Former United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann has been appointed to the supervisory board at Hertha Berlin, the club announced on Friday.
Klinsmann, 55, had been out of an official role in football ever since the United States Soccer Federation sacked the former Germany international striker in November 2016.
Linked with the Ecuador job last month, the former Germany head coach returns to Bundesliga football at capital club Hertha Berlin.
"I am delighted to be part of the most exciting football project in Europe," Klinsmann said in quotes on the club's official website. "Moreover, it's a club I am emotionally invested in."
Announcing himself as a footballer at southern club VfB Stuttgart in the 1980s, Klinsmann is an honorary member of Hertha Berlin, the club his late father Sigfried, who was raised in Eberswalde, near Berlin, rooted for. And Klinsmann's son Jonathan made his first steps in Europe as a Hertha goalkeeper between 2017 through to 2019 before leaving for Swiss side FC St. Gallen.
But Klinsmann's decision to return to the Bundesliga 10 years after getting sacked as Bayern Munich manager is not solely an emotional comeback, but rather one which is down to his relationship with investor Lars Windhorst.
Entrepeneur Windhorst, 42, in recent months with his Tennor Holding bought 49.9% of Hertha's shares for €225 million, with the club confirming his latest €99m injection on Friday.
A controversial investor, Windhorst rose to fame in the 1990s when Le Figaro dubbed him the "German Bill Gates," but he ran into financial difficulties the following decade. With offices in Berlin and London, Windhorst is now hoping to turn Hertha into a "big city club."
"I am delighted to have won over Jurgen Klinsmann as an advisor for Tennor. His appointment to the Hertha supervisory board underlines our sustainability and seriousness of our commitment for the club," Windhorst said in the official press release.
Klinsmann and Windhorst are expected at the Olympiastadion when Hertha Berlin host RB Leipzig on Saturday -- the day which marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Source: espn.co.uk