Jurgen Klinsmann is being heavily backed to become England’s next manager.
Klinsmann, 51, is the current U.S. national team coach but with England crashing out of EURO 2016 and manager Roy Hodgson resigning, they’re now managerless.
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Pundits such as Jamie Carragher in England have backed Klinsmann for the job, while Sky Sports is now reporting that Klinsmann is “intrigued” about possibly becoming the new England manager.
The bookmakers have slashed his odds and he is now the third favorite with Ladbrokes in the UK. It has to be said, Klinsmann’s name often comes up when jobs in England are available as just last week he was the favorite for the Southampton job with the bookies but that was wide of the mark. Yet, his name is always up there.
Since he took charge of the USMNT in 2011, Klinsmann has become perhaps the most polarizing figure in U.S. soccer history.
Opinion on his stewardship of the USMNT appears to almost be split down the middle when it comes to the fanbase and despite delivering a semifinal appearance at the Copa America Centenario this summer, there are still plenty of critics of Klinsmann on U.S. soil.
Let’s look at the facts: Klinsmann has a contract with U.S. Soccer both as the head coach of the men’s national team and its Technical Director until the summer of 2018.
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He resides in California and after being linked with plenty of club jobs in Europe in recent years, Klinsmann has simply brushed off the speculation and insists he’s happy trying to build and develop a successful setup from the youth teams up in the U.S.
If you were to ask me if I think Klinsmann will leave the U.S. to manage England, I would say no.
There’s no doubt that many of the qualities Klinsmann has as a coach and leader will be attractive to the English FA. As a figurehead with a top class assistant working alongside him, he’s very good at getting a plan together. With both Germany and the USMNT he’s brought through young talent, improved the professionalism of the setups with heavy backing from the associations and has exceeded expectations in major tournaments. You can’t deny that.
Sure, U.S. fans and even myself will tell you his tactics and team selections are sometimes bizarre and that he’s hit plenty of speed bumps along the way, yet Klinsmann always seems to remain focused on the job in hand and isn’t afraid to make big changes. He has ruthlessly cut aside players with both Germany and the U.S. and isn’t scared of putting his faith in youth. Given England’s massive underachievement at not only EURO 2016 but now for decades, Klinsmann won’t be afraid to activate a huge cull once again.
That is what the Three Lions need.
I’d be shocked if Klinsmann doesn’t remain in charge of the USMNT until after the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Unless he’s fired by U.S. Soccer, you get the sense he’s not going anywhere, especially for the poisoned chalice of the England job.
Yet, with a scattering of UK based journalists and pundits selecting him as their pick to take charge of an ailing England side, do they know something we don’t? Is there a PR push somewhere for Klinsmann to get this job?
For many Englishmen, they still shudder at the thought of a German coaching their national team. Yet, Klinsmann is beloved across most of England after his time spent with Tottenham Hotspur and his infamous celebration which turned him into a cult figure.
One thing is true: England could do a lot worse than hiring Klinsmann.