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Last Updated: Oct 24th, 2006 - 17:24:11 |
FRANKFURT, Germany - Juergen Klinsmann walked away from the German national team on Wednesday, carrying a backpack with two soccer balls for his children and leaving trusted assistant Joachim Loew in charge.
"I feel burned out," Klinsmann said at a news conference while fighting back tears. "I have a great wish to be back with my family and my children and to get back into normal life."
Klinsmann dismissed reports that he had been approached to take over the U.S. national team.
"There is absolutely no interest on my side and no contact," he said.
The 41-year-old Klinsmann stepped down four days after leading Germany to a third-place finish at the World Cup, earning praise across the nation. He ignored calls to stay, from Chancellor Angela Merkel down to the ordinary fans.
Merkel said she was "very sad" to see him go. Franz Beckenbauer, who has won the World Cup with Germany as a player and coach, said Klinsmann should have taken more time to make a decision.
"Juergen would have perhaps come to a different conclusion then," said Beckenbauer, the most influential figure in German soccer.
Klinsmann, who won the 1990 World Cup title as player, was a novice coach when he was unexpectedly given one of the biggest jobs in soccer two years ago.
Klinsmann delegated much of the practical work and, in Loew, has left a hand-picked successor who is likely to keep the team's open, attacking and entertaining style.
"We are deeply convinced that we have established ourselves in the top of world soccer again. We have a young team that can only improve," Loew said.
The two met during a coaching course and Klinsmann hired Loew to be his assistant when he took the Germany job.
"He was never an assistant; he was a partner, who had his own areas of responsibility," Klinsmann said Wednesday.
Loew won the German Cup in 1997 as coach of Stuttgart and the Austrian championship in 2002 with FC Tirol Innsbruck. He has also coached in Turkey.
Loew's two-year deal runs through the 2008 European Championship, co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria.
"Our goal is to be European champion," said Loew, who was credited for designing the national team's game plans.
Klinsmann boldly promised that Germany would win its fourth World Cup title. Although he fell short of that goal, his young team captured the nation's imagination and swayed even its biggest critics.
Klinsmann dropped some veterans, brought in American fitness trainers, composed his staff of trusted, former teammates and, most importantly, changed the team's dour, safety-first style into fast-paced, attacking soccer.
His methods were met with skepticism and open criticism from many in the media and the soccer establishment. By the time the World Cup was over, Klinsmann had become a national hero, but he remained vague about extending his contract, which ended with the World Cup.
He didn't watch Sunday's final and went to a Black Forest resort for two days to think things over and consult with his American wife, Debbie.
"She told me it was my decision but I told her that I didn't have the energy," Klinsmann said. "My decision wouldn't have been different even if we had won the World Cup title."
Klinsmann never gave up his home in California, and his commute to Germany was a main source of friction between him and the soccer establishment.
With qualifying for the European Championship looming, Klinsmann would have been required to spend a lot more time in Germany.
"It would have been much more difficult," he said.
Michael Ballack, who became Germany's captain under Klinsmann, regretted his departure.
"It's a pity that Klinsmann is not continuing," Ballack said. "It was a lot of fun. I am pleased, though, that we now have a coach in Joachim Loew who knows the team and who will continue in the same style."
Klinsmann and German soccer federation officials didn't exclude some kind of future cooperation.
"He is leaving as a friend," said Theo Zwanziger, a DFB co-president. "He's not going away from the DFB, the link won't broken. We'll be staying in touch."
Klinsmann said he would remain in "close contact" with Loew and the players.
Loew's first game in charge will be the Aug. 16 friendly against Sweden, which Germany beat 2-0 in the second round of the World Cup.
Germany starts qualifying for the 2008 European Championship in September in a group that contains the Czech Republic, Ireland, Slovakia, Wales, Cyprus and San Marino.
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