Under Jurgen Klinsmann, an Olympic bronze medalist, the U.S. men’s soccer program missed both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
It marked the first time in 48 years that the U.S. men failed to qualify for back-to-back Games.
And while Klinsmann’s ouster from U.S. Soccer on Monday was more tied to the senior national team (versus the U-23 Olympic qualifying teams), the German had made it clear during his time as technical director (since 2013) that qualifying for the Olympics was a goal.
Earlier in his tenure, Klinsmann hired the U-23 coach at the helm of the 2012 Olympic qualifying failure, Caleb Porter.