Jürgen Klinsmann
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Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including
VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...
,
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
,
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
,
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, and
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
. He was part of the West German team that won the
1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...
and the unified German team that won the
UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
. As a manager, he managed the German national team to a third-place finish at the
2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
and was subsequently coach of a number of other teams including, notably,
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...
club
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
and the United States national team. Considered one of Germany's premier strikers during the 1990s, he scored in all six major international tournaments he participated in, from the UEFA Euro 1988 to the
1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for t ...
. In 1995, he came in third in the
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representati ...
award; in 2004 he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the "125 Greatest Living Footballers". On 3 November 2016, he became the fifth player to be named as honorary captain of Germany.


Club career


1972–1981: Youth career

Klinsmann is one of four sons of master baker Siegfried Klinsmann (died 2005) and his wife Martha. At age eight, he began playing for TB Gingen, an amateur soccer club in Gingen an der Fils. Six months later, he scored 16 goals in a single match for his new club. At age ten, he moved to
SC Geislingen SC Geislingen is a German association football club from the city of Geislingen, Baden-Württemberg established 31 May 1900. The football department became independent on 1 July 1911 and later took on the name ''Fußballverein 1919 Geislingen'' ...
. When he was 14 years old, his father bought a bakery in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
, the state capital. After the family relocated there, Klinsmann continued to play for SC Geislingen, even after he was spotted in a
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...
youth selection. In 1978, aged 16, he signed a contract with Stuttgarter Kickers, the club where he would turn professional two years later. His parents decided he should first finish his apprenticeship as a baker in their family business, which he completed in 1982.


1981–1989: Stuttgarter Kickers and VfB Stuttgart

Klinsmann began his professional career in 1982 at the then-
second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
side Stuttgarter Kickers. By 1982–83, he was already a regular starter and by the end of the 1983–84 season, he had scored 19 goals for the club. Horst Buhtz, a Stuttgarter Kickers former coach, recalls Klinsmann benefited from intensive training from Horst Allman, who was one of the best sprint coaches in Germany at that time. At the beginning of the new season, he managed to improve his 100 m dash from 11.7 to 11.0 seconds. In 1984, Klinsmann moved to first division rivals
VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...
. In his first season at the club, he scored 15 goals and was the team's joint top scorer with
Karl Allgöwer Karl Allgöwer (born 5 January 1957) is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder. Growing up in Geislingen an der Steige, Allgöwer completed his youth years with SV Altenstadt and SC Geislingen before moving to Stuttgart to score ...
. Despite his goal scoring efforts, he could not prevent his new club from finishing tenth in the league. During each of the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons, he scored 16 goals and reached the
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...
final of the
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
, losing against
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
2–5, but scoring the last goal of the match. In the 1987–88 season, he scored 19 goals – including a legendary
overhead kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...
against Bayern – and was the Bundesliga's top goalscorer. In 1988, the 24-year-old Klinsmann was named
German Footballer of the Year The title Footballer of the Year (German: ''Fußballer des Jahres'') has been awarded in Germany since 1960. Eligible are German players as well as non-German players playing in Germany. In 1996, the title Women's Footballer of the Year (German ...
. After reaching the 1988–89 UEFA Cup final with Stuttgart (eventually losing to
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...
's inspired Napoli 5–4 on aggregate), Klinsmann moved to Italian club
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
on a three-year contract, joining two other German internationals, Lothar Matthäus and Andreas Brehme.


1989–1992: Inter Milan

In spite of the heavily defensive orientated tactics of head coach Giovanni Trapattoni, Klinsmann scored 13 goals as the ''Nerazzurri'' finished third in
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
. He became one of the most popular foreign players in Italy, mostly because he had learnt Italian and earned himself the respect of the fans with his appearance and language skills. During the next season, Klinsmann won the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
with Inter (2–1 on aggregate against
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
) and repeated his previous performance in the league with 14 goals; his contract was extended until 1994. A disastrous 1991–92 season caused all plans to fall through. Inter never managed to gain any momentum under coach
Corrado Orrico Corrado Orrico (born 16 April 1940) is an Italian football coach. Career Orrico started his coaching career by serving as head in a number of minor division clubs in his native Tuscany, and he gained popularity after guiding Lucchese to impres ...
and finished eighth in the league, with Klinsmann only scoring seven goals and the team being divided and fragmented into groups. It was clear for Klinsmann this would be his last season at the
San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums ...
.


