Jurgen Klinsmann will take over as coach of Bayern Munich next season, the club have confirmed.
The former Germany coach will take over for Ottmar Hitzfeld, who is set to step down from the post at the end of the campaign.
Klinsmann spent two successful years at Bayern during his illustrious playing career, helping them win the Uefa Cup and Bundesliga.
Klinsmann guided the German national team to third place at the 2006 World Cup before resigning immediately after the tournament. He has not held a coaching position since.
“Former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann will take over on 1st July, 2008,” said a statement on the club’s official website.
Klinsmann will end his exile in California to take charge at Bayern on a two-year contract starting next season.
“There aren’t many chances to coach at a club like Bayern Munich,” Klinsmann said at a news conference in Munich after flying in from the United States. “They are among the creme de la creme of world football.”
After spending close to €70 million on new players, they started the current season well only for their form to dip in the run up to Christmas.
Nonetheless, Bayern finished the first half of the season in first place but only lead Werder Bremen on goal difference.
“For me personally it’s a surprise,” said Joachim Loew, who took over as national team coach from Klinsmann.
“But after talking to him recently I did have the feeling he’d be back on a coaching bench soon,” Loew added in a statement released by the German Football Association (DFB). “He’s a real asset to German football.”
Klinsmann decided to step down immediately after the World Cup and returned home to California. He has not been directly involved in football since then.
“He was our dream candidate,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said at the news conference
