U.S. head coach Jürgen Klinsmann named his first roster today, one that included D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid, but the naming of his first group of assistant coaches is equally interesting, given that Klinsmann announced during his introduction as head coach on Monday that he was essentially going to audition “guest coaches” over the coming months in lieu of naming a staff right away.
Here they are, with their bios from U.S. Soccer:
Martin Vasquez – Vasquez re-unites with Klinsmann after serving as an assistant coach at Bayern Munich. Currently he is the head coach and Director of Soccer Operations for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy U-16 and U-18 teams of the Real Salt Lake AZ Academy. One of only two players to represent both the United States and Mexico at the international level, he was the head coach of Chivas USA in 2010.
Thomas Dooley – A former U.S. captain and National Soccer Hall of Fame member who played in two World Cups and competed against Klinsmann in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, the German-American had a long professional career that included a Bundesliga and German Cup title with Kaiserslautern and a UEFA Cup title with Schalke 04. A member of the MLS Best XI as part of the Columbus Crew in 1997 and 1998, he went on to coach FC Saarbrucken in Germany before returning to the United States where he was part of the coaching staff for Pateadores that just captured the 2011 Development Academy U-17/18 championship.
Tab Ramos – Born in Uruguay, the legendary midfielder for the U.S. National Team played in three World Cups en route to earning 81 caps for the United States. Known for his flair and creativity on the ball, the Hall of Famer played professionally in Spain and Mexico before becoming the first ever signing for Major League Soccer, where he spent six seasons with the MetroStars in New York. Ramos founded NJSA 04, a club which is a member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
Mike Curry – A goalkeeper coach with more than 37 years of experience, Curry has trained goalkeepers at the club, state and college levels since 1974. A member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Goalkeeper Institute staff, he teaches courses at the regional and national levels and spent eight years with U.S. Soccer Development Academy club FC DELCO. Prior to his coaching career, he played collegiately at then Division II powerhouse University of Baltimore.
Mark Verstegen – One of the foremost leaders and innovators in athletic training, Mark Verstegen is owner and president of Athletes’ Performance, which provides athletes with cutting-edge training based on the latest sports science. Vestergen handled the fitness preparations for the German National Team prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in which Klinsmann led the team to a third-place finish. Named the Director of Performance for the NFLPA in 2002, he is the author of Core Performance, which reached the top 25 on Amazon within six weeks of its release and has sold more than 100,000 copies.
My take: The addition of Ramos, one of the most respected former U.S. players around, is exciting. The addition of Dooley, who is German, is not unexpected. But while the addition of Vasquez isn’t either, it’s suspect given his involvement in Klinsmann’s brief and unsuccessful tenure at Bayern Munich and his own also brief, also unsuccessful tenure in charge of Chivas USA. Curry is local to the Philadelphia area, which makes sense for this camp, and Verstegen worked with Klinsmann during his German national team tenure.
