Even before leading the United States in a difficult first-round group at next year’s World Cup, Jurgen Klinsmann has been signed to stay on as the American coach for the 2018 World Cup.
The U.S. Soccer Federation said Thursday that Klinsmann has agreed to a four-year contract extension through 2018.
Klinsmann replaced Bob Bradley as the American national team coach in July 2011 and his new deal gives him the additional title of USSF technical director.
“One of the reasons we hired Jurgen as our head coach was to advance the program forward, and we’ve seen the initial stages of that happening on the field and also off the field in various areas,” USSF President Sunil Gulati said in a statement. “In the past two years he has built a strong foundation from the senior team down to the youth teams, and we want to continue to build upon that success.”
The U.S. is 27-10-7 under Klinsmann, qualified for its seventh straight World Cup and won this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean. The Americans set team records this year for wins (16), winning percentage (.761) and winning streak (12).
He said in April he hoped to stay on for another four-year cycle but also said the World Cup would be key and his term “depends on how the team presents itself, how they play, what really happens in the games.”
The U.S. was drawn last week into the most difficult first-round group for next June’s tournament in Brazil, where the Americans play Ghana, Portugal and Germany.
“I am very fortunate to continue the work we started more than two and half years ago,” Klinsmann said in a statement. “The role of technical director is a huge challenge and also a huge opportunity as we look to keep connecting the dots to the youth national teams, coaching education, the development academy and the grassroots efforts in this country.”
After winning the 1990 World Cup with West Germany and the 1996 European Championship with Germany, Klinsmann retired as a player in 1998 and moved to Orange County, Calif.
Now 49, Klinsmann coached Germany to a 20-8-6 record from 2004-06, leading the team to a third-place finish at home in the 2006 World Cup and then quitting. He coached Bayern Munich from July 2008 until he was fired the following April.
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