To that end, I ask how many names he has already penciled into his squad of 23 to join him in Brazil. "We have a very good core of leaders," he says. "Two world-class goalkeepers to start with, very promising center backs that are maturing, Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez ... experienced guys like Clarence Goodson, Geoff Cameron, who is going through his growing pains in the Premier League."
The coach suggests the squad is "building up depth at both full back positions" before continuing. "We have two leaders in central midfield in Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones who want to peak in Brazil, and we will build other people around that with Clint Dempsey if we guide him one step after another towards that World Cup. He can be an impact player, and with Jozy [Altidore] we have another kind of player who builds that spine."
I express surprise, admitting I had imagined there would be 17 or 18 players Klinsmann already feels sure of. "We have many players who have to prove to themselves they can go to the global stage so we have a lot of question marks," he counters. "Which players understand that and take it in their own hands to go onto the global stage with confidence and with the right mindset to attack it?"
....
Klinsmann's conclusion is stark but powerful. "You don't say you have 17 or 18 names [already chosen] because you want to figure out if the players will be ready in four or five months ... because once we get into camp before the World Cup, it is going to be very demanding."
There can be no more interesting test for this threshold than Dempsey, a player whom Klinsmann publically challenged, made captain, then watched struggle upon his return to MLS. Is he guaranteed to be the U.S. captain at the World Cup? The German does not flinch. "There is no guarantee for anyone," he declares. "Clint threw himself into a shark tank coming back and the expectations are above the clouds; his own expectations are the highest, and therefore it is a huge process he is going through right now."
Klinsmann reiterates several times that he is prepared to help Dempsey in that transition. "I am very positive," he says. "He is now getting challenged in a very different way than he would be getting challenged in the Premier League because ... they have made him into the face of the league. He is not one of many in the Premier League and that is a very difficult task to deal with [because] they expect a goal every game, which is impossible because three guys jump on him. It is easier for Eddie Johnson to score the goals because he gets the space -- and we are happy for Eddie ... but guarantees for a World Cup that is seven months away ... no one has a guarantee."
