Bio:
Jürgen Klinsmann (born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. He played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He played for the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He was also part of the unified German team that won the UEFA Euro 1996.
Klinsmann managed the German national team to a third-place finish at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He subsequently coached a number of other teams. Notably, he was the coach of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the United States national team.
Klinsmann was considered one of Germany’s premier strikers during the 1990s. He scored in all six major international tournaments he participated in for Germany. These tournaments spanned from the UEFA Euro 1988 to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In 1995, he came in third in the FIFA World Player of the Year award. In March 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the “125 Greatest Living Footballers”. In 2016, he became the fifth player to be named as honorary captain of Germany.
Klinsmann moved to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League for the 1994–95 season. At first, the fans and media were very critical of the German because of his reputation as a diver. He was signed by Spurs in July 1994 from Monaco for £2 million. On his debut against Sheffield Wednesday, he scored the winning header. He immediately won over the fans with his goal celebration. He self-deprecatingly dived to the ground. A Guardian journalist initially expressed dislike with an article titled “Why I Hate Jürgen Klinsmann.” Two months later, the same journalist wrote another piece titled “Why I Love Jürgen Klinsmann.” Klinsmann went on to win the 1995 Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year.
Klinsmann quickly became extremely popular in England because of his humour, his athletic achievements, and his combative playing style. Over 150,000 of his shirts were sold. He now holds legendary status at Spurs and was inducted into Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
Klinsmann scored 21 goals in the 1994–95 season for Spurs. He tallied a total of 30 across all competitions. This tally included a late winner against Liverpool in the quarter-final of the FA Cup. He also scored in the semi-final. However, Spurs missed out on a place in the final by losing 4–1 to Everton.
Factfile:
- Full Name: Jurgen Klinsmann
- Position: Forward
- Date of Birth: 30.11.1964
- Birthplace: Goppingen
- Nation: Germany
- Caps: 108
- Goals: 47
- Club Career: Tottenham Hotspur
- Period: 1994-95, 1997-98
- League Games, 56
- League Goals, 29
- Previous Club: Monaco
- Transfer Fee: –
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