Jurgen Klinsmann wants Clint Dempsey thinking about scoring goals – lots of them – at the Gold Cup, and has handed the US national team's captain role to Michael Bradley to help simplify his striker's approach to this summer's tournament.
That was the USMNT boss' message about the captaincy this week, delivered in a Q&A with ussoccer.com ahead of Friday's friendly vs. Guatemala in Nashville, Tennessee (6:30 pm ET, Fox Sports 1, UniMás).
Dempsey tore apart a referee's notebook during the Seattle Sounders' 3-1 US Open Cup loss to the Portland Timbers last month, earning a three-game suspension from MLS play and an even lengthier ban from the Open Cup tournament itself.
While Klinsmann emphasized that he is ready for Dempsey to put that incident behind him, he is also taking care to minimize any potential distractions for his star attacker as the Yanks get set to defend their 2013 title. The USMNT open Gold Cup play against Honduras at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Tuesday (9:30 pm ET, FOX Sports 1, UniMás).
“I had a very, very good conversation with Clint about what happened during the Open Cup, but also about how we want to approach things,” said Klinsmann. “For the time being we thought it’s the best thing to give the captaincy to Michael Bradley and let Clint focus on what he’s all about.
“Clint is about scoring goals. We need Clint Dempsey badly with the national team. We need him in a good spirit. What happened was a mistake, but it was the first red card in his career and a lot of people went at him. I think the best thing for everyone right now is to let him concentrate really on playing and doing what he does best.”
Bradley was an inspirational figure in the USMNT's impressive friendly wins over the Netherlands and Germany in last month's weeklong European tour, and has been rewarded with ownership of the armband until further notice. Dempsey has served as captain for 20 matches of Klinsmann's tenure, the most among the 10 players who have carried out the role during that time.
But Klinsmann has predicted an imminent return to glory for Dempsey, urging the Sounders DP to win the Golden Boot in CONCACAF's showcase event.
“He has always delivered,” said the coach. “He’s at 40 goals for his country and I told him I want him to score many, many more. Hopefully in this summer’s Gold Cup he becomes the top scorer in the tournament. We need Clint in a free spirit and that’s why we decided to kind of take that captaincy and move it over to Michael for the Gold Cup and then we’ll see.”
