Jurgen Klinsmann has admitted that he spoke to Daniel Levy about taking over as Tottenham head coach before the club decided to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo in the summer.
Tottenham’s managerial search in the summer went on for a record 72 days before the club eventually appointed Nuno.
The North London club reportedly spoke to a whole host of candidates and it now appears Klinsmann was one of them.
Klinsmann is revered by the Tottenham fan base, having spent two spells at the North London club as a player.
The former Germany manager admitted in the summer that he would be open to taking over as the club’s head coach as the Lilywhites still hold a special place in his heart.
He has now revealed he did hold talks regarding taking over at N17 but insisted that he understood the club’s decision to go down a different route.
Klinsmann told FourFourTwo: “They had different things, thoughts and people in mind already, and you just have to respect that.
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“But at least you have an initial talk – I had that talk with Daniel, he said they wanted to go a different way, and that was fine. I told him, ‘I have my fingers crossed for you’, like I always do anyway.
“Tottenham is always something you’d love to do, because it’s your club, you share so many emotional moments with them and you know lots of people who are still there.
“I’m still in touch with Gary Mabbutt and other people around the club, so who knows? Maybe one day. I would love to go back to management one day, with the right people at the right place, and hopefully at the right time.
“I work here in the US for ESPN every week and I follow everything in Europe, all the competitions.”
Klinsmann also spoke about the special connection he has with Spurs fans from his days as a player at White Hart Lane.
He added: “The way people welcomed me at White Hart Lane, I’ll never forget that, and all the experiences we shared together.
“That’s the beauty of sport – it connects you. I had such emotional experiences with the club and I’ll always carry them with me, no matter what.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Klinsmann will always be a Spurs legend but the time for him to return to the club as a manager has now probably passed.
The German has now been out of management for several years, and it would have been a huge risk to hand over the reins to him in the summer.
So, one can certainly understand why Levy and Paratici decided to go a different route.
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