Posted by Oliver Wilson

The crisis in the US National Team camp has reached near boiling point in the last 24 hours with rumors of disharmony between the players and the coaching staff filling MLSSoccer.com.

While the story may seem a little far fetched (no specific player names are mentioned, nor are there any details of what exactly was said by the two parties) the obvious lack of cohesion between the manager and his players is obvious to see.
It’s a worrying thought as the USA prepare to embark on two of their biggest games to date, with a more then capable Costa Rica side dropping in to Denver on Friday night before the big trip to the Azteca next Tuesday to take on Mexico.  Combined with an injury list that holds key names such as Fabian Johnson, Edgar Castillo, Steve Cherundolo, Tim Chandler and goalkeeper Tim Howard, Jurgen’s chances of bouncing back from their dismal 2-1 loss to Honduras in their opening Hexagonal round qualifier look slim indeed.

While training ground bust-ups are not uncommon in football (especially if you’ve got a Mario Balotelli in your side) especially when backs are against the wall, but the manner in which the grumbling about Klinsmann’s side has built up over a long period of time is giving the strong impression that the German head coach is losing the hearts and minds of both his team and the general public.

Performances have been lackluster over the last 6 months, with a loss to Jamaica in World Cup qualifiers last September killing the excitement and momentum built by the friendly win against Mexico in the Azteca a month before.  A scrappy win in Antigua added more fuel to Jurgen’s critics fire before a 0-0 draw against Canada in January really pilled on the pressure in the build up to February loss against Honduras.

The tide is turning against Klinsmann rapidly, with even the spirited tweets of Carlos Bocanegra (left out of the German’s 23-man squad due to his lack of playing time this season) being seen more as a sign of graceful leadership that will be missed from the squad in his absence, and less of a call to rally behind the national team in their time of need. To the manager’s credit Jurgen’s decision to leave out the experienced defender stays true to his philosophy of picking players who are playing regular football. Landon Donovan, whose hiatus from football is coming to an end at the end of this month, wasn’t considered for an emergency call back according to the manager on Monday and Carlos is struggling to get into a Spanish second division side.

His reassuring presence in the squad, though, has been considered a major loss to the squad by fans and should things go badly for the USA in Denver on Friday, Klinsmann could be relying on getting his side’s first points of the Hexagonal round away in Mexico. Something they’ve never done in a competitive game.