It's early morning at Jürgen Klinsmannbut he connects with joviality and even dares to laugh at each question.
Today, he lives in Seoul to coach the South Korean National Team with which he hopes to reach the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
It's like coming home. I also live in California, I really like the United States and I had constant contact with several Mexican fans.”
On the threshold of a third World Cup as a coach, Klinsmann recalled when he was the host in 2006 with a project that renewed the foundations of German soccer.
The matches will always be a football festival and all three countries will be fantastic. The important thing is that the locals do well so that they can justify the party because the possibility of leaving the cup is always latent."
In his World Cup, in 2006, he led Germany to the semifinals.
We played an opening match with unexpected goals against Costa Rica and then we won the following ones, the whole country came together and had fun, then sadly came the defeat against Italy.”
Mexico will be in charge of opening the 2026 World Cup at the Azteca Stadium and therefore, Klinsmann accepted that the important thing for it to be worthwhile is for it to do well.
Because it has happened like with South Africa or Qatar that the party is spoiled a little if it does not work well. The venue needs to do well because at the same time the country, the culture, the people are shown, all of that goes hand in hand and I wish the three nations do well.”
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Jürgen Klinsmann was born in Göppingen, in the Stuttgart region, being the son of a baker who continues in the same profession to this day, “I always joke that the best bread is in Göppingen.”
However, he was dazzled by life in USA where he went to coach the national team for five years. Today he sees a difference with Mexican soccer players, because he notices that many of them return to their country, while the Americans go to Europe.
“I am very happy that so many Americans took the leap into the ocean after my tenure, and are now on the verge of becoming a very successful national team.”
Remember that he always told the MLS leaders to allow the players to go to Europe.
Seeing them now makes me smile. And in the case of the Mexicans it is different, because there is interest in the Bundesliga for them, but they have to try to go out without fear, because that is the only way they will be seen, there is no other way, if they do not play in the European leagues no one will take them into account. account, they will not make the leap to excellence. There are constant scouts where they bring out the best players.”
He gave as an example the Chaquito Santiago Gimenez who neither the language nor the adversities of another country stopped him and is now known.
He also attacked the issue of the abolition of relegation in Mexico, "it is something strange, from my point of view I think that relegation can only help a league, fighting for a title should be equal to relegation."
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