Jürgen Klinsmann
Centre-Forward · VfB Stuttgart · Germany
About Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann is the most celebrated German striker of the 1990s — a World Cup winner (1990), European Championship winner (1996), and the man who revived Tottenham Hotspur for a single magical season in 1994-95. Known for his theatrical diving that earned him the nickname "Diving Champion" in England, he responded to the criticism by satirically pretending to dive in his goal celebrations — and won the Football Writers' Player of the Year.
Jürgen Klinsmann's story
Göppingen's Striker
Klinsmann was born in Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg and joined VfB Stuttgart's youth system. He established himself as the best striker in Germany in the late 1980s before signing for Inter Milan in 1989. He won the UEFA Cup with Inter and established a reputation as one of the most mobile and technically complete strikers in Europe.
Tottenham 1994-95
Klinsmann's single season at Tottenham is one of the Premier League's most celebrated: 30 goals, the Football Writers' Player of the Year award, and a love affair with English football. He famously responded to English media criticism of his "diving" by creating a celebratory full-body dive whenever he scored — the most self-aware celebration in Premier League history.
Coaching Career
Klinsmann managed Germany to 3rd place at the 2006 World Cup on home soil — transforming a team of technical quality but low morale into an exciting, fast-pressing side that captured Germany's public imagination. He later managed the US national team, coaching them to the 2014 World Cup knockout round.
Did you know?
- 🤿 English media called him a diver. He responded by celebrating every goal with a theatrical full-body dive — the most self-aware and effective response to criticism in Premier League history.
- 🏆 He won both the World Cup (1990) and European Championship (1996) with Germany — one of only 11 Germans to have achieved the "double" of Europe's two biggest international trophies.
- 👨👩👧👦 Married Debbie Chin in 1995; they have two children: Laila and Jonathan. They settled in California, which became his base for management roles in Germany and the USA.
- 👔 He managed Germany to 3rd place at the 2006 World Cup — transforming the team's playing style and the country's relationship with its national team over a single summer.
- 📊 He scored 47 goals in 108 international appearances for Germany — the third-highest total at the time of his retirement, behind Müller and Klinsmann.
- 🌟 Alan Shearer said: "Jürgen Klinsmann was the best centre-forward I played against in the Premier League — he was quicker than I expected, sharper in the box, and absolutely fearless."
- 🏟️ He is the only foreign player to have won the Football Writers' Association Player of the Year award in his debut season in England — an achievement that speaks to the breadth of his impact at Spurs.
- 🇺🇸 He managed the US national team from 2011 to 2016, taking them to the 2014 World Cup round of 16 — their best performance since 2002.
- 🔄 He returned to Tottenham for a second spell in 1997 — making him one of the few players to complete a deliberate return to a club they had left, succeeding again in the same environment.
Honours
- FIFA World Cup: West Germany (1990)
- UEFA Euro: Germany (1996)
- UEFA Cup x2: Inter Milan (1991), Bayern Munich (1996)
- Football Writers' Player of the Year: 1995 — in his one Tottenham season
- German Footballer of the Year: 1994
See the full Jürgen Klinsmann profile
Stats, photo gallery, what the press are saying and the daily challenge, free on DailyPlayer.
Open the full profile