Jurgen Klinsmann Explores USA Vs. Mexico Soccer Rivalry In Players' Tribune

Jurgen Klinsmann has embraced American culture and the soccer that comes with it.

A large part of U.S. soccer culture centers around the hot-blooded rivalry with Mexico, which Klinsmann explored in an essay called “The Rivalry” he published Friday on The Players’ Tribune.

As head coach of the U.S. men’s national soccer team, Klinsmann occupies a unique position on which he bases his views on the rivalry, U.S. soccer’s chances of winning a men’s World Cup in the future and the big picture of soccer as it exists in this country.

“America is already a soccer nation,” Klinsmann writes. “Our sport is here to stay.

“In my opinion, the biggest challenge for soccer in the United States is that a lot of people still think it’s a coach’s sport. It’s the opposite, which may sound ironic coming from a coach. I learned this as a player: Soccer is self-teaching. Soccer is self-driven. It is not teachable in the way we think about other sports.”

Klinsmann guided the U.S. to the Round of 16 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He aims for an appearance in the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup but knows what it will take from his players in order to approach the promised land of a world championship.

“To compete with the best — and I believe we can — our players must play with and against the best in the world,” he writes. “Our national team players have to live and breathe soccer 24/7. That takes a change of mentality and a change in lifestyle.

“It’s important they immerse themselves in the game. I expect them to carry themselves as U.S. National Team players, which means doing the extra work, above and beyond what their club teammates do.”

The U.S. faces Mexico in the CONCACAF Cup on Saturday. Klinsmann engineered Team USA’s first-ever win over Mexico at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City back in August 2012 and hopes to achieve the same result in a game of greater significance in the friendlier confines of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

“To play against your rival for a chance to go to the Confederations Cup is a huge moment,” Klinsmann concludes. “You don’t get many opportunities in your career to play for a trophy, and this is a chance for our players to write a piece of history. We will be ready.”