Jürgen Klinsmann

Jürgen Klinsmann
Personal information
Date of birth	30 July 1964 (1964-07-30) (age 45)
Place of birth	Göppingen, West Germany
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker (retired)
Club information
Current club	Bayern Munich (Manager)
Youth clubs
1972–1974 1974–1978 1978–1981	TB Gingen SC Geislingen an der Steige Stuttgarter Kickers
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1981–1984 1984–1989 1989–1992 1992–1994 1994–1995 1995–1997 1997–1998 1997–1998 2003	Stuttgarter Kickers VfB Stuttgart Internazionale AS Monaco Tottenham Hotspur Bayern Munich Sampdoria → Tottenham Hotspur (loan) Orange County Blue Star Career	061 0(22) 156 0(79) 123 0(40) 065 0(29) 041 0(21) 065 0(31) 008 00(2) 015 00(9) 008 00(5) 542 (238)
National team
1987–1998	Germany	108 0(47)
Teams managed
2004–2006 2008–	Germany Bayern Munich
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Jürgen Klinsmann (born 30 July 1964 in Göppingen) is a German football manager and former football player, who played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the 1996 UEFA European Championship. He was one of Germany's premier strikers during the 90s.

He managed the German national team to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup.

On 12 July 2006, Klinsmann officially announced that he would step down as Germany's coach after two years in charge and be replaced by assistant coach Joachim Löw. He took over as coach of Bayern Munich in July 2008, when Ottmar Hitzfeld stepped down to take over as the head coach of the Swiss National Team.

Club playing career

Klinsmann was born in Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg. He was first introduced to football at the age of eight, playing every position in his youth, including goalkeeper. He started his professional career at the age of seventeen at Stuttgarter Kickers, which at the time was a second division club. In 1984 he joined the more prestigious Stuttgart club VfB Stuttgart, a perennial first division member.

Besides playing for German clubs VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich, Klinsmann played abroad for Internazionale, AS Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur and Sampdoria.

The first time he arrived at Tottenham he was not popular in England, partly because he played in the 1990 Germany team that knocked England out of the World Cup, and partly because of his reputation as a diver. After his Tottenham debut, when he poked fun at himself by diving across the pitch to celebrate his first goal, he became much more popular. One Guardian journalist, who had written an article called "Why I Hate Jürgen Klinsmann", wrote another two months later called "Why I Love Jürgen Klinsmann". Klinsmann went on to win the 1995 Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.^[1]

During his second stint at Tottenham, Klinsmann decided to retire from playing professional football in the summer of 1998 after the World Cup. Under the pseudonym Jay Goppingen, Klinsmann made a comeback as a player in 2003 for Orange County Blue Star in the American Premier Development League. The 39-year-old was able to score five goals in eight appearances, helping his team to reach the playoffs. The name is taken from the town of Göppingen, where Klinsmann was born.

German national team

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  West Germany
Men's Football
Bronze	1988 Seoul	Team Competition

Klinsmann had a fruitful international career, seeing his first Germany duty in 1987 and ultimately collecting 108 caps, a tally second only to that of Lothar Matthäus. Klinsmann scored 47 goals for Germany in top-level international matches which is only second to Gerd Müller's record of 68 goals for the national team.

He participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal; the 1988, 1992 and 1996 European Championships, reaching the final in 1992 and becoming champion in 1996. Klinsmann was the first player ever to score in three different UEFA European Championships. He did it at the 1988, 1992, and 1996 tournaments. Other three players – Vladimir Smicer, Thierry Henry, and Nuno Gomes – have equalled this record since.

He was also an important part of the German team at the World Cup finals of 1990 (in which he scored three goals), 1994 (five goals), and 1998 (three goals), winning the World Cup in 1990. He was the first player ever to score at least three goals in each of three World Cups, later joined by Ronaldo of Brazil. He still remains second all-time in World Cup goals scored by a German with 11.

