Friday, July 29, 2011

Third Time's The Charm For US Soccer -- Klinsmann Named New Men's Head Coach

After failing to reach a deal to have him become the head coach of the US Men's National Team after their performances at the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup, US Soccer finally has the man they've wanted to take over the job Bob Bradley was relieved of Thursday, naming German-born Jurgen Klinsmann as the team's first foreign head coach since Bora Milutinovic was released in 1995 and their 35th overall head coach Friday.

Klinsmann will meet the media for the first time at a news conference Monday in New York and will coach the team for the first time August 10 when they face Mexico at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

He most recently has served as a consultant for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and worked on ESPN's broadcasts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Klinsmann, born in Goppengen, Germany, began as a player in 1981 with the Stuttgarter Kickers in his home country, but also would play for other German teams (VfB Stuttgart, Bayern Munich), as well as teams in Italy (Inter Milan, Sampdoria), France (Monaco) and England (Tottenham Hotspur).

He led teams on the field to UEFA Cup titles in 1991 and 1996 and led Bayern to the 1996-97 Bundesliga championship.

Klinsmann scored 47 goals in 108 appearances for the German men's national team, leading them to the 1990 World Cup title, where he scored three goals during the tournament, and to a 1996 European Championships title.

He was named West German Footballer of the Year in 1994, German Footballer of the Year in 1998 and England's FWA Footballer of the Year in 1995.

Klinsmann went into coaching after his playing days ended, leading Germany to a 20-8-6 record over two seasons, including a third place finish in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, for a team that had failed to win a game at the 2004 European Championships.

In 2008, Klinsmann became head coach at Bayern Munich, but left the team with five games left to play in the Bundesliga season after the then-defending league champion was in third place. They would wind up being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League by Barcelona.

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