Jurgen sees world of hope

SAO PAULO — There is more than a bit of Derek Jeter in Jurgen Klinsmann. It just seems sometimes as if he is one of those blessed individuals who can do no wrong, even when he does do wrong. He therefore views any dire circumstance as a mere, transient hurdle and an inevitable triumph.

It hasn’t always worked out that way for him. Klinsmann was dumped as manager from Bayern Munich, and his German national team was knocked out in the semifinals of a home World Cup in 2006. That inexplicably didn’t hurt his image one iota in Berlin. Even though Germany had reached the final in 2002, he was somehow feted as a great success by very demanding fans.

So now comes another one of these moments when a lot could go wrong, in what should be a very awkward situation. Klinsmann probably needs a win or a draw Thursday in Recife against his old team Germany, his former assistant Joachim Low, his former striker Miroslav Klose and his former staff members.

Instead of dreading such a meeting, however, Klinsmann appears sincerely buoyed by the opportunity.

“It’s something that doesn’t happen every year, or again in a lifetime,” Klinsmann said. “You try to enjoy the moment. I’m looking forward to seeing the players, the staff that is pretty much same as I left it. It’s going to be emotional, no doubt about it. But I’m going to enjoy it. I will give them big hugs before the game then leave it aside.”

It can’t be that simple. It also can’t be that easy to dismiss what happened in the final 39 seconds of that last match Sunday against Portugal in Manaus. The Americans were within a minute of advancing, of earning an afterlife from the Group of Death, when Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a perfect cross. Now they face Germany, which must play full out for fear of something very weird happening between Ghana and Portugal.

“They have enough potential to win the World Cup,” Klinsmann said, of the Germans. “(The standings) obviously gives it more tension, because both teams are not yet in knockout stage. We are very hungry. We are very ambitious. We were almost there. We have to do it now with this game. The results make it more interesting.”

Klinsmann won the World Cup in 1990 as a striker for West Germany under coach Berti Vogts, now his own assistant. Klinsmann’s active playing years were so long ago, most of the current German and American players have little or no memory of him. Jermaine Jones said Tuesday he only recalls that