Sarcasm??No way.
Jurgen Klinnsman ruffled more than a few feathers recently when he chose USMNT forward Clint Dempsey to wear the armband for Friday night's match-up with Costa Rica in Denver Colorado.
While many see the move as Jurgen being Jurgen, (I thought Mike Bradley was the heir apparent to all things Captaincy) the selection of the Tottenham player makes sense.
How?
Simple..Dempsey scores goals.
Who better to lead a squad in the midst of transition from previous Capo Bob Bradley's dink-defend-counter style to the 'you play because you present the best set of skills' mindset JK seems to favor?
The work in progress remains about two years old but JK's wont to make a bold personnel statement continues.
Some argue that Clint ain't got it.
He represents the highest level of individual accomplishment for an American playing on foreign soil, but he's just that-too individualistic.
Balderdash!
Clint represents more than just a guy who just 'scores goals' (Chris Carter, anyone?)
He represents the epitome of what it means to succeed through sweat and trial.
While many of the Arena/Bradley bunch moved up the hierarchy of US Soccer through academy and 'pay for play' channels, Clint's climb began on a dirt-lot pitch down in the heart of beautiful state of Texas.
Who better to lead than a cat that possesses a superior set of skills, a penchant for the dramatic and a fearlessness that you can't teach many players.
This is not an indictment of the academy crowd. In fact, we need a strong youth/talent funnel to identify and nurture the VAST amount of football talent in this country; but as Dempsey represents (and JK recognizes) leadership often comes from somewhere else.
Somewhere inherent to that person.
Dempsey's got it
This selection was a long time coming..
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