Jurgen Klinsmann
Background
Born July 30, 1964 in Goppingen, Germany, Jurgen Klinsmann, nicknamed the Golden Bomber, owing to his successful striking prowess during his playing days and his blond hair, has won many accolades for various clubs and his country both as player and manager.
Football Career
Jurgen Klinsmann fell in love with the game of football from the tender age of eight, playing any and every position he could. As a teenager, he was snapped up by second division club Stuttgarter Kickers at the age of 17 and three years later by first division VfB Stuttgart.
Other high-profile teams Jurgen Klinsmann has played for at home and overseas include: Bayern Munich, Internazionale and Sampdoria in Italy, AS Monaco in France, Tottenham Hotspur in England and the Orange County Blue Stars in the American Premier Development League during his latter playing years.
Jurgen Klinsmann was also known as a dive master, after winning several dubious penalties for apparently making a dive when anyone got near him in the box. Klinsmann first retired from playing professional football during his second stint at Tottenham Hotspurs in 1998 after the FIFA 1998 World Cup, although he did play for a season at the Orange County Blue Stars in 2002 / 2003.
International Career
Jurgen Klinsmann came on the national scene in 1987 for Germany and went on to amass a commendable 108 caps and 47 international goals. Among his finer moments, Klinsmann won bronze in the 1988 Summer Olympics, played in three Euro Championships and three World Cups; winning Euro 96 in England and FIFA World Cup 1990 in Italy.
Management and Coaching
After eventually retiring as a professional football player in 2003, Jurgen Klinsmann kicked off his commercial career and was vice-president of a US-based sports marketing consultancy, as well as being involved with Major League Soccer.
However, Jurgen Klinsmann would return to Germany as coach of the national team in 2004 and has tried to rekindle the German side in time for FIFA World Cup 2006 after a poor Euro 2004 performance in Portugal.
During the run up to the World Cup Germany 06, Jurgen Klinsmann has taken much flack from veteran footballer Franz Beckenbauer and the media in general for the poor performance of a deflated German side after losing 4:1 to Italy in a friendly and spending much of the run up to the World Cup at his home in California.
Clubs
1972 1974: TB Gingen
1974 1978: SC Geislingen an der Steige
1978 1984: Stuttgarter Kickers
1984 1989: VfB Stuttgart
1989 1992: Inter Milan
1992 1994: AS Monaco
1994 1995: Tottenham Hotspur
1995 1997: FC Bayern Munich
1997 1997: Sampdoria
1998 1998: Tottenham Hotspur
2003 2003: Orange County Blue Stars
Cups and Awards
Euro 96 - Winner
FIFA World Cup 1990 - Winner
UEFA Cup: 1992 (Inter Milan); 1996 (Bayern Munich)
DFB Ligapokal: 1997 (Bayern Munich)
Bundesliga Championship: 1997
German Footballer of the Year: 1988 / 1994
English Footballer of the Year: 1995
