly for Peter Nowak’s playoff-bound Philadelphia Union. Adu did start the last two matches, but overall the young fringe U.S. international has been on the field to begin just six of the 12 MLS matches for which he’s been available.

And in Adu’s most recent start, I wasn’t particularly impressed with his body of work in the Union’s 1-1 draw at home with Toronto. Nor did this writer, who sure seems to know his way around match analysis.

So where does all this leave Klinsmann? Anyone who watched the U.S.-Mexico Gold Cup final couldn’t help but be impressed with the best U.S. attacker that day. Here’s what I wrote in the SI.com player ratings:

Easily the best U.S. player in the Rose Bowl -- and what a stunner that is. Playing beneath Landon Donovan as a central creator, frequently drifting to the right, he made big contributions on both U.S. goals. He helped win the corner kick and then served up Bradley to open scoring against the run of play. Then he helped move along the attack that found Donovan for a 2-0 lead. Early, he seemed to be the only U.S. player moving the ball quickly, which is what the United States needed against a Mexican side swarming in numbers. Later, as space opened up, he absorbed the ball and tried to dribble up a little trouble. Adu had a pretty good eye for finding space. He drew fouls and even won a header or two.

So, clearly, a difference-maker at the international level lurks somewhere in Adu’s slightly stocky, 5-8 structure. In my mind, he could certainly do better than Maurice Edu in the attacking end of the role Klinsmann asked Edu to play during last week’s loss to Ecuador. The tracking and tackling? Not so much. That’s a tactical issue that Klinsmann and his merry band of rotating assistants would need to address.

But I really don’t think it should get there.

I like that Klinsmann is encouraging, through not just words but also through his selections, players to find clubs where they can get some serious PT – some prime time minutes. Otherwise, they are stuck. They have plateaued, for the moment at least.

Bruce Arena used to stress this. Bob Bradley seemed far less concerned. He called in players regularly through the years who weren’t necessarily starting or even playing at the clubs. For me, that was always bad precedent.

In the bigger picture, players who wish to further their national team careers should be extra careful in matching their skills and a realistic opportunity assessment with their choice of clubs. (Of course, they are well within their rights if they are less concerned with international opportunities, more concerned with optimum cash grab or simply with living the fast life of European soccer. I say, “live and let live.” Just don’t complain when you fall off the international radar.)

Klinsmann should continue to send the message, “There’s no free ride here. Get on the field, or don’t bother checking the national team schedule.”