Klinsmann still undecided over future
Jurgen Klinsmann admitted he was honoured after being told to stay on as Germany coach by one of his country’s football legends.
But the 51-year-old will take several days to consider his position and come to terms with what has happened after finishing third in the World Cup by beating Portugal 3-1 in Stuttgart.
Bastian Schweinsteiger bagged a brace for the host nation while his free-kick also tempted Petit to put through his own goal. Nuno Gomes headed in a late consolation for Portugal.
“What I have experienced this evening has topped all of that which has happened over the last few weeks and I thought it could not be topped,” Klinsmann said.
“We are all very proud and will now celebrate but I still need a few days to try and understand it all.”
Klinsmann revealed that 1990 World Cup-winning coach Franz Beckenbauer had told him to stay on as he handed him his bronze medal.
But he told ‘The Kaiser’: “We’ll see.”
FIFA president Sepp Blatter himself also appealed for Klinsmann to stay on.
“I would advise him to stay on, but the decision lies with him,” Blatter said.
“Today, in the second half, I witnessed the best game of this tournament.
“The football being played was so good, the players were explosive.”
Pictures of Klinsmann embracing German chancellor Angela Merkel earned a huge cheer from the 52,000 crowd in Stuttgart.
Klinsmann claimed that her support throughout the tournament had been a key factor in the team’s success.
“She was one of few that said leave him alone and let him work after we lost to Italy in Florence,” he said.
“She has popped in to see us and eaten with us a lot, and I just said thank you.”
Klinsmann admitted that the game had been difficult after missing out on a final place.
“Third place is not what any team wants to play for,” he added. “In the semi-finals, you want to be in the final and then we had to lift ourselves again, and we did, and so did Portugal,
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was disappointed after the defeat and claimed the game took some of the gloss off his team’s achievement of reaching the semi-finals.
He said: “The game just made things worse for those who lost and gave very little for winners.
“If you lose a game like this, you go back to your country with the image of defeat when it should be that we are one of the four best nations in the world.
“It’s difficult to explain. It’s a game which, in my opinion, should not take place. It won’t satisfy the dreams of a country and plays against the team that loses.
“Two teams played but tomorrow you will see a different game in the final. There is something at stake.”
