sacré Jürgen... [en anglais]

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Mystery Man

If he looks like Klinsmann and plays like Klinsmann ... is it Klinsmann? By Mark Zeigler Staff Writer


July 23, 2003

The Orange County Blue Star plays in the Premier Development League, a U.S. amateur league that amounts to the third division behind Major League Soccer and the A-League. On its roster is a 38-year-old forward named Jay Goppingen.

You probably don't know the name, but you might recognize the player. Tall. Lanky. Blond. A feather touch on the ball. Efficient in his stride. Powerful in the air. Deadly around the goal. Looks an awful lot like German great Jürgen Klinsmann.

That's because, well, he is.

Klinsmann has been secretly playing for Orange County this year, appearing in eight of Blue Star's 18 games and recording five goals and three assists. Blue Star finished the regular season 14-4, tied for first place in the PDL's Southwest Division and is the favorite in the Western Conference playoffs this weekend in Spokane, Wash.

Of course, you're not supposed to know any of that. Blue Star and the PDL have gone to great lengths to hide Klinsmann's mere existence – listing him as Goppingen in official statistics and refusing interview requests about his participation.

Klinsmann could not be reached for comment. Blue Star players have been given explicit instructions not to talk about Klinsmann without the head coach's approval, and head coach Nick Theslof did not return several phone messages for this story. And judging by its meager home crowds at Sage Hill High and UC Irvine, Blue Star hasn't marketed its soccer legend to the soccer community.

The same goes for the PDL, which operates under the umbrella of the United Soccer Leagues. Contacted at his office yesterday, USL executive director and CEO Dave Askinas said: "Our official position is no comment."

Asked if he could confirm or deny that Klinsmann had played in PDL games this season, Askinas said: "No, I can't even do that."

The only apparent slip-up was by the Southern California Seahorses, a fellow PDL club based in La Habra. A June 4 game Web report recounting their 4-1 win over Orange County says "European star Jorgen (sic) Klinsmann" assisted on Blue Star's lone goal.

Official PDL statistics have Orange County's assist that night being credited to Jay Goppingen. And a quick Internet search of "Klinsmann" and "Goppingen" fetches this information: Jürgen Klinsmann was born July 30, 1964, in Goppingen, a German town about 25 miles east of Stuttgart.

Klinsmann, a member of Germany's 1990, '94 and '98 World Cup teams, retired from professional soccer five years ago and moved to Orange County with his California-born wife and son. He has steadfastly kept a low profile while working on various projects – a youth soccer academy, a sports management company, a spokesman for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, a co-ed soccer tournament for German exchange students. He also has served as a silent adviser to U.S. national coach Bruce Arena, watching game tapes and offering his critiques.

The itch to keep playing came when, as part of the requirements to obtain his German coaching license, he trained with the Los Angeles Galaxy for a month. The Galaxy begged him to make a pro comeback, but Klinsmann ultimately chose Blue Star more out of convenience (the club is based just minutes from his home) than competitiveness.

It's a nice, quaint story, except for two problems: According to the USL Web site, the PDL is designed for "top U.S. and Canadian players under 23 years of age" (although there are several players in their late 20s around the league). Also, because the league is pretending he doesn't exist, cash-strapped clubs like the San Diego Gauchos can't promote Klinsmann when he comes to town and draw a nice crowd that would help soak up the red ink.

Klinsmann has played twice against the Gauchos at Southwest High, including last Saturday's 3-1 Blue Star victory.

"He's forgotten more soccer than most people know," says Gauchos coach Bob Maruca, whose team went 3-15-1. "If I had him on our team, we probably would have won most of our games this season because he has that much poise and control on the field. He's amazing. The guy can still run. He still has great touch."

Gauchos goalkeeper Brandon Hearron didn't recognize Klinsmann the first time he played against him, noting that he appears thinner than his days with Stuttgart, Inter Milan, As Monaco, Tottenham and Bayern Munich.

He quickly recognized the game, though. In a 5-1 loss to Orange County last month, a cross sailed in that Hearron figured his defense would clear easily. Then a blond mop of hair dived in front of a defender and clinically headed the ball into the net.

"You see him on TV and see all he's done, and you expect him to be above this level of play," Hearron says. "But he's not. He's very nice . . . He carries the balls after the game. He hangs around and talks to his teammates. He's very humble that way."

That Jay Goppingen . . . one heck of a guy.
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Provient du message de Seiyar/Alucard
Et au final ? C'est lui ou c'est pas lui ?

Pas le courage de tout lire.
=> That's because, well, he is.

5ème ligne de l'article ....
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