1992–1994: AS Monaco

After UEFA Euro 1992, Klinsmann moved to
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
and catapulted the club to a second-place finish in
the league ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...
in his first season. After the bribery scandal by
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
and their subsequent disqualification as league winners, Monaco replaced them in the
1993–94 UEFA Champions League The 1993–94 UEFA Champions League was the 39th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier club football tournament, and the second season with the UEFA Champions League logo (it was adopted in the group stage and semi-finals, the res ...
, reaching the semi-final before finally losing to eventual winners
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
. The following season, Monaco only managed a ninth-place finish in the league. Klinsmann, who had missed two months due to a torn ligament, was mostly deployed as a lone-striker and started criticizing the attitude of his teammates. In 1994, he left the club early, with one more year remaining on his contract.


1994–1995: Tottenham Hotspur

Klinsmann moved to
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
in the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
for the 1994–95 season, where the fans and media were very critical of the German because of his reputation as a diver. He was signed by Spurs in July 1994 from Monaco for £2 million. On his debut against
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
, he scored the winning header and immediately won over fans with his goal celebration by self-deprecatingly diving to the ground. A ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
'' 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. Because of his humour, but also because of his athletic achievements and his combative playing style, Klinsmann quickly became extremely popular in England; over 150,000 of his shirts were sold. He now holds legendary status at Spurs and was inducted into
Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...
Wax Museum. Klinsmann scored 21 goals in the 1994–95 season for Spurs and a total of 30 in all competitions, including a late winner against
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
in the quarter-final of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
. He also found the net in the semi-final, but Spurs missed out on a place in the final by losing 4–1 to Everton.


1995–2003: Final years

Klinsmann then had a successful spell at Bayern Munich during the 1995–96 and 1996–97 season. He was the club's top goalscorer during both seasons, and won the 1995–96 UEFA Cup, setting a new goalscoring record of 15 goals in 12 matches during the competition (a record that stood until
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
). A year later, he also became German champion as he won the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...
. He then briefly moved to Italy for Sampdoria, but left the team in the winter and returned to Tottenham Hotspur. During his second stint at Tottenham in the 1997–98 season, his goals saved the club from relegation, particularly the four goals he scored in a 6–2 win at Wimbledon. He played the last match of his high-level club career in 1998 on the final day of the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
against
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
. After retiring and moving to the United States, in 2003 Klinsmann played for
Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Wester ...
, an amateur team in the fourth-tier
Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...
.


International career

Klinsmann made his first international appearance for
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
in 1987 and ultimately collected 108 caps, making him the country's fourth-most capped player behind Lothar Matthäus, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski. Klinsmann scored 47 goals for West Germany in top-level international matches, sharing the all-time fourth place with Rudi Völler, and only surpassed by Klose's record of 71 goals for the national team,
Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalscor ...
's 68 goals and Podolski's 49. Klinsmann scored 11 goals in the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
, ranking sixth all-time. In 1987, Klinsmann made his debut for Germany against
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in a 1–1 draw. He participated in the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
, winning a bronze medal; the 1988,
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
and
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
s, reaching the final in 1992 and becoming champion in 1996. Klinsmann was the first player to score in three different European Championships. Five other players –
Vladimír Šmicer Vladimír Šmicer (, born 24 May 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his senior career at Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England where he play ...
,
Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Nuno Gomes and
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
– have since equalled this record. Klinsmann was an important part of the West German team during the
1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...
. After qualifying for the round of 16, Germany was to play the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, against whom they had lost two years earlier in Euro 88. After Rudi Völler was sent off in the 22nd minute, Klinsmann was forced to play as a lone striker. He scored the 1–0 opener and his performance received considerable praise. German newspaper ''
Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. Hist ...
'' wrote that "In the last decade, not a single forward of a DFB team has offered such a brilliant, almost perfect performance." After further victories over
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
(1–0) and
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
(1–1 after extra time, 4–3 on penalties), he became a world champion after beating
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
1–0 in
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. Klinsmann is remembered for being fouled by the Argentinian
Pedro Monzón Pedro Damián Monzón (born 23 February 1962) is an Argentine football coach and former player who played as a defender. Club career ''Moncho'' Monzón played in different clubs, but most importantly in Independiente, with which he obtained 4 t ...
, who was subsequently sent off, reducing Argentina to ten men. Many critics called the incident a prime example of Klinsmann's diving, a claim he contradicted. In an interview in 2004, he noted that the foul left a 15 cm gash on his shin. Klinsmann also competed for the unified Germany team at the
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
(five goals), and 1998 (three goals), World Cups. He became the first player to score at least three goals in three consecutive World Cups, later joined by
Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...
of Brazil and compatriot Miroslav Klose. Klinsmann is currently the sixth-highest goalscorer at World Cups overall and the third-highest goalscorer for Germany in this competition, behind Klose (16 goals) and Gerd Müller (14).


