Klinsmann new U.S.A. coach

Juergen Klinsmann is the new coach of the U.S. men’s national soccer team.

U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati nearly brokered a deal in late 2006 to hire German legend Juergen Klinsmann as coach of the U.S. men’s national team. He tried again last year and encountered similar obstacles.

New U.S. head coach

A day after firing Bob Bradley, the USSF announced Friday that Klinsmann had accepted an offer to oversee a program that had performed well the past four-plus years under Bradley but, in Gulati’s view, was incapable of reaching the next level without new blood.

The former standout player and coach for the German national team and giants Bayern Munich will be a familiar name to American fans and is to become the 35th coach in the history of the program.

As a player, Klinsmann won the 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Championships with West Germany and Germany respectively.

Following his retirement in 1998, Klinsmann took charge of the German national side in 2004 and led them to third place at the 2006 World Cup.

He later had a brief spell with Bayern Munich, taking them to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Klinsmann will be formally introduced Monday at a news conference in New York. His debut as coach will come Aug. 10, when the U.S. team faces archrival Mexico in an exhibition match in Philadelphia. Qualifying for the next 2014 World Cup in Brazil begins next year.

As a player, Klinsmann was one of the game’s premier forwards and enjoyed a 17-year career that included stints in four major European leagues for a number of clubs, including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, AS Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich. One of the most well-known international players of all-time, he earned 108 appearances for Germany and scored 47 goals while helping the team win the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy and the 1996 European Championship.

After retiring from professional soccer following the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Klinsmann moved into different areas of the sport. He also moved to the United States with his wife, Debbie, and they currently reside in California with their two children, Jonathan and Laila.

Tags: Bayern Munich, Bob Bradley, FIFA World Cup, Germany, Juergen Klinsmann, U.S.A.