International goals

Scores and results table. Germany's goal tally first:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	27 April 1988	Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany	Switzerland	1-0	1-0	Friendly
2.	14 June 1988	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Denmark	1-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 1988
3.	4 October 1989	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Finland	3-0	6-1	FIFA World Cup 1990 qualifying
4.	25 April 1990	Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Uruguay	3-2	3-3	Friendly
5.	10 June 1990	Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy	Yugoslavia	2-0	4-1	FIFA World Cup 1990
6.	15 June 1990	Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy	United Arab Emirates	2-0	5-1	FIFA World Cup 1990
7.	24 June 1990	Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy	Netherlands	1-0	2-1	FIFA World Cup 1990
8.	10 October 1990	Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden	Sweden	1-0	3-1	Friendly
9.	31 October 1990	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1-0	3-2	UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
10.	18 June 1992	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Netherlands	1-2	1-3	UEFA Euro 1992
11.	20 December 1992	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Uruguay	4-0	4-1	Friendly
12.	14 April 1993	Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany	Ghana	3-1	6-1	Friendly
13.	14 April 1993	Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany	Ghana	5-1	6-1	Friendly
14.	10 June 1993	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., USA	Brazil	1-3	3-3	U.S. Cup
15.	10 June 1993	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., USA	Brazil	3-3	3-3	U.S. Cup
16.	13 June 1993	Soldier Field, Chicago, USA	United States	1-0	4-3	U.S. Cup
17.	19 June 1993	Silverdome, Pontiac, USA	England	2-1	2-1	U.S. Cup
18.	23 March 1994	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Italy	1-1	2-1	Friendly
19.	23 March 1994	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Italy	2-1	2-1	Friendly
20.	2 June 1994	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria	Austria	3-0	5-1	Friendly
21.	17 June 1994	Soldier Field, Chicago, USA	Bolivia	1-0	1-0	FIFA World Cup 1994
22.	21 June 1994	Soldier Field, Chicago, USA	Spain	1-1	1-1	FIFA World Cup 1994
23.	27 June 1994	Cotton Bowl, Dallas, USA	Korea Republic	1-0	3-2	FIFA World Cup 1994
24.	27 June 1994	Cotton Bowl, Dallas, USA	Korea Republic	3-0	3-2	FIFA World Cup 1994
25.	2 July 1994	Soldier Field, Chicago, USA	Belgium	2-1	3-2	FIFA World Cup 1994
26.	16 November 1994	Qemal Stafa, Tirana, Albania	Albania	1-0	2-1	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
27.	14 December 1994	Chişinău, Moldova	Moldova	2-0	3-0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
28.	18 December 1994	Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany	Albania	2-0	2-1	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
29.	29 March 1995	Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	1-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
30.	29 March 1995	Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	2-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
31.	7 June 1995	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1-0	2-3	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
32.	11 October 1995	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	2-1	2-1	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
33.	15 November 1995	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Bulgaria	1-1	3-1	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
34.	15 November 1995	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Bulgaria	3-1	3-1	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
35.	24 April 1996	Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	1-0	1-0	Friendly
36.	4 June 1996	Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany	Liechtenstein	8-1	9-1	Friendly
37.	16 June 1996	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	Russia	2-0	3-0	UEFA Euro 1996
38.	16 June 1996	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	Russia	3-0	3-0	UEFA Euro 1996
39.	23 June 1996	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	Croatia	1-0	2-1	UEFA Euro 1996
40.	4 September 1996	Ernest Pohl Stadium, Zabrze, Poland	Poland	2-0	2-0	Friendly
41.	9 October 1996	Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	2-0	5-1	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
42.	10 September 1997	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Armenia	1-0	4-0	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
43.	10 September 1997	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Armenia	2-0	4-0	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
44.	5 June 1998	Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany	Luxembourg	2-0	7-0	Friendly
45.	15 June 1998	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	United States	2-0	2-0	FIFA World Cup 1998
46.	25 June 1998	Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France	Iran	2-0	2-0	FIFA World Cup 1998
47.	29 June 1998	Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France	Mexico	1-1	2-1	FIFA World Cup 1998

Coaching career

Upon retiring from active play, Klinsmann started his commercial career. He became the vice-president of a sports marketing consultancy based in the United States and was involved in Major League Soccer as part of the Los Angeles Galaxy team.

Germany national team

On 26 July 2004, he returned to Germany as the new coach of the national team, succeeding former teammate and strike partner Rudi Völler. Klinsmann subsequently embarked on an aggressive program to revamp the management of the team. Bringing fellow German striker Oliver Bierhoff on board helped diffuse public relations duties of the previous combined post away from the actual coaching aspect of the position. Furthermore, he created a youth movement to breathe life into an aging squad on the heels of a disastrous showing at Euro 2004. In the run up to the 2006 World Cup, Klinsmann attracted criticism from German fans and the media following poor results, such as the 4-1 loss to Italy. A particular subject of criticism was that Klinsmann commuted to Germany from the United States, which was the target of a campaign by the "Bild" tabloid. It should be noted that Klinsmann had previously eliminated some privileges Bild traditionally had with the national team, such as receiving the team lineup the day before a match, and 24/7 exclusive access to the team. His largely offensive tactics have irritated some, who complain that he ignores defensive football. He announced a squad of young players for the 2006 World Cup, basing his selection policy on performance, not reputation.

