Bayern Munich President Rips On Klinsmann's Coaching Style
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The president of soccer club Bayern Munich has dismissed Jurgen Klinsmann's time as coach of the German powerhouse as an expensive mistake.
Klinsmann, who took over as coach of the United States national team in July, coached Bayern from July 2008 to April 2009, when he was fired.
Bayern president Uli Hoeness told Thursday's edition of the Donaukurier newspaper that the club "bought computers for thousands of (dollars)" because Klinsmann used powerpoint presentations to explain game plans to the players.
Bayern's current coach, Jupp Heyncke
|s needs five color markers and a flip chart to do the same, Hoeness said.
"With Heynckes, we win games for ($17.26), while we spent a lot of money under Klinsmann and had little success," Hoeness said.
Under Heynckes, Bayern has been dominating the Bundesliga this season. It leads the standings by five points after nine games, and is also on top of its Champions League group.
Heynckes was appointed to take over in the summer after the club decided to part ways with Dutchman Louis van Gaal, whose coaching abilities Hoeness praised, if not his people skills.
"That he (Van Gaal) was a catastrophe in human relations is another story," Hoeness said. "As expert, he was top. That's why he wasn't a mistake. Klinsmann was."
In his first coaching job, without any club experience, Klinsmann led Germany to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup.
A former striker who helped West Germany win the 1990 World Cup, Klinsmann's playing career included a stint with Bayern. Since replacing Bob Bradley as U.S. coach in late July, the Americans are 1-3-1.
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