Jurgen Klinsmann Biography

Jürgen Klinsmann born in Göppingen, Germany on 30 July 1964, is a former German footballer and current manager. As a player, Klinsmann was part of the German national team, with which he won the World Cup in 1990 and the European Championship in 1996.

He was also one of the most important strikers of the 1990s, scoring goals in the six major international tournaments he played in during his career, starting with the European Championship in 1988 until the World Cup in 1998. He scored 11 goals in the World Cup and five in the European Championship.

As a coach, he guided the German national team to a third place in the 2006 World Cup. On July 12th of the same year, after two years, he officially announced his resignation as Germany's coach and was replaced by his assistant Joachim Löw. In July 2008, Klinsmann stepped up as manager of Bayern Munich when Ottmar Hitzfeld withdrew to take over the Swiss national team.

He was dismissed early from his new post on 27 April 2009, despite winning five of the previous seven matches and finishing just three points behind leaders VfL Wolfsburg. During the planned reforms on both sides of FC Bayern, serious differences of opinion arose between coach and management.

A little over two years later, in August 2011, Klinsmann returned to coaching, this time for the US national team, with which he was in charge at the 2014 World Cup.

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All You Need to Know About Jurgen Klinsmann Biography

He was twice voted Germany's Footballer of the Year and also England's Footballer of the Year in 1995. At club level, he played in Germany, Italy, France, England as well as in the United States. He won the UEFA Cup twice and a German championship.

Jurgen Klinsmann Information

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Jurgen Klinsmann nationality

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Jurgen Klinsmann Bio

• Full Name: Jürgen Klinsmann

• Nickname: German Tank

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Jurgen Klinsmann Physical Stats

• Weight: 73 Kg

• Height: 1.81 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Light Brown

Jurgen Klinsmann Football Information

• Position: Striker

• Jersey Number: 18

• Professional Debut: 1981

Jurgen Klinsmann Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 30 July 1964

• Birth Place: Göppingen, West Germany

• Zodiac Sign: Leo

• Nationality: German

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Jurgen Klinsmann Early Life

Jürgen Klinsmann was born in Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg, being one of four sons of Siegfried Klinsmann, a skilled baker from Brandenburg, and his spouse Martha. He started playing club football for TB Gingen in Gingen an der Fils when he was eight years old. 

He scored 16 goals in one game for his club six months later. When he was ten years old, Klinsmann transferred to SC Geislingen. His father bought a bakery in Stuttgart when he was 14 years old. Klinsmann, who had made a positive impression in the Württemberg youth team, was signed by the Stuttgarter Kickers at the age of 16, which would turn him into a full professional two seasons later.

By his parents' decision, he had previously completed vocational training in his father's bakery and received his apprenticeship diploma in 1982. He then did his basic military service with the German Armed Forces at the age of 18, while being part of a sports support group of the Bundeswehr as a sports soldier.

Jurgen Klinsmann Profile

Jurgen Klinsmann started his professional career with the

in 1981, when he was just 17 years old. At the time, he was the youngest professional in the country, although he was in the second year of his career, playing in Bundesliga 2. He proved to be a prolific striker, scoring 22 goals in three seasons in the 2.Bundesliga and 61 matches for the team.

VfB Stuttgart

In 1984, he joined the

team and played in the 1st Bundesliga. In the German football elite, he proved to be very effective in front of goal: he scored an average of one goal every two matches. In five seasons with VfB Stuttgart, he scored 79 goals in 156 matches. His talent was noticed by Franz Beckenbauer, coach of the German national team, who gave him his first caps in 1987. His talent also did not go unnoticed by the major European clubs.

Inter Milan

As the Bundesliga's top player and goalscorer in 1988, the international joined

and his fellow countrymen Andreas Brehme and Lothar Matthäus. At the time, the Calcio was the most famous European league, with the biggest football stars (Dutchmen Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard at AC Milan, Argentina's Diego Maradona at SSC Napoli). Combative and pugnacious, Klinsmann quickly adapted to the toughness of the

and never lost his efficiency as a striker.

However, the Germans at Inter Milan were unable to stem the supremacy of the Dutch at AC Milan in the league. Nevertheless, the two clubs of the city of Milan will shine on the European scene: AC Milan in the

, and Inter Milan by winning the UEFA Cup in 1991.

In 1990, together with his two Inter Milan team-mates, Brehme and Matthäus, Klinsmann competed in his second international competition (after Euro 1988) with the German national team. Together with Rudi Völler in the attack, he played all the matches against the Netherlands in the Round of 16 and scored three goals, one of which was against the Netherlands in the Round of 16.

In this match, he played against his rivals from Serie A: Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard. Although Klinsmann did not score in the match against the Netherlands in the Round of 16, it did not prevent West Germany from winning their third World Cup.

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AS Monaco

In 1992, Klinsmann ended a disappointing season (only 7 goals scored in the league) with Inter. However, he was highly sought-after by the French Division 1 clubs, which were then in the midst of their expansion. Paris-Saint-Germain was thinking of hiring him for a while but finally turned to George Weah. To replace the latter, the Monaco club chose

. His first season in France was a success and he scored 19 goals.

