Jurgen Klinsmann is not completely foreign to managerial duties in the world of European club football, per ESPN FC.
After spending two years as Germany’s boss, during which he nearly made it to the 2006 World Cup finals, Klinsmann divulged his hope to stay with family in America, and thus, the United States national team job seemed more plausible to the former striker.
Now, rumors have linked the ex-Bayern Munich star away from home to Premier League bottom-dweller Aston Villa, where Paul Lambert was sacked following his 2-0 loss to Hull City on Tuesday.
[RELATED: Lambert done at Villa]
“When I came on board, the club’s owner, Randy Lerner, warned me that I was embarking on the toughest challenge of my working life, and he was not wrong,” Lambert said.
One would guess, based on Klinsmann’s current durable standing with the United States, that he will not head overseas to take on even more responsibility.
Plus, Klinsmann is not merely controlling a squad’s play in the U.S.; he is helping build the quality and future of the sport in the States, a purpose both he and U.S. soccer president Sunil Gulati find very pivotal.
[RELATED: Klinsmann to Villa?]
Since Lerner likely knows of this idea, Klinsmann was not the realistic first-choice candidate. The prior Daily Mail article states that Sherwood was the initial person to receive contact from the Lions, and then Klinsmann came into play. American owner Randy Lerner has enjoyed the 50-year-old’s progress with the home country’s national side.
Across the pond, Klinsmann has experience playing in England--notably for Tottenham Hotspur from 1994-1995--and he would know how to approach the Villa job in terms of staving off relegation.
At this point, since the Jurgen is certainly written off, Sherwood may prove to be the next logical answer, despite his brief coaching stint and firing at White Hart Lane.
Giving Sherwood another crack at coaching success could pay off in the end, depending on his strength of character and ability to spur the listless side to life.