Jurgen Klinsman: The Thrilling German Player turned Coach
Jurgen Klinsman, the former German national team striker, the Tottenham Hotspurs player, then German National coach and finally the coach of Bayern Munich, has an unbelievable resume attached to his name. He started playing football at the age of 8 and then
moved onto club football and impressed everyone with his skills. He has had immense success playing football at the club level as well at an international level helping Germany win the World Cup in 1990. After retiring from football, he moved to coaching with
his biggest stint coming as the German national coach as he led the team to a third place finish in the 2006 World Cup. It will be interesting to see what this talented former player turned coach will do next.
At the age of 8 Klinsman started to play football and apparently played every single position on the field to get a complete feel of the game. He was a very impressive footballer even in his early days, and started his professional career at the age of 17
at the Stuttgarter Kickers football club in Germany. After showing his brilliance at the second division club, he was snapped up by the much more prominent club VfB Stuttgart. He helped them reach the 1989 UEFA Cup final where they lost to Napoli led by the
brilliant Maradona. He also played at Monaco, Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspurs in the Premier League. His club level career was exceptional and he managed to score 227 goals in 506 appearances in total.
The German’s international career was just as good as his stretch at the club level. He achieved 108 caps in international football and made 47 goals during his career. He also helped Germany win the 1990 World Cup. He took part in the 1988 Olympic Games
and won a bronze medal. He also charged forward with Germany to the 1988, 1992 and 1996 European Championships reaching the finals in 1992 and winning the tournament in 1996. During his time with the German national team that competed in the World Cups of
1990, 1994 and 1998, his skills and goals helped the team win the 1990 tournament. He has scored goals in all three finals he played in and was the third highest goal scorer for the German team in the World Cup finals behind Gerd Muller and Miroslav Klose.
During his playing career, Klinsman had a reputation for diving; controversially going down without having been touched in a few key moments and winning penalties for his side. Before he arrived in Tottenham, he was universally hated by English fans because
of his record for diving. During the 1990 World Cup final, he had Argentinean player Pedro Monzon sent off and he won a penalty for Germany which looked suspiciously like a dive. Also before he signed with the English side, while playing for Monaco, he fell
to the ground and writhed around in pain after an alleged foul. Replays showed that the defender had not even touched Klinsman. He turned his image around at Tottenham when he scored his first goal; he dove to the ground during his celebrations and poked fun
at his own image. This one act instantly endeared him to English fans.
After retiring from playing the game, Klinsman has had mixed success with coaching. His most famous coaching job was when he led the German national team to a third place finish during the 2006 World Cup. His tactics and skills as a coach were widely praised
and he won over many critics with the team’s finish. He was widely expected to continue his coaching position but he suddenly quit the job citing difficulties in living away from his family that resides in America. His next coaching job was at Bayern Munich
where the team’s less than stellar performance led to him being fired without even finishing the whole season. It is not known where he will turn up next and what team will want him as its coach.
This enigmatic and exciting player was a very dominant force in the game of football. He was extremely popular and has proven to be a very strong coach as well. Footballers like Klinsman were rare in his day and he inspired a generation of new players in
the team that followed in his very skilled footsteps.
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