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http://www.smh.com.au/news/footb ... /1169919584238.html
We want Klinsmann: Socceroos chasing German legend
Matthew Hall
February 4, 2007
Page 1 of 2 | Single page
German legend, Jurgen Klinsmann.
German legend, Jurgen Klinsmann.
Photo: Reuters
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GERMANY'S World Cup coach Jurgen Klinsmann has been approached to coach the Socceroos.
Klinsmann, who led host nation Germany to third place at the tournament last year, met Peter Lowy, son of Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy, for lunch in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Top of the menu was the Socceroos' 2010 World Cup campaign.
"Real estate was one subject they discussed but coaching opportunities with Australia were tossed around," said an observer at the Toscana restaurant at Brentwood, where the meeting was held.
"The meeting was definitely business and not at all a social call."
Football Federation Australia officials yesterday declined to confirm that the meeting had taken place and Klinsmann could not be contacted for comment.
But the German is known to favour coaching international football over taking on the day-to-day grind of club duties.
"I'm preparing myself for something new that might come along," he said last week.
"It could happen in a month or two, or a year or two.
"You have to be open to a lot of things. There is not an endlessly long list of job options at this level. The air is pretty thin up there.
"And if it's the right fit with the family and the right challenge, you go to the country where you might have once never thought you'd go."
Peter Lowy runs the US arm of his family's Westfield Group, and it's known he unofficially conducts FFA business when he can.
Klinsmann has lived in California with his wife and children since he retired from playing in 1998.
The former Germany coach was in discussions with the US Soccer Federation last year about coaching its national team but ended talks in December when it became clear he wouldn't have control of team matters.
Frank Lowy has told coach Graham Arnold he has the reins at the Socceroos until after the Asian Cup in July, but his future beyond that tournament is unclear even if Australia win the competition.
The schedule makes Klinsmann a good fit for Australia's timetable. The FFA wants a full-time replacement for Guus Hiddink to take charge of the team before the 2010 World Cup qualifiers kick off next year.
Klinsmann, 42, continued to live near Los Angeles during his tenure with the German national team.
He was criticised in Germany before the World Cup for watching Bundesliga matches on television rather than attending games, and for holding meetings by teleconference.
He ensured potential national team players had email access and even held computer classes for his squad so they could use it.
A former player with Monaco, Bayern Munich and Tottenham in the 1990s, Klinsmann eventually won massive public support in Germany after selecting a young squad that played attractive football at the World Cup.
He took the bold step of dropping former captain Oliver Kahn in favour of in-form Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann. Germany ultimately finished third, knocked out in the semi-finals after losing 2-0 to Italy in extra time.
Under any deal with Australia, Klinsmann would continue to live in the US. Time zones would be sympathetic to the tech-savvy German, allowing him to deal with business in Europe in the morning and check in with Australia in the afternoon.
Lowy's meeting with Klinsmann signals FFA's continuing intent to lure a top-level coach to lead the Socceroos to 2010 in South Africa.
A Hiddink return is possible. However, it is more likely a European club will lure him with big money when his contract with Russia expires after the European Championships.
Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, now coaching Poland after leading Trinidad and Tobago at the World Cup, remains on the FFA's radar. |
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