Coaching career


Germany

On 26 July 2004, Klinsmann returned to Germany as the new head 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 Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. A particular subject of criticism was that Klinsmann commuted to Germany from the U.S., which was the target of a campaign by the
tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid an ...
''
Bild ''Bild'' (or ''Bild-Zeitung'', ; ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' ("''Bild on Sunday''") is published instead, which ...
''. Klinsmann 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 complained he ignored defensive football. He announced a squad of young players for the 2006 World Cup, basing his selection policy on performance, not reputation. During the
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the seventh FIFA Confederations Cup. It was held in Germany between 15 June and 29 June 2005, as a prelude to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was won by 2002 FIFA World Cup winners ...
, 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 An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
's Jens Lehmann as his first choice goalkeeper. This choice followed Lehmann's performances in the
2005–06 UEFA Champions League The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 football associations took p ...
in which his Arsenal team bowed out in
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
against
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. In the 2006 World Cup, Germany's performances silenced Klinsmann's critics, which included the form of an English song: " Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann?" The team recorded three-straight wins against
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
in the group stage, earning Germany first place in Group A. The first match of the knockout stage was a 2–0 victory over
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
, 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 Fabio Grosso (; born 28 November 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer and current manager of Frosinone Calcio. After playing for several smaller Italian clubs, such as Renato Curi, Chieti and Perugia, he made his breakthrough duri ...
and
Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...
. After the match, Klinsmann praised the performance of his young team. They beat
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
3–1 in the third place play-off, where he played Kahn instead of Jens Lehmann. The victory triggered a massive parade in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
the following day where Klinsmann and the team were honoured by the public. Afterward,
Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
, 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 Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
and restored Germany's reputation as a top soccer nation. Due to his success coaching the national team, Klinsmann was awarded the
Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellec ...
. Despite the highly acclaimed performance at the World Cup and the praise earned, Klinsmann declined to renew his contract, informing the
German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge o ...
(DFB) of his decision on 11 July 2006. The decision was officially announced by the DFB on 12 July 2006. Klinsmann's assistant, Joachim Löw, was appointed as the new head coach at the same press conference. 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."


Bayern Munich

In July 2008, Klinsmann took over as coach of Bayern Munich, succeeding Ottmar Hitzfeld. Klinsmann helped design a new player development and performance center for Bayern and then launched into molding the team for the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...
and 2008–09 Champions League campaigns. Under his guidance, Bayern reached the quarter-final of the Champions League, losing to eventual champion Barcelona. Klinsmann was sacked on 27 April 2009 with five matches remaining. His final match was a 1–0 loss to Schalke 04. Bayern were in third-place at the time of the sacking. Klinsmann finished with a record of 25 wins, nine draws, and 10 losses in all competitions. Following Klinsmann's time with Bayern, Bayern team captain Phillip Lahm wrote in his autobiography that Klinsmann's tenure with the club was a "failure" and that Klinsmann's lack of tactical instruction required the players to meet before kickoff to discuss strategy.


Toronto FC

In November 2010, Klinsmann was hired as a technical consultant for
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
(MLS) club
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...
to advise on an overhaul of the club's coaching and playing personnel, leading the club to hire
Aron Winter Aron Winter (born 1 March 1967) is a Dutch former professional football midfielder and manager for Suriname. He has played for Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands, for Italian sides Lazio and Inter Milan, and for the Netherlands natio ...
as head coach and
Paul Mariner Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English football player and coach. A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley. He became a professional player in 1973 with Plymouth Argyle, where he scored ...
as technical director the following year. Both Winter and Mariner would later be fired by the club during a last place finish in the 2012 season.


