Jurgen Klinsmann brings unique approach to US underdogs

By Andy Goldberg (dpa)

United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann has always done things his own way. Whether as a top goalscorer in Europe's leading leagues, or as a coach who re-invigorated a tired old German national team, the Klinsmann style is unmistakable in everything he does: fast, smart and filled with infectious energy.

"He's different, but good different," said United States midfielder DaMarcus Beasley in a recent interview "He's always full of life. He's always laughing. He's always smiling. He's very energetic."

Throughout his career, this son of a master baker has done things like no one else in the world of football.

As a player he was often unstoppable in a career that saw him lead the line at VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, AS Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Sampdoria.

One of the great goalscorers of his generation, Klinsmann's speed and skill always caught the eye. But he also worked harder than anyone else on the pitch, galloping again and again into space and making life miserable for even the best of defenders.

In one of his most famous appearances, he played as a lone striker against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup after his attacking partner had been sent off. In what Suddeutsche Zeitung called a "perfect performance," he scored the game's only goal and kept the entire Dutch defence busy the whole game. The Germany team went on to win the World Cup that year.

Klinsmann also won friends for his intelligence. When he moved from Germany to play at Inter Milan he earned the respect of locals by quickly learning Italian. Later, when he was transferred to Tottenham, he defused the hostility of British fans towards a German ace by scoring on his debut and then diving at their feet in celebration.

His decision to quit the life of a celebrated footballer for one of relative normality in southern California in 1998, with his American-born wife and their two children, further reinforced his unique approach to the game.

Even when he was surprisingly appointed to coach the German national team for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he insisted on keeping his home base in the United States and making the trans-Atlantic commute to work.

The team was at a nadir when he took over, and Klinsmann seized the opportunity to sweep out ageing players selected for reputation rather than form. He replaced them with a squad of youngsters, in whom he instilled a zestful brand of attacking football and science-based fitness and training regimes, together with high-tech tactical analysis.

The result was a team that galvanized the German people throughout the tournament, instilling in them a national pride that had been subdued since the horrors that Nazism had afflicted on the world. The team narrowly fell in the semi-finals to Italy but its victory in the third place play-off was greeted with a massive parade through the streets of Berlin.

Now his dream is to engineer a similar effect on the USA, a nation whose love affair with a game they call soccer is already growing fast. Aided by another former Germany manager and World Cup winner, Berti Vogts, Klinsmann has overseen a meticulous preparation regime for his players that included a two-week winter camp at the team's Brazil headquarters. A California boot camp just prior to the World Cup aims to make the United States the fittest team in Brazil, with a punishing training schedule of double sessions.

Klinsmann hopes this gives Team USA a key advantage in one of the World Cup's toughest groups, where the 13th-ranked team in world football will take on Ghana, Portugal and Germany in a bid to advance to the knock-out stages.

If that hurdle is overcome, anything is possible, Klinsmann believes. "We can surprise people in Brazil," says the US boss, who turns 50 soon after the World Cup, on July 30.

"Our expectation is to get out of the group. After that, we need to make the players understand it is all about mind games. Every game becomes 50-50 and will be won by the team who is better prepared and believes in themselves more."