The reformed diver who became a genuine idol — World Cup winner in 1990 who reinvented his image with a spectacular self-deprecating goal celebration, then reinvented German football as a revolutionary national team manager.
Jürgen Klinsmann was born in Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany in 1964. He won the World Cup with West Germany in 1990. He became one of the Premier League's first foreign stars at Tottenham in 1994 — mocking his reputation for diving by performing an exaggerated dive celebration after his first goal. He returned for a second Spurs spell and was adored. He won the European Championship with Germany in 1996. He became Germany's national team manager in 2004 and transformed the team's style — reaching the World Cup semi-finals in 2006 on home soil, generating Sommermärchen (the summer fairy tale). He later managed the United States national team.
FIFA World Cup 1990 (Germany)
Career Honours
- FIFA World Cup 1990 (Germany)
- UEFA European Championship 1996 (Germany)
- UEFA Cup 1996 (Bayern Munich)
- Bundesliga (VfB Stuttgart)
- Ligue 1 (Monaco)
- Managed Germany to 3rd place World Cup 2006