Klinsmann as manager of Germany in 2005

During the 2005 Confederations Cup, he regularly rotated his goalkeepers regardless of their performances, which drew the ire of Bayern Munich's Oliver Kahn. On 7 April 2006, Klinsmann finally decided to relegate Kahn to the bench and designated Arsenal's Jens Lehmann as his first choice goalkeeper. This choice followed Lehmann's performances in the 2006 Champions League in which his Arsenal team bowed out in the final against Barcelona.

2006 World Cup

In the 2006 World Cup, the performances of Klinsmann's team silenced his critics. The team recorded three straight wins against Costa Rica, Poland and Ecuador in the first round, earning Germany first place in Group A. The first game of the knock out stage was a 2-0 victory over Sweden, and in the quarter-finals, Klinsmann's team defeated Argentina, winning 4-2 on penalties. The teams drew 1-1 after 120 minutes after an equalising goal from Miroslav Klose in the 80th minute.

In the semi-final on 4 July, Germany lost a close match with Italy 2-0 after goals in the final minutes of extra time from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero. After the match, Klinsmann praised the performance of his young team. They beat Portugal 3-1 in the third place play-off, where he played Kahn instead of Jens Lehmann. The victory triggered a massive Berlin parade the following day where Klinsmann and the team were honoured by the public.

Afterward, Franz Beckenbauer, previously a strident critic of Klinsmann's, declared his desire to see Klinsmann continue as coach. There was also widespread public support for Klinsmann due to his team's spirit and attacking style of play. The team's strong performance is thought by some to have renewed national pride and restored Germany's reputation as a top footballing nation. Due to his success coaching the national team, Klinsmann was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz. He was even referred to as "Kaiser", a term meaning "emperor" in German, usually reserved for German footballing greats, e.g. Franz Beckenbauer.

Resignation as national coach

Despite the highly acclaimed performance at the World Cup and the praise earned, Klinsmann declined to renew his contract, informing the DFB of his decision on 11 July 2006. The decision was officially announced by the DFB on the 12 July 2006. Klinsmann's assistant Joachim Löw was appointed as the new head trainer at the same press conference.^[2][3] Klinsmann said "My big wish is to go back to my family, to go back to leading a normal life with them ... After two years of putting in a lot of energy, I feel I lack the power and the strength to continue in the same way."^[4]

Post-Germany

After leaving the Germany job, Klinsmann was linked with many coaching roles. He was linked repeatedly with the vacant United States national team coaching job after the decision not to renew the contract of Bruce Arena after the 2006 World Cup, but the job eventually went to Bob Bradley.

In April 2007, the English newspaper The Sun reported that Roman Abramovich wanted Klinsmann to coach his team Chelsea.^[5] Klinsmann reportedly rejected the offer.^[6] Klinsmann was also linked with managerial roles with Tottenham Hotspur and Los Angeles Galaxy,^[7] but the jobs went to Juande Ramos and Ruud Gullit respectively. Klinsmann was also linked to the Liverpool job as speculation mounted over Rafael Benitez's future. Tom Hicks admitted in a statement that Liverpool 'sounded out' Klinsmann about the job at Anfield if Rafael Benitez was to leave for either Real Madrid or Internazionale. Franz Beckenbauer claimed that Klinsmann would be "ideal" as the new coach of the England national team after Steve McClaren was sacked in November 2007, prior to the eventual appointment of the Englishman's replacement, Fabio Capello.^[8]

Bayern Munich

In July 2008 Klinsmann took over as coach of Bayern Munich.^[9] This is Klinsmann's first managerial position at club level, succeeding coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Career statistics

Honours

Club Titles

• Bundesliga: 1997 (FC Bayern Munich)
• UEFA Cup: 1991 (Internazionale), 1996 (FC Bayern Munich)

National Team

• European Championship: 1996
• World Cup: 1990
• U.S. Cup: 1993
• Summer Olympics Bronze medallist: 1988
• World Cup Bronze medallist: 2006 (as the Head Coach)
• FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze medallist: 2005

Personal Honours

• German Footballer of the Year: 1988, 1994
• FWA Footballer of the Year: 1995 (Tottenham Hotspur)

Caps

• 108 caps for Germany (47 goals)
• 14 Olympic caps (8 goals)
• 8 Under-21 caps (3 goals)
• 3 Under-16 caps

• Statistics refer to League games/goals only (except for international games).

