It's Official: The Jurgen Klinsmann Era Begins; Now What? (U.S. Soccer)

Confirming speculation, former German national team player and coach Jurgen Klinsmann will be introduced as the new head coach of U.S. National Team at a Monday press conference in New York.

"We are excited to have Jürgen as the head coach of our Men's National Team," said U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati, in a press release. "He is a highly accomplished player and coach with the experience and knowledge to advance the program. Jurgen has had success in many different areas of the game and we look forward to the leadership he will provide on and off the field."

Klinsmann will be tested immediately with his first match coming against main rival Mexico on August 10th in Philadelphia. Mexico's 4-2 victory over the U.S. in the 2011 Gold Cup was the match that basically ended the term of Bob Bradley as head coach.

"I am proud and honored to be named the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team," said Klinsmann. "I would like to thank the U.S. Soccer Federation for the opportunity, and I'm excited about the challenge ahead. I am looking forward to bringing the team together for our upcoming match against Mexico and starting on the road toward qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup."

The former manager of Germany and Bayern Munich has plenty of work to do, particularly at forward where the U.S. is not particularly strong. If there's anyone that knows about the striker position it's Klinsmann, who was a star for Germany, having scored 47 goals in 108 caps.

Bradley has used Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan up front at times, but they are often better used as attacking midfielders.

The current list of forwards that Bradley has called upon include Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, Chris Wondolowski. Other forwards that would likely figure into Klinsmann's plans include Charlie Davies, Robbie Findley, and Teal Bunbury.

The U.S. also has an aging defense with Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundulo, Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit, and Clarence Goodson are all in either their late 20s to early 30s as CONCACAF qualifications for the the 2014 World Cup in Brazil begin in less than two years. There have been young bright spots in Jonathan Spector, Tim Ream, Omar Gonzalez, and Eric Lichaj.

Meanwhile, stars Landon Danovan and Clint Dempsey have proven to still be effective, but both players will be in their early 30s when 2014 rolls around. Klinsmann still has Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Stuart Holden, Freddy Adu, and Alejandro Bedoya set to compete in future matches with an eye towards Brazil.

Goalkeeper remains a strong suit for the U.S. Tim Howard has proven to be a world-class netminder, and the Yanks have plenty of backup options.

However, what makes the U.S.'s future cloudy is a lack of superstar talent. Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley and Howard continue to shine, but the Yanks seems to lack a rising world-class star. There are young players with solid potential like Agudelo and Gale Agbossoumonde, but no players that have a high-ceiling to the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or even Mexico's Javier "El Chicharito" Hernandez.

Developing such players is no easy task, and American fans may start growing tired of the national team failing to make the semi-finals.

It appears Klinsmann has a major challenge ahead of him.