Stay-away Klinsmann under fire

BUNDESLIGA bosses are demanding a meeting with Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann, already under fire because he lives in California, because they claim he is persistently ignoring their opinion regarding call ups for national duty.

German Football League (DFL) president Werner Hackmann said yesterday they have requested an urgent meeting with Klinsmann.

This follows the failure to set up a meeting after Germany’s international friendly win against China in Hamburg midweek, as it did not suit some top flight coaches. “We’re trying to set up a meeting with Jurgen Klinsmann in ten days time when he’s back in Germany again,” said Hackmann.

Schalke 04 manager Rudi Assauer complained: “Someone absolutely has to talk with Jurgen Klinsmann. There are a lot of grumbles in the Bundesliga.”

Germany are hosting the World Cup finals next June, and some feel that Klinsmann’s insistence on living in California while working as the national coach is damaging their chances of success.