The Jurgen Effect is on Full Blast

Jurgen Klinsmann has the Americans (on all levels) clicking on all cylinders. (Credits: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Three years ago when the U.S. canned American (and pretty successful American) head coach Bob Bradley in favor of Jurgen Klinsmann, many people were skeptical. Plenty didn't understand the decision to part ways with the traditional "American coach American" hire in favor of a foreigner, a man that might not understand soccer's place in America. Well that became the point of the hire. Bringing in Klinsmann might have confused the casual soccer fan, who probably didn't know that foreigners could coach other country's soccer teams. With the German and his deep World Cup experience at the helm, the Americans were supposed to compete in CONCACAF with the emerging Mexican side. And while at first it didn't seem as clear to whether or not this was the right move, the region is now seemingly under sole American control.

U.S.A is now sitting pretty, currently atop of the CONCACAF qualifying standings. They're two points ahead of second place Costa Rica, five points ahead of rival Mexico and six points above the automatic qualifying line which is held by Honduras. A dominate 4-1-1 record has led them to this point, including their second-only point in Estadio Azteca. In the Gold Cup, the USMNT has been thrashing their opponents to a tune of 18-3 in four games, including Sunday's 5-1 demolition of El Salvador. Right now there is no team hotter than the Americans who are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and don't seem to be stopping anytime soon. The Jurgen Effect is finally here.

For the last two years Klinsmann had been tooling around with a transitional lineup, trying to figure out what new midfield pieces would fit together, how to fix the American's horrendous back-line and how to get this team to gel completely as one unit. On the top American side that's been all figured out, but what's really been special is the team he's put forth in this Gold Cup.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup comes around every two years, however it isn't always meaningful. In the years after the World Cup, the Gold Cup winner then goes on to the Confederations Cup. As was the case in 2011 when the Americans blew an early 2-0 lead and lost 4-2, seeing the Mexicans go on to play in this year's Confed Cup. In the 2013 Gold Cup, there is really no true result other than getting the team's named etched on the trophy. With that being said, these off-year Gold Cups are a great time for coaches to see young (or borderline) players perform in decently competitive circumstances. These are like the B/C teams for each coach and that is a great deal more difficult to handle. With your A-squad it's pretty easy to know which is the best player at each position, but when you drop down a tier of competition it becomes harder to understand which players will bring about the best results. Young guns? Reclamation projects? Forgotten ones? It's a difficult task, and yet Jurgen's choices have been absolutely flawless in this Gold Cup.

Whether it's seeing the emerging talent in guys like Brek Shea, Joe Corona, Mikkel Diskerund or giving meaningful (and successful) second chances to guys like Eddie Johnson, Nick Rimando and Chris Wondolowski, Jurgen has done nothing wrong in this tournament. I understand that the competition hasn't really been stiff, but still this team is making a mockery of this tournament as they should. Yet, Jurgen's best move of the entire tournament was the way he's handled Landon Donovan.

I haven't been a Landon Donovan supporter since he basically kept the team hostage after the 2010 World Cup with indecision. No one knew what he wanted to do, whether he was coming back in 2014 or retiring, but once Jurgen took over he made it clear that no one was guaranteed a starting spot. Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore all had to work for their spots, Donovan was no different. However, LD continued to seasaw his decision and the U.S. moved on without him. He has yet to play in a qualifying game this year and Jurgen publicly stated that if the three-time World Cup participant wanted to return he must truly show his effort. Donovan decided he would do it with the B/C squad.

It wasn't a question of "Can Donovan still play at an elite level," the skills are still obviously there. It simply was a question of desire. Did he really want to play? Does he still have that same burning passion that made him the best player in the United States for about a decade? Well if he did he'd prove that in an off-year Gold Cup. He's proving just that and it's been quite rewarding for Klinsmann and co.

Donovan came off one of the best performances of his life, elite competition or not. A goal, four assists and a slew of other silky smooth touches and moves helped the United States dismantle El Salvador 5-1 on Sunday. Actually, if it wasn't for goalie Dagoberto Portillo it could have been a record breaking performance for the team. Jurgen's no-free-pass attitude has seemingly inspired Donovan who has not only dominated the tournament (surefire tournament MVP) but he's seemed to show his fire in post-goal celebrations. If he can help the U.S. finish off this tournament in winning fashion then I think Jurgen will welcome him back with open arms.

While I still don't think the United States necessarily need Donovan, there's no reason for an inspired LD not to return to the top U.S. side. But, just like he's proved his desire to play during this Gold Cup, he needs to usurp someone from their position at top. There's a lot of up-and-coming midfields who have seriously proved themselves in World Cup Qualifying so he will need to give it 100%, 24/7 in order to get that spot back.

That's the beautiful thing, Jurgen is getting 100% out of everyone on the team and keeping everyone on their toes. You know that when the aging veteran is playing with fire, in a basically meaningless international tournament, that he's doing something right. The Jurgen Effect is on full blast folks and that's great news for the U.S. going forward.