United States

On 29 July 2011, Klinsmann was named the 35th head coach of the United States national team, replacing previous manager Bob Bradley, who had been fired following a 4–2 loss to
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
in the final of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The U.S. struggled in friendly games early in Klinsmann's tenure, losing four matches and drawing one before ending the 2011 season with a victory over
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
. On 29 February 2012, the U.S. national team recorded a historic 1–0 victory in a friendly match away against Italy, its first win against the four-time World Cup champions. On 15 August 2012, Klinsmann coached the U.S. to a historic 1–0 win against long time rivals Mexico in a friendly held at the Estadio Azteca, giving the U.S. its first victory in the stadium. In 2013, Klinsmann led the U.S. team into the final round of qualification for the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from ...
, beginning with a 2–1 loss at
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
before earning a point with a scoreless draw against Mexico in the Azteca. On 2 June 2013, the United States played their centennial celebratory game against Germany, where Klinsmann coached them to a 4–3 win over his native country. On 28 July, Klinsmann coached the U.S. team to their fifth CONCACAF Gold Cup title, defeating
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
1–0 in
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. On 10 September 2013, following a 2–0 win over Mexico, the United States secured qualification for the World Cup. On 12 December 2013, Klinsmann signed a new contract extension with the
United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...
(USSF), lasting until 2018.


2014 World Cup

Klinsmann surprised the U.S. football world in May 2014 by selecting five so-called "Jurgen Americans", players with American serviceman fathers and German mothers who had all been born and professionally trained in Germany, to the 23-men squad in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. His selection particularly received criticism when he cut all-time leading U.S. scorer
Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan is also the co-founder and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and serves as strategic advisor f ...
from the final roster for the 2014 World Cup following the team's preliminary training camp. Klinsmann described it as "the most difficult decision of iscoaching career" but that he sees other players "slightly ahead of onovan. Klinsmann faced further controversy after his son Jonathan posted a comment on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
ridiculing Donovan, causing some to speculate that the decision was influenced by personal animosity between Klinsmann and Donovan. On 16 June, Klinsmann guided the United States to a 2–1 win over
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
in their first match of the 2014 World Cup, behind an early strike from captain
Clint Dempsey Clinton Drew Dempsey (; born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward and midfielder. During his career, he played in the Premier League for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur and in Major League Soccer ...
and a dramatic 86th-minute header from substitute John Brooks. On 22 June, his side drew 2–2 against Portugal in the second group match. A defensive miscue early in the game led to an easy Portugal goal, but
Jermaine Jones Jermaine Junior Jones (born November 3, 1981) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in Germany to an American father and German mother, he came up through the German club system and represe ...
equalized with a strike from 30 yards out in the second half. Then, in the 81st minute, Dempsey scored to give the U.S. a 2–1 lead. The score remained 2–1 until the final seconds of stoppage time where
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
sent a cross that was headed past U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard by
Silvestre Varela Silvestre Manuel Gonçalves Varela (born 2 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for FC Porto B as a winger. He represented mainly Porto during his career, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 268 matches and 47 goals o ...
. On 26 June, the U.S. faced Germany. With possible elimination looming again as their round of 16 spot hung in the balance, the U.S. fell to the Germans, 1–0, but the hope of surviving the "
group of death A group of death in a multi-stage tournament is a group which is unusually competitive, because the number of strong competitors in the group is greater than the number of qualifying places available for the next phase of the tournament. Thus, ...
" remained alive in the Portugal–Ghana game in which Portugal defeated Ghana, 2–1, sending the U.S. to the round of 16. The U.S. drew
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
in the round of 16. After spending much of the match defending against Belgium's potent attack, with goalkeeper Tim Howard setting a World Cup finals record for saves in a match, the U.S. survived with a 0–0 score after 90 minutes, sending the match to extra time. After quickly falling behind 2–0 to Belgium in extra time, the U.S. cut the deficit in half in the 107th minute when substitute
Julian Green Julian Wesley Green (born June 6, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for 2. Bundesliga club Greuther Fürth. He holds both American and German citizenships. He began his profession ...
volleyed in a lobbed through ball from Michael Bradley, but were unable to score a second and were eliminated.


