A Juergen Klinsmann fan-club of ex-critics

“I’m totally overwhelmed by all the compliments that are coming from so many different directions,” Klinsmann said after his team beat Portugal 3-1 in an action-packed third-place match on Saturday that carried his high-pace, attacking signature.

“I can’t put it into words. It can’t get any better than this. I need a few days to be able to understand all of this,” he said amid calls from across the country for him to stay on.

Even the deafening chants of 52,000 fans repeatedly chanting his name in Klinsmann’s home city of Stuttgart could persuade the Southerner to reveal if he will carry on or bow out.

“So much has crashed down upon our heads, on the team and the coaches,” said Klinsmann, 41. “We’d always warned everyone that the World Cup would be an avalanche, but we didn’t know it was going to be as massive an avalanche as this.

“Everywhere you look across Germany, in the towns and villages, the people are celebrating like never before,” he said.

–Erik Kirschbaum