Jurgen Klinsmann (center) led the USA to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and a round of 16 appearance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. (Photo: John Bacon/Straffon Images)
CHICAGO -- U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati announced Monday that Jurgen Klinsmann has been relieved of his duties as United States head coach.
Klinsmann was handed the managerial reins on July 29, 2011, and compiled a 55W-16D-27L record during his tenure. In 2013, he led the team on its longest-ever winning streak, a 12-match stretch that included a CONCACAF Gold Cup title.
In 2014, he guided the side to the Round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup. Earlier this year, the 52-year-old German led the Americans to fourth place in the 2016 Copa America Centenario held in the United States.
Gulati said in a statement released by U.S. Soccer:
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.
The U.S. opened the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup with losses against Mexico (1-2, home) and Costa Rica (0-4, away) on November 11 and November 15, respectively.