2018 World Cup cycle

Klinsmann led the U.S. to a 1–0 win over
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
to open the new 2018 World Cup cycle on 3 September, its first win over the Czechs. On 5 June 2015, Klinsmann guided the U.S. to a dramatic 4–3 win over the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in a friendly in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
and another friendly victory over Germany five days later. The U.S. under Klinsmann finished fourth in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup following losses to
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
in the semi-finals and
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
in the third place match, the team's worst performance in the tournament since 2000. In 2016, Klinsmann successfully advanced the U.S. through its first round of World Cup qualification out of a group containing
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
,
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The U.S. opened the final World Cup qualification round in November 2016 with a 2–1 home defeat to Mexico and a 4–0 away defeat to Costa Rica. Following the losses, which left the U.S. at the bottom of the qualification table, Klinsmann was fired by the USSF on 21 November 2016, being replaced by
LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began p ...
manager Bruce Arena, who had previously coached the team from 1998 to 2006. Ultimately, the U.S. failed to qualify for the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
.


Hertha BSC

On 27 November 2019, Klinsmann became the new manager of
Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charlo ...
, replacing
Ante Čović Ante Covic (born 13 June 1975) is an Australian former soccer goalkeeper. Covic is a member of the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and represented Australia on two occasions. Personal life Covic is of Croatian ...
. On 11 February 2020 he announced via Facebook that he would step down as coach after having been in this position for just ten weeks. Despite stating his intention of remaining part of the club's supervisory board, he was ultimately barred from doing so as Hertha's investor
Lars Windhorst Lars Windhorst (born November 22, 1976) is a German entrepreneur and co-founder of Sapinda Group. He is best known for being the owner of La Perla (clothing). In 2015, he was ranked in the Sunday Times Rich List, with his net worth reported as ...
publicly criticized his behavior, calling the manner of his departure "unacceptable".


Charity work and social engagements

In 1995, Klinsmann and some of his close friends founded the children charity foundation Agapedia, which stems from the Greek language and translates to "Love for Children". In 1997, Klinsmann, acting as the captain of the Germany national team, visited the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
memorial place
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
in Israel alongside his coach
Berti Vogts Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts (; born 30 December 1946) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga his whole professional club career and won the FIFA World Cup w ...
. This visit was televised around the globe and drew worldwide attention. Klinsmann is also a board member of the German Initiative Für die Zukunft lernen, which means "Learning for the future", and supports the education of young people about the Holocaust. In May 1999, Klinsmann donated all the proceeds from his farewell match (more than US$1 million) to different children's charity organizations. The match was a sell-out with 54,000 fans in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
's Mercedes-Benz Arena. Famous personalities such as
Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
,
Boris Becker Boris Franz Becker (, ; born 22 November 1967) is a German former world No. 1 tennis player. Becker was successful from the start of his career, winning the Wimbledon Championships at the age of 17. He ultimately won six Grand Slam singles tit ...
and many others contributed to this event.


Personal life

Klinsmann was born in Göppingen. His family moved to Stuttgart when he was a teenager. 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 Debbie Chin, an American former model, and lives in
Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, mak ...
. Klinsmann and his wife have two children,
Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...
and Laila. Son Jonathan, a goalkeeper, has been capped at age group level for the United States U-20 team. Aside from German, Klinsmann is fluent in English, Italian and French, and is a certified commercial helicopter pilot. He is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Klinsmann has also worked as a pundit, working with
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
for the
2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, and with
BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside f ...
at the 2018 World Cup and 2020 European Championship. He works on
ESPN FC ESPN FC (formerly ESPN SoccerNet) is a website and a U.S. television studio program covering soccer that is broadcast daily over the streaming service ESPN+. ESPN FC's origin was a website owned by ESPN Inc. Originally established in 1995 as S ...
as of 2021. He wrote the daily email newsletter from Qatar for
BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside f ...
during the World Cup 2022.


Controversial comments on the Iranian national football team

On 25 November 2022, following Iran's 2-0 victory over
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
in the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wor ...
, Klinsmann received backlash after his controversial comments made on BBC. Klinsmann claimed that the reason Iran won was because they used dirty tactics to manipulate Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar and that it was a part of Iranian football culture to play dirty. He then went on to claim that Head Coach Carlos Queiroz was a failure during his stint at Colombia and Egypt, stating "This is not by coincidence, this is all
one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
purposely ... This is just part of their culture." Carlos Queiroz responded inviting Klinsman to the Iran camp to show him what Iranian football culture truly is, and petitioned Fifa to remove him as a member of the Qatar 2022 Technical Study Group.


