Jürgen Klinsmann

Born: 1964

Professional Soccer Player and Coach

Jürgen Klinsmann was born in Göppingen in southern Germany. He is one of the best-known German soccer personalities. Klinsmann began his professional career at age 17 for the Stuttgarter Kickers, a second division club. In 1984 he joined the prestigious Stuttgart club VfB Stuttgart as a perennial first division member. He also played for Bayern München and foreign teams such as Internazionale Milan, AS Monaco, Tottenham Hotspurs and Sampdoria Genova.

After a successful career as a soccer player, he became manager of the German national team. Klinsmann is best known for being a member of the West German national team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and for managing the German national team to a third place finish at the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany.

Klinsmann was awarded the Football Writers' Association “Footballer of the Year” award in 1995. He retired from professional soccer after the 1998 World Cup. He did however go on to play under the pseudonym Jay Goppingen for the Orange County Blue Star in the American Premier Development League in 2003. Jay is referring to his first name Jürgen and Goppingen to the village where he was born. The then 39-year-old managed to get the team to the playoffs.

In the summer of 2004 Klinsmann returned to Germany as the new coach of the national team, beginning preparations for the 2006 World Cup. The team’s spirited performance during the World Cup contributed to the euphoria that swept Germany in the summer of 2006. Klinsmann was awarded Germany’s Federal Cross of Merit, one of the highest awards, for his success in coaching the national team. Today Klinsmann lives in Los Angeles with his family.

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