PASADENA, Calif. — After years of living in Southern California, Jurgen Klinsmann seems to insert regional jargon naturally into his vocabulary. “Bummer” is a notable favorite.
It seemed appropriate, then, how Klinsmann responded to a reporter’s question Friday about recent comments from a former player, Landon Donovan, who had suggested that Klinsmann’s job as coach and technical director of the United States soccer team should be in peril after a string of mediocre results.
“It’s totally cool,” said Klinsmann, who is originally from Germany.
Yet Klinsmann, always tanned and smiling when facing members of the news media, also offered what seemed like a tacit acknowledgment of the notion that he may have certain shortcomings.