Klinsmann continued: “Clint himself has set the highest benchmark for himself over the last year. He became our captain, and he has to keep that benchmark and he knows that. I told him that over the last two years that he’s got to go for the next level. Obviously, we want the best Clint Dempsey ever and that’s what we’re going to push him toward as we begin to look toward Brazil. He has set a high standard for himself, and it’s up to us coaches to make sure he keeps that high standard.”

Klinsmann is not taking Dempsey to Sarajevo for a friendly match with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday, but that is a gesture to give Dempsey time to adjust to a new team, not a banishment.

Once a fleet striker in the crack European leagues and for the German national team, Klinsmann clearly thinks skills are best kept sharp in the teeming stadiums of England. Dempsey, who began in M.L.S., soon did what common wisdom says young Americans must do — he went to Europe, battling for playing time and respect.

“Just being in Europe was a grind,” Dempsey, 30, said with pride. “I went through five different coaching changes at Fulham.” He made himself a popular regular at Fulham, scoring 60 goals in five and a half seasons, but was eager to move to a better English team with realistic hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

Last year, he held out before signing with Tottenham just before the season began but never quite reached regular status, scoring 12 goals in 43 games. In this chaotic summer, with any number of offensive stars still without a secure address as Premier League play begins this weekend, Tottenham has brought in other players, and Dempsey, with two years left on a guaranteed contract, felt the possibility of change. “You can be on a good team and not play at all,” Dempsey said Monday.