Personal life

Klinsmann Bakery in Botnang, Stuttgart

Klinsmann's family operates a bakery in Stuttgart's Botnang district and consequently he is sometimes affectionately referred to as the "baker's son from Botnang". Klinsmann is in fact a journeyman baker, having served an apprenticeship. He is married to Chinese-American Debbie Chin, a former model. Klinsmann currently lives in Huntington Beach, California (closer reports say Newport Beach, California).^[10] with his wife and two children, Jonathan (born 1997) and Laila (born 2001).

References

External links

• Autograph Jürgen Klinsmann

West Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1988 semi-finalists 1 Immel • 2 Buchwald • 3 Brehme • 4 Kohler • 5 Herget • 6 Borowka • 7 Littbarski • 8 Matthäus • 9 Völler • 10 Thon • 11 Mill • 12 Illgner • 13 Wuttke • 14 Berthold • 15 Pflügler • 16 Eckstein • 17 Dorfner • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Sauer • 20 Rolff • Coach: Beckenbauer

West Germany squad – 1988 Olympic Bronze Medalists 1 Reck • 2 Schulz • 3 Görtz • 4 Funkel • 5 Hörster • 6 Janßen • 7 Bommer • 8 Fach • 9 Klinsmann • 10 Wuttke • 11 Mill • 12 Kamps • 13 Grahammer • 14 Häßler • 15 Schreier • 16 Walter • 17 Sievers • 18 Kleppinger • 19 Riedle • 20 Sauer • Coach: Löhr

West Germany squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup Winners (3rd Title) 1 Illgner • 2 Reuter • 3 Brehme • 4 Kohler • 5 Augenthaler • 6 Buchwald • 7 Littbarski • 8 Häßler • 9 Völler • 10 Matthäus • 11 Mill • 12 Aumann • 13 Riedle • 14 Berthold • 15 Bein • 16 Steiner • 17 Möller • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Pflügler • 20 Thon • 21 Hermann • 22 Köpke • Coach: Beckenbauer

Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1992 Runners-up 1 Illgner • 2 Reuter • 3 Brehme • 4 Kohler • 5 Binz • 6 Buchwald • 7 Möller • 8 Häßler • 9 Völler • 10 Doll • 11 Riedle • 12 Köpke • 13 Thom • 14 Helmer • 15 Frontzeck • 16 Sammer • 17 Effenberg • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Schulz • 20 Wörns • Coach: Vogts

Germany squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup 1 Illgner • 2 Strunz • 3 Brehme • 4 Kohler • 5 Helmer • 6 Buchwald • 7 Möller • 8 Häßler • 9 Riedle • 10 Matthäus • 11 Kuntz • 12 Köpke • 13 Völler • 14 Berthold • 15 Gaudino • 16 Sammer • 17 Wagner • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Kirsten • 20 Effenberg • 21 Basler • 22 Kahn • Coach: Vogts

Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1996 Winners (3rd title) 1 Köpke • 2 Reuter • 3 Bode • 4 Freund • 5 Helmer • 6 Sammer • 7 Möller • 8 Scholl • 9 Bobic • 10 Häßler • 11 Kuntz • 12 Kahn • 13 Basler • 14 Babbel • 15 Kohler • 16 Schneider • 17 Ziege • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Strunz • 20 Bierhoff • 21 Eilts • 22 Reck • 23 Todt • Coach: Vogts

Germany squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Köpke • 2 Wörns • 3 Heinrich • 4 Kohler • 5 Helmer • 6 Thon • 7 Möller • 8 Matthäus • 9 Kirsten • 10 Häßler • 11 Marschall • 12 Kahn • 13 Jeremies • 14 Babbel • 15 Freund • 16 Hamann • 17 Ziege • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Reuter • 20 Bierhoff • 21 Tarnat • 22 Lehmann • Coach: Vogts

Germany squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup Third Place 1 Kahn • 2 Hinkel • 3 Friedrich • 4 Huth • 5 Owomoyela • 6 Engelhardt • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Hanke • 10 Deisler • 11 Brdaric • 12 Lehmann • 13 Ballack • 14 Asamoah • 15 Ernst • 16 Hitzlsperger • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Schulz • 22 Kurányi • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Klinsmann

Germany squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Third Place 1 Lehmann • 2 Jansen • 3 Friedrich • 4 Huth • 5 Kehl • 6 Nowotny • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Hanke • 10 Neuville • 11 Klose • 12 Kahn • 13 Ballack • 14 Asamoah • 15 Hitzlsperger • 16 Lahm • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Metzelder • 22 Odonkor • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Klinsmann