Moreover, AS Monaco finished only 2 points behind the league champions Marseille (who would later be relegated), and that year's winner of the Champions League. But the following year was far less glorious. While Klinsmann managed to score 10 times in the league, Monaco only finished ninth in the table, and only a good run in the Champions League (semi-finalist of the competition).

In the same year, he was once again named footballer of the year in Germany, notably for his performances in the 1994 Football World Cup (he scored five goals in five matches in the tournament) and despite the early elimination of the German national team.

Tottenham Hotspur

At the age of 30, he moved to England and

. There he was nicknamed “the king of diving" although he scored more often (20 goals) than diving. At the end of the season, he was named the best player in the

.

Bayern Munich

After only one season in England, Klinsi returned to Germany and signed for

. With the Bavarian team, he won the UEFA Cup in 1996 and, above all, the Bundesliga in 1997, a title he had never won before. At the age of 32, Klinsmann was captain of the Mannschaft, which was competing in Euro 96. He scored three times in the tournament and won the only trophy missing from his national team career at Wembley. Together with Jürgen Kohler, Thomas Hässler, Stefan Reuter, Andreas Möller and Andreas Köpke, Klinsmann was one of the last survivors of the 1990 World Cup winning team. In the same year, he was selected for the FIFA team.

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Sampdoria

After the 1997 German Bundesliga title, Klinsmann again tried his luck in the Calcio, with

. However, his age caught up with his decline and he was loaned out to Tottenham Hotspur. This did not prevent him from playing in his third World Cup.

Orange County Blue Star

After relocating to California, in 2003, at the age of 39, he returned to play football and the US Orange County Blue Stars to help the team qualify for the play-offs of the Premier Development League (the fourth American division). He played 8 matches and scored 5 goals.

German National Team

Klinsmann enjoyed a brilliant international career, making his debut for West Germany in 1987 and appearing in 108 international matches, in just a few years' time. Klinsmann scored 47 goals for West Germany/Germany in top-level international matches, sharing with Rudi Völler the all-time third place in the top scorers' ranking, second only to Gerd Müller with 68 goals and Miroslav Klose with the record of 71 for the national team.

He also participated in the Olympic Games in the summer of 1988, winning the bronze medal, in the European Championships in 1988, 1992 and 1996, reaching the final in 1992 and becoming champion in 1996. Klinsmann was the first player to score in three different UEFA European Championships, achieving this feat in all the participations he had with his national team.

Only three other players have ever managed to repeat this feat, namely Vladimir Smicer, Thierry Henry and Nuno Gomes. In 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo surpasses this record by scoring during 4 consecutive tournaments (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016).

He was also an important player of the Germany football team in the 1990 World Cup (where he scored three goals), in 1994 (where he scored five) and in 1998 (with three goals), winning the World Cup in 1990. In all history, he was the first player who managed to score at least three goals in each of three consecutive World Cups, being later overtaken by the Brazilian Ronaldo and then surpassed by Klose who scored in 4 consecutive World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014).

Currently, with his eleven goals, he is the third top scorer for Germany in the World Cup finals, behind Gerd Müller with fourteen goals and Miroslav Klose with sixteen. Stay tuned as we are going to continue exploring Jurgen Klinsmann biography and share info about his coaching career.

Coaching Career

In 2004, he was appointed head coach of the

and managed to take his team to third place at the 2006 World Cup held in Germany, where they were defeated by Italy (0-2) but won over Portugal (3-1). After the tournament, he stepped down from his post. Joachim Löw was elected as his successor.

On 12 January 2008, Bayern Munich management announced the appointment of the former striker as head coach for the 2008/2009 season. Klinsmann introduced a number of changes, including the use of American coaches, yoga sessions, and more.

But after disastrous results between March and April ( failing to win the

, elimination in the

and then in the Champions League) against FC Barcelona and a defeat (0-1) at home against Schalke 04, he was sacked on 27 April 2009, with some seeing his lack of experience as the cause of his failure.

On 29 July 2011, he was appointed head coach of the

, which he qualified for the 2014 World Cup. He left the US national team job in 2016.

appointed him head coach of the first team on 27 November 2019, when the club was ranked 15th in the Bundesliga. He resigned two and a half months later, feeling that he did not have the confidence of the board, which he criticised their management style.

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Style of Play

As one of the best strikers of his time, he was one of the most prolific forwards of the 1990s. Professionally a striker, Klinsmann possessed a lovely all-round style of play. Able to shoot with both feet, Klinsmann even often dropped deep to play the number 10 position when necessary.

Reception

Jurgen Klinsmann is widely regarded by many fans and pundits to be one of the best strikers of German football history. During his career, he has played football in four of the top European leagues in Germany, Italy, England and France, and he played perfect football in all of these top-tier leagues.

