Juergen Klinsmann meets critics

German national coach Juergen Klinsmann (pictured) met with critics from the Bundesliga today to discuss various issues. One of the major issues is Klinsmann's home address, which is in California. More then a few people feel that he needs to be closer to everything in order to have complete control over it. However, Klinsmann does not think the commute is much of a problem saying, "my presence in Germany will depend on what is going on."

There is also concern over his training routines and his rotation of goalkeepers. As far as the training, part of this might have to do with the fact that American trainers designed the regiment. Those against it feel it has left the team exhausted during their recent matches. Klinsmann's responds by saying that the team needs to be fit if they want to win the cup. He also insists that, "Oliver Kahn was and remains (the) No. 1" goalie, even though rival Jens Lehmann will start during the 12 November match against France.

This is one of the problems with hosting the World Cup. Since you do not have to going through the qualifying rounds, you can never be certain your team is doing well. The last 'real' challenge they faced was in this year's Confederation Cup where they came in third. Their play was still a bit uneven at times, but it was better then what they showed in Euro 2004.

My thoughts on this is that they are looking better of late, so he deserves the vote of confidence he was given today. However, he might want to make plans for an extended vacation away from California starting early next year. I hear Germany is great between February and July.