Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann has received backing from Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Klinsmann, under scrutiny since a 4-1 friendly defeat to Italy earlier this month, has also faced criticism for his decision to remain based in the United States instead of moving back to Germany.

“I am a Klinsmann fan,” Mourinho told Bild.

“I admire him for his courage. He’s got a strong personality. He believes in young talent and promotes players like (Robert) Huth, (Bastian) Schweinsteiger, (Lukas) Podolski and (Philipp) Lahm. And he doesn’t change his ideas just because he loses a game. That’s great.”

The Portuguese coach said he regularly spoke to Klinsmann over the phone, mainly to talk about Chelsea’s German defender Huth.

In the interview, Mourinho also spoke about his own future, saying: “I will definitely coach Portugal one day.”

“I could imagine coaching Bayern Munich but they should give me a year’s notice so I can learn German,” he said.

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