However, as a coach, there are mixed opinions about him. Philip Lahm, one of the legendary Bayern Munich players said about him: “The appointment of Klinsmann as head coach of Bayern Munich can be described as a failed attempt. In training, he paid attention exclusively to the physical preparation of the players, and there was no question of the tactical aspects. Already eight weeks after we started working together, we realized that with this coach, nothing would come of it.”

Goal Celebration

As a striker, Jurgen Klinsmann has scored many goals during his career. One of the goal celebrations we especially saw at later stages of his career was his diving celebration. His dramatic goal celebration after scoring the second goal of the match for Germany against Iran in the World Cup group stage match in Montpellier is also very famous and caused grudges in Iran.

Jurgen Klinsmann outside Football

Following his tenure as coach of Bayern Munich, Klinsmann was a studio commentator, along with other players such as Ruud Gullit, Steve McManaman and Alexi Lalas, as well as commentator Martin Tyler for English-language coverage of the 2010 World Cup for ESPN.

He also worked as a co-commentator for German television network RTL for 9 of the broadcast matches of the 2010 World Cup.

On 3 November 2010, he was appointed as a consultant to Toronto FC.

He is also involved in commemorative and reconciliation work on the Nazi regime, again primarily with young people at risk.

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Jurgen Klinsmann Personal Life

In this section of Jurgen Klinsmann biography, we want to take a deeper look into his personal life and share some information like

Jurgen Klinsmann life story

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Klinsmann finished his school education after transferring from the Geschwister-Scholl-Realschule in Süßen to the Schloss-Realschule in Stuttgart with the intermediate school certificate. Alongside his emerging football career, he completed an apprenticeship in his parents' bakery in Stuttgart's Botnang district. He is a Christian.

Family, Children and Relationships

He married Debbie Chin, a Sino-American model from San José, in 1995 and has lived with her since 1998 in a villa on Huntington Beach near Los Angeles in the State of California. The couple has a son and a daughter together.

Their son Jonathan was a football goalkeeper for Hertha BSC and Swiss first division club FC St. Gallen, among others, and has been playing for LA Galaxy since summer 2020.

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Philanthropy

In May 1999, Klinsmann contributed to numerous children's charity organisations all the profits from his goodbye match (more than US$1 million). The match was a sell-out at Stuttgart's Mercedes-Benz Arena with 54,000 people coming to the stadium. Popular celebrities also contributed to this event, including Bryan Adams, Boris Becker and several others.

In 1997, along with his mentor, Berti Vogts, Klinsmann, serving as captain of the German national team, toured the Holocaust memorial site of Yad Vashem in Israel. This visit was broadcast across the globe and gained attention worldwide.

Klinsmann is also a member of the board of the German organization Für die Zukunft lernen (For die Zukunft lernen), which implies 'Learning for the Future,' and promotes the Holocaust education of youngsters.

In 1995, the children's charity foundation Agapedia was established by Klinsmann and several of his near friends, which derives from the Greek language and translates to 'Love for Children.'

Legal Issues

Right now there are no records of any legal cases regarding Jurgen Klinsmann on the media.

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Jurgen Klinsmann Career Statistics

In this section of Jurgen Klinsmann biography, we want to take a look at some of his career stats, both as a player and manager. Stay tuned.

Club

Jurgen Klinsmann is amongst the footballers that retired from playing professional football too early. In a just 17 years old career between 1981 and 1998, he played a total of 620 matches in all competitions for Stuttgarter Kickers, VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Sampdoria.

He has scored his most club career goals for VfB Stuttgart which is 94 goals in 186 matches. He has also scored 27 European goals in 58 matches at club level.

International

From 1987 to 1990, Jurgen Klinsmann was one of the best strikers of West Germany, playing 26 matches for his country and scoring 7 goals. Between 1990 and 1998 he also played a total of 82 matches for Germany and scored 40 goals.

With 47 goals in 108 international matches for Germany, he is one of the best forwards of German football. His most prolific year as a Germany striker was 1994 when he managed to score 11 goals in 14 matches.

Managerial

All on all, Jurgen Klinsmann has managed Germany, Bayern Munich, United States and Hertha Berlin in 186 matches, of which he has won 103, drawn 36 and lost 47. His team has scored 365 goals in these matches and allowed 215. His win ratio is around 55 percent.

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Jurgen Klinsmann Honors

Jurgen Klinsmann has won not so many awards and titles in the club level, including

, UEFA Cup and Bundesliga with Inter and Bayern Munich.

At the international level, he has won

,

, and US Cup with Germany and won the 1988 Summer Olympic Games bronze medal.

As a manager, Klinsmann has won CONCACAF Gold Cup with the United States and finished third at 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2005 Confederations Cup with Germany.

Of his individual awards and titles, we can mention Goal of the Year (Germany), Bundesliga top scorer, Bundesliga Team of the Season, Footballer of the Year (Germany), FIFA World Cup All-Star Team, Tottenham Hotspur Club Player of the Year, IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer, FIFA World Player of the Year Bronze award, FIFA XI, FIFA 100, German Football Manager of the Year and CONCACAF Coach of the Year.

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