Jürgen Klinsmann
German striker who won the 1990 World Cup with West Germany and the UEFA Cup with Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.
Jürgen Klinsmann (German pronunciation: [ˈjʏʁɡn̩ ˈkliːnsman]; 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 was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the unified German team that won the UEFA Euro 1996. As a manager, Klinsmann managed the German national team to a third-place finish at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was subsequently coach of a number of other teams including Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the United States national team.
- Role
- Head Coach
- Affiliation
- FC Bayern München (Player & Manager)
- Style
- Attacking Football
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Considered one of Germany's premier strikers during the 1990s, Klinsmann scored in all six major international tournaments he participated in for Germany, from 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.
In Their Own Story
The narrative of Klinsmann's career is filled with specific moments that defined eras. In 1987–88, he scored a legendary overhead kick against Bayern Munich while playing for Stuttgart to claim the Bundesliga top scorer title. Later, after moving to Inter Milan in 1988 alongside Lothar Matthäus and Andreas Brehme, he won the UEFA Cup with a 2–1 aggregate victory over Roma. His move to England in 1994 initially met with criticism regarding his reputation as a diver, but his debut against Sheffield Wednesday saw him score a winning header followed by an ironic dive celebration that instantly endeared him to fans. He scored 20 goals in the Premier League that season, including a late winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final, before returning to Bayern Munich to win the UEFA Cup and Bundesliga.
Reader's Guide
During the 1990–91 season, Klinsmann won the UEFA Cup with Inter Milan (2–1 on aggregate against Roma) and repeated his previous performance in the league with 14 goals. He also won the 1995–96 UEFA Cup with Bayern Munich, setting a new goalscoring record of 15 goals in 12 matches during the competition (a record that stood until 2011). A year later, he also became German champion as he won the Bundesliga.
Did You Know?
- Klinsmann scored 16 goals in a single match at age eight for TB Gingen.
- He completed an apprenticeship as a baker in 1982.
- He was named German Footballer of the Year in 1988.
- He won the 1995 Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year while at Tottenham Hotspur.
- He scored a legendary overhead kick against Bayern Munich while at VfB Stuttgart.
More in Club History & Eras
Related in Bayern Munich
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Elsewhere in the Bayern Munich universe
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