Germany's coach Juergen Klinsmann
(right) with the US team coach Bruce
Arena. Photograph: John MacDougall/
AFP/GettyIt has not been a good few weeks for Jürgen Klinsmann. But last night the embattled German trainer finally had something to celebrate after his team beat the USA 4-1 in a friendly in Dortmund, Germany's last big match before the World Cup, writes Luke Harding in Berlin.
This morning Bild - Germany's biggest-selling tabloid - called a temporary ceasefire in its campaign against Klinsmann, who has been the target of vicious criticism since Germany was trounced 1-4 by Italy earlier this month. "KLINSI jetzt darfst du GRINSI" (Klinsi, you can grin now), the paper wrote on its front page.
With less than 80 days to go until the World Cup, last night's victory goes some way towards reassuring nervous German football fans that their team is not heading for an embarrassing early exit from the tournament. Yesterday's game was the last major test for the German side before it plays Costa Rica on June 9 - the opening World Cup match.
Although it now looks as if Germany will progress beyond the group stage, there are still grave doubts about how Klinsi's team will perform against a decent, world class opponent. (This morning cynics pointed out that last night's German victory was against the USA's B-team. Many key American players were missing. Germany was also pretty rubbish in the first half. Things improved, however, in the second.)
Still, for the moment Grinsi Klinsi can breathe a sight of relief. Speaking after the match he also gave voice to some of the frustation that have been building in recent weeks, accusing his critics of "pessimism and negative aggression". Sections of the German media had treated him and his "20-21 year old players" "without respect", he complained, adding: "We are convinced that we will play a good tournament." He's probably right. Germany will have a good tournament, His critics, however, haven't gone away; they are, I suspect, merely having a rest.
