Philipp Lahm's quotes about Jurgen Klinsmann are relevant again

Jurgen Klinsmann has spent a lot of time recently talking about fitness. And season length. And professionalism. And what it takes to be successful.

Since Klinsmann has made fitness a focal point, it's worth looking back at what Philipp Lahm said about Klinsmann in his autobiography. Lahm played for Bayern Munich when Klinsmann was the manager there.

We practically only practiced fitness under Klinsmann. There was very little technical instruction and the players had to get together independently before the game to discuss how we wanted to play.

All the players knew after about eight weeks that it was not going to work out with Klinsmann. The remainder of that campaign was nothing but limiting the damage.

Lahm is not some random player. He is the best right back in the world, Bayern's captain and well-respected around the world. It's fair to assume that he probably had a decent pulse on the team. He also had a book to sell so everything he said in it may not have been 100 percent accurate, but it probably came from a place of truth, at the least.

Does this make Lahm's claims accurate to the point that it should be an indictment on Klinsmann as a manager and his ability to lead the United States? On their own, not at all. But there is a discussion to be had -- and it's regularly had among coaches, players, trainers and doctors -- about how to get players to peak fitness, what's too much work and also how to handle players. Klinsmann has put himself into that discussion, and done so very publicly, so as it all plays out, Lahm's quotes are worth keeping in mind.