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Scores and results list West Germany's and Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Klinsmann goal''.


Managerial


Honours


Player

Inter Milan *
Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual association football, football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles ...
:
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
*
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
: 1990–91 Bayern Munich *
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...
: 1996–97 *UEFA Cup: 1995–96 West Germany and Germany *
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
:
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
*
UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
:
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
; runner-up:
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
*
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
: 1988 Bronze medal * U.S. Cup: 1993 Individual *
Goal of the Year (Germany) The Goal of the Year in Germany is, like the '' Goal of the Month'' ( Tor des Monats), the ''Goal of the Decade'' and ''Goal of the Century'', an individual football award selected by spectators of the ''Sportschau'' ( ARD German TV), among specta ...
: 1987 *List of Bundesliga top scorers, Bundesliga top scorer: 1987–88 *''Kicker (sports magazine), kicker''
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...
Team of the Season: 1987–88 *Footballer of the Year (Germany): 1988, 1994 *FIFA World Cup awards#All-Star Team, FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1990 *Premier League Player of the Month: 1994–95 FA Premier League#Monthly awards, August 1994 *Tottenham Hotspur F.C.#Club player of the year, Tottenham Hotspur Club Player of the Year: 1994 *FWA Footballer of the Year: 1994–95 (Tottenham Hotspur) *
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
PFA Team of the Year: 1994–95 *European Sports Media#ESM Team of the Year, ESM Team of the Year: 1994–95 *IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer: 1995 *Ballon d'Or (1956–2009), Ballon d'Or runner-up: 1995 *
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representati ...
Bronze award: 1995 *List of UEFA Cup and Europa League top scorers#Winners by seasons, UEFA Cup Top Scorer: 1995–96 *FIFA, FIFA XI: 1996, 1999 * FIFA 100


Manager

Germany *FIFA World Cup third place: 2006 FIFA World Cup, 2006 *FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2005 United States *CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, 2013 *CONCACAF Cup runner-up: 2015 CONCACAF Cup, 2015 Individual *German Football Manager of the Year: 2006 *CONCACAF Awards, CONCACAF Coach of the Year: 2013


Literature

* Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling: ''Strategen des Spiels – Die legendären Fußballtrainer'', Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2005, , S. 332ff. * Jens Mende: ''Jürgen Klinsmann – Wie wir Weltmeister werden'', Südwest-Verlag, München 2006, . * Michael Horeni: ''Klinsmann. Stürmer Trainer Weltmeister''. Scherz, Frankfurt/Main 2005, .


See also

* List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klinsmann, Jurgen 1964 births Living people People from Göppingen Sportspeople from Stuttgart (region) 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup managers 2006 FIFA World Cup managers AS Monaco FC players FC Bayern Munich managers FC Bayern Munich footballers Inter Milan players FIFA 100 FIFA Century Club FIFA World Cup-winning players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Bundesliga managers CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning managers Association football forwards Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Monaco Expatriate soccer players in the United States German expatriate footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Italy German expatriate sportspeople in Monaco German expatriate sportspeople in England German expatriate sportspeople in the United States German footballers German football managers Germany international footballers Germany national football team managers Germany under-21 international footballers Germany youth international footballers Kicker-Torjägerkanone Award winners Ligue 1 players Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Orange County Blue Star players Olympic bronze medalists for West Germany Olympic footballers of West Germany Sportspeople from Newport Beach, California Premier League players Serie A players Stuttgarter Kickers players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players U.C. Sampdoria players UEFA Euro 1988 players UEFA Euro 1992 players UEFA Euro 1996 players UEFA European Championship-winning players UEFA European Championship-winning captains United States men's national soccer team managers Hertha BSC managers USL League Two players VfB Stuttgart players West German footballers Olympic medalists in football German expatriate football managers 2014 FIFA World Cup managers Copa América Centenario managers Footballers from Baden-Württemberg UEFA Cup winning players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Naturalized citizens of the United States