Former Tottenham player thought of as outsider for manager job

Why Klinsmann isn’t a frontrunner

He won the World Cup World Cup, UEFA Cup and Bundesliga as a player but has no major team honours to show from 17 years in management, though he did lead Germany to a third place finish at the 2006 World Cup.

No mainstream publication has yet come out and stated Tottenham’s full-fledged interest in the legendary German, but there are murmurs around the club placing him as a sleeper pick for the role. Those whispers, since Antonio Conte dropped out of contention, have turned into audible chinwags at the pub and office water cooler.

Even as the chitchat about Klinsmann’s possible return to Tottenham increases in frequency and fervour, there are reasons he’s still seen as a long shot.

Former Bayern captain Phillip Lahm wrote in his autobiography that Klinsmann’s coaching tenure at the club was a failure, citing a painful lack of tactical strategy. Lahm went as far as to say that players would meet before kickoff to discuss their own strategy.

Sounds more like pre-match banter before kickoff at a Sunday pickup game.

That slight on his tactical nous combined with a palpable lack of silverware as a manager has him placed way down Tottenham’s pecking order.

A bizarre stint at Hertha, a somewhat uninspiring tenure as USA manager and his barren trophy cabinet, considering the coinciding drought at Tottenham, will almost assuredly knock him out of contention for the role at Hotspur Way.

He is, however, beloved and venerated in north London. And he has buckets of experience at every level, including a storied, successful playing career.

So while it’s still farfetched to consider Klinsmann in the mix for Spurs’ job, stranger things happen all the time at the club, so maybe we shouldn’t completely write off the German legend yet.