Klinsmann era had its share of highs and lows

U.S. Soccer announced Monday that it had fired Jurgen Klinsmann as men’s national team coach and technical director. To say goodbye, let’s look at the highs and the lows of his five-year tenure.

THE HIGHS

1. USA- Ghana: The high point of the Klinsmann era came in the team’s opening game of the 2014 World Cup. Clint Dempsey scored a delightful goal 30 seconds into the match, and youngster John Brooks won it with a late goal off a corner kick. In that moment, the U.S. team looked poised for great things. But it wouldn’t win another game in that World Cup.

2. Heroics of Tim Howard and arrival of Julian Green: The USA squeaked through the “Group of Death” in 2014 with a tie vs. Portugal and a close loss to Germany, then drew rising world power Belgium in the Round of 16. Despite an almost inhuman performance from goaltender Howard — and a late goal from little-known Green, whom Klinsmann had surprisingly added to the Cup roster — the USA fell 2-1 in extra time.

3. Copa America win against Ecuador: In perhaps the USA’s most complete and impressive victory under Klinsmann, the team knocked off a talented Ecuador team in the quarterfinals of the Copa America tournament last June. The match sealed Klinsmann’s promise to reach the semifinals of the tournament, which the team did ... before getting smacked 4-0 by Argentina.

4. Dos a cero: The 2013 World Cup qualifier victory against Mexico by that famous 2-0 score in Columbus, Ohio, was a beautiful and much-needed win for the Americans, who had managed a 0-0 tie in Mexico City earlier in qualifying.

5. First wins against the Netherlands and Germany: Yes, they were exhibition games, and yes, the lineups were a bit all over the place, but Klinsmann leading the USA to wins against the Dutch and the Germans sent mes- sages to the rest of the world. The Americans, in a friendly at least, could hang with the big boys.

THE LOWS

1. Confederations KlinsmannCup embarrassment: had made it a priority for his team to qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia, a tournament he saw as hugely important in gearing up for the 2018 World Cup. but the USA flamed out in qualifying, falling to Mexico 3-2 to keep them out of the tournament.

2. Drubbing in Costa Rica: Klinsmann’s most recent loss, a 4-0 embarrassment at the hands of Costa Rica last Tuesday, was a clear sign that he’d lost the team and put the USA in danger of not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

3. Gold Cup loss to Jamaica: The 2015 Gold Cup looked set for a U.S. win, falling perfectly for the team to take the tournament on its home soil. But the USA lost to Jamaica 2-1 in the semifinals, the first time the Americans had lost to the Jamaicans in a match played in the USA. Klinsmann also was responsible for the USA’s first loss to Jamaica in Jamaica, which happened in 2012.

4. Argentina smackdown: The 4-0 loss to Argentina in the 2016 Copa America Centenario semifinals could have been expected, but it’s the way the U.S. team went out that was so disheartening. Not only did the USA never challenge in the game, it didn’t look like it belonged on the same field as Argentina. It was a stark reminder of how far the national team still has to go.

5. World Cup qualifying loss to Guatemala: Of all the matches, this one in March might have been the most dispiriting and was the game that seemed to confirm what many people were whispering — that Klinsmann was in danger of losing the team. In a 2-0 loss to Guatemala, the team was outhustled and looked disinterested and devoid of ideas. There were some bad losses in Klinsmann’s tenure, but the U.S. team never looked worse than in this game.