WHIPPANY, N.J. – New York Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch says it is a conversation he has had several times with US national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. It is a dialogue that has seeped out into the open and a belief that permeates the club Marsch coaches.
Sacha Kljestan, the Red Bulls' stalwart midfielder, is deserving of a spot on the national team. But it has not come.
So Kljestan has soldiered on, operating as a key part of the New York attack and a vital cog for a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season. After five years of experience at Belgian club Anderlecht, Kljestan returned to MLS in 2015 and posted the league's fourth-most assists. This year, he leads MLS with five, also scoring two goals.
“The thing that he has to keep doing every week is make a good case for himself by how he plays in games,” Marsch said. “I can imagine there’s some frustration on his end because he does play well.”
Kljestan understands his reality: At this point, there’s not much he can do but continue to try to make a case. He has not given up his hope of getting a call-up from Klinsmann, but is focusing on what he can do for his club.
The Red Bulls are trying to inch their way up the standings and will have a chance to do so when they play at Orlando City on Friday (7 pm ET, UniMás). After a slow start, New York sit eighth in the Eastern Conference with nine points, but have grabbed two straight victories.
Kljestan has impressed in those games, with the 30-year-old midfielder most recently setting up the Red Bulls' first goal and scoring the second in last week's 4-0 win over FC Dallas. More performances like that would raise his chances of getting called in by Klinsmann, and Kljestan remains hopeful that an opportunity will come.
“Of course the goal is always to play for the national team,” Kljestan said. “My dream is to continue playing for the national team and I always have the belief that if I do get called in I will help the national team. And I still can make a difference on that team.
"But for the time being my focus is just playing really well with the Red Bulls and just hoping for another chance.”
