Jürgen Klinsmann

Jürgen Klinsmann (born 30 July 1964) is a German soccer manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the United States national team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the unified German team that won the 1996 UEFA European Championship. One of Germany's premier strikers during the 1990s, he scored in all six major international tournaments he participated in, from Euro 1988 to 1998 World Cup.

2014

 * One minute? Where the fuck does one minute come from?
 * Belgium v. United States (1 July 2014), 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil


 * What Tim played tonight was just phenomenal, outstanding. He kept us in that game for a long time. We are proud to have him with us. It was an absolutely amazing match tonight and you can give him the biggest compliment in the world. It's a bummer for us ending on the losing side after a game of 120 minutes that gave everything to the fans, a real drama, a thriller. We had enough possession to equalize that game at the end, but a big compliment to Belgium and congratulations to them. I'm very proud of our team. Every player on the field made their country proud with this performance in this World Cup. All of the players just went beyond their capabilities and I told them they should take a lot of very positive stuff back home with them.
 * Post-game press conference (1 July 2014), 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil

2015

 * I don't need to say anything to them. Everybody can express his opinion, and not everyone likes you. That's totally fine. I'm not here to be liked. I'm trying to do a good job and I'm privileged to have that role and represent the U.S. soccer program. It's a privilege for me. I do my best, to my capabilities, and leave the judgment out there for you guys and for people who want to express themselves.
 * Press conference (10 October 2015)


 * What we didn't do well during the second half was simply to keep the ball. We ran a lot after; we won a lot of balls and we couldn't calm the game down. There was a struggle that really went through the second half. We should've done better.
 * Press conference (10 October 2015)


 * We have to sit together and discuss things, who we're counting on, how we want to build towards the next couple games, and there's not much time. That will be a lot of conversations coming up the next couple days.
 * Press conference (10 October 2015)

2016

 * Are you fucking blind? Are you fucking blind? Are you fucking blind?
 * Cuba v. United States (7 October 2016)

Quotes about Klinsmann

 * Klinsmann is a giggler.
 * Chris Ballard, "The Reflection, Future and Duality of Post-USMNT Jurgen Klinsmann" (16 May 2018), Sports Illustrated


 * International soccer is the ultimate in small samples. In many ways, the volume of results is even smaller than it is for college football. Few games truly matter, and for the United States, most of those that do are against smaller Caribbean or Central American countries. Meanwhile, friendlies can be interpreted with whatever spin you choose. Overreact to bad losses and ignore good wins? Go for it. Direct opposite? Have at it. You're somewhat correct either way. With such a small pool of results from which to choose, the decision to fire a coach is going to be based on either tiny samples or large waves of meaningless matches. No matter what criteria we choose, we'll probably be overreacting to something.
 * Bill Connelly, "The case for keeping Jurgen Klinsmann as USMNT manager" (23 July 2015), SBNation.


 * Considering Klinsmann's charge was to both create results and develop the player pool for the future, he's done fine. Not great, not amazing, but fine. He's come up with some nice wins, and he's introduced exciting, likable young players like DeAndre Yedlin and Gyasi Zardes to a larger audience. Losses like the one to Jamaica happen in this sport. The timing was horrifying, but it was still a match the U.S. wins more often than not.
 * Bill Connelly, "The case for keeping Jurgen Klinsmann as USMNT manager" (23 July 2015), SBNation.


 * When he was hired to basically hold two distinct, vital roles within U.S. Soccer, manager and technical director, Klinsmann set out to achieve a single goal. Create a program that can compete with the world's heavyweights. To date, this has resulted in both his brightest and darkest moments. The U.S. has seemingly played its best against the most relevant teams it has faced. Germany, Italy, Mexico, et cetera. But this approach has also revealed something pretty damning: he doesn't give a single crap about CONCACAF opponents. The loss to Jamaica further established that; while the U.S. was the better team for a majority the match, they seemed ill-prepared for the things Jamaica did the best.
 * Bill Connelly, "The case for keeping Jurgen Klinsmann as USMNT manager" (23 July 2015), SBNation.


 * When you hire Jurgen Klinsmann, you're hiring someone who is going to ask questions, pick at scabs, make as many behind-the-scenes changes as he is allowed to make and probably eventually get fired after he has alienated too many people. You're also signing up to probably be better off when he leaves than you were when he arrived. That's the way it worked for the German national team and, to some degree, for Bayern Munich, and that's the way it will probably be with the USMNT.
 * Bill Connelly, "The case for keeping Jurgen Klinsmann as USMNT manager" (23 July 2015), SBNation.


 * Despite setbacks, Klinsmann has to date managed to improve the USMNT's overall results while also installing a bright future. And if the future looks solid and the present doesn't look nearly as bad as we seem to want to think, there's really no need for a move yet. This marriage is going to end one day, and it probably won't be pretty, but it's not time just yet. There is a bit more water that needs stirring first.
 * Bill Connelly, "The case for keeping Jurgen Klinsmann as USMNT manager" (23 July 2015), SBNation.
 * I think he's saying there should be more than a minute.
 * Ian Darke, Belgium v. United States (1 July 2014)


 * Let's not quibble. For the good of the USMNT, the United States Soccer Federation needs to relieve Jurgen Klinsmann of his managerial duties. That's not a reaction purely based on Wednesday's dire performance against Jamaica, though that match should serve as the final nail in Klinsmann's coffin, so to speak. No, this has been building for quite awhile, thanks to a lot of mediocre results, frustrating losses and head-scratching decisions. He's supposed to be making the entire national team program better, but the senior side has stalled in their development, and it's made his position untenable. Too often, the USMNT look utterly unprepared for their opposition's tactics. Take the Jamaica match as an example. Everyone who's watched Jamaica play at this Gold Cup knew that they'd play tight, organized soccer, then try to win the ball back in midfield and launch lightning-fast counters, using their pace and athleticism to their advantage. They would concede possession and try to capitalize on the few turnovers the USMNT committed. And guess what? That's exactly how they played.
 * Conor Dowley, "The USMNT should fire Jurgen Klinsmann" (23 July 2015), SBNation.


 * The experiment with Klinsmann was a failure. We were only working on our fitness in training. He didn't care much for tactical stuff. It was up to the players to come together before a match and discuss how we were going to play. All the players knew after about eight weeks that it was not going to work out with Klinsmann. The remainder of that campaign was nothing but limiting the damage.
 * Philipp Lahm, The Subtle Difference: How to Become a Top Footballer (August 2011)


 * Jurgen Klinsmann isn't getting fired for losing to Mexico. He won't get fired before his contract expires, unless he fails to qualify for the World Cup. U.S. Soccer owes him millions of dollars and they don't want to pay him and another coach at the same time. That's fine. He's not any more or less successful than the last two USMNT coaches and he's done a solid job with his duties outside of being the senior head coach. But despite this, he makes USMNT fans really, really mad. So why do so many people want this seemingly adequate, if unspectacular coach to get fired? It's because of the absolutely absurd things that come out of his mouth. American soccer fans have listened to a steady stream of trash for four years, and they're really tired of it.
 * Kevin McCauley, "USMNT fans hate Jurgen Klinsmann because he won't stop lying" (11 October 2015), SBNation


 * The magical touch of Jürgen Klinsmann continues!
 * Taylor Twellman, United States v. Portugal (22 June 2014), 2014 FIFA World Cup