Former Tottenham Striker Klinsmaan in Talks with England FA
News has circulated that Jürgen Klinsmann, an England and Tottenham fan favorite, could be next in line to become the Three Lions’ new manager.
With England manager-less following Roy Hodgson’s resignation after a 2-1 loss to Iceland, former Tottenham striker and current U.S. Men’s National Team coach, Jürgen Klinsmaan, is reportedly in discussions with the England FA for the vacant job.
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Current Germany general manager, Oliver Bierhoff, spoke briefly about England’s managerial job and how he feels that Jürgen Klinsmaan, who is apparently in discussions with the Football Association, would be a good fit for the Three Lions.
Whether these talks are serious or not — Klinsmann is still under contract with the USMNT until the 2018 World Cup in Russia — it’s difficult to picture the 51-year-old coach switching jobs with two years left until the tournament begins.
That, and two months until World Cup qualifiers resumes this September.
According to the Guardian, the FA’s checklist for their next manager has been met by the former Tottenham striker.
"“Klinsmann, who last month steered the United States to a best-ever fourth-place finish at the Copa América, would fulfil the criteria stipulated by the FA,” Dominic Fifield wrote.“He is a World Cup and European Championship winner who has experienced the Premier League as a player with Tottenham Hotspur, speaks excellent English and has enjoyed a fruitful career in international management with USA and Germany.”"
Based on the amount of experience that Jürgen Klinsmann has accumulated at both the club and international levels, he would be a good fit for England if he decides to join.
"“He would be a good fit,” Bierhoff said.“We started in 2004 together and he’s not always, how can I say, nice to handle because he wants to change [things]. But he brings motivation.”“He has the courage to make difficult decisions and, perhaps, you need something like this.”"
Change is definitely something that Klinsmaan brought to the USMNT and the U.S. Soccer Federation as the technical director since his arrival in 2011. This comes on the heels of his time spent with the German national team back in 2006, which trickled down into the Bundesliga.
"“Perhaps most significantly he played his part in reforming the Germany national team set-up a little over a decade ago, bringing in Bierhoff as general manager in 2004 and helping to kickstart a revolution based on discarding the old guard and the promotion of youth,” Dominic Fifield wrote.“Germany have since featured in the semi-finals at six consecutive major tournaments, winning the 2014 World Cup.”"
Here’s Oliver Bierhoff adding more to the changes that Klinsmaan brought to the German national team. Which has continued to this day.
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"“It’s not like putting a hand on the shoulder and everything happens,” Bierhoff added.“A lot of things need to come together. When we failed at Euro 2000 we invested a lot in the infrastructure and the education of young players and coaches, so now we have a lot of talented players and the Bundesliga is investing in young players.”“Perhaps it is an advantage that good players go to England and other countries, so our clubs have to bring other players through. But since the arrival of Jürgen Klinsmann – who I think is in discussions with England – we have also given the national team a certain pride, atmosphere and organisation.”“The success of the story is the high quality but also the good organisation and good atmosphere we have in the group.”"
That infrastructure isn’t the same in America at the moment and it’s a long way away, until it reaches other countries’ levels who have been playing football for almost a century or more.
This has sparked controversy between Jürgen Klinsmann and the USSF president, Sunil Gulati, who don’t see eye-to-eye with where soccer in the United States should go moving forward. Both at the club and international levels.
"“It’s a bigger puzzle in the United States than in other countries and it’s not perfect yet,” Klinsmann said in an interview with CNN on Thursday. “We don’t have a system in place like France or Germany or even South American countries.“If you look at the FA in England, it’s more than 100 years old and they already have their infrastructure, scouting, coaches’ education, national training centre, and the pyramid is connected.”“There’s relatively little infrastructure work to do in England. Here in the United States building that infrastructure is still important.”"
Despite a tumultuous tenure for Klinsmann filled with plenty of highs and lows, he has managed to do one thing that not many people could argue with.
And that’s take a U.S. squad bereft of talent in the starting XI and bench and overachieving in the 2014 World Cup and Copa América Centenario.
That seems like very little to most people because USA aren’t winning trophies, but it’s to be expected with a country who is still embracing the culture of soccer.
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Should Jürgen Klinsmaan be unveiled as England’s newest manager, it would be a homecoming for the former Tottenham player who spent only one year in the Premier League but made a quick impact in the 1994-95 season. Scoring 21 league goals and 30 in all competitions.
With the talent that England’s squad boasts, Klinsmann should — on paper — do very well from the onset if he takes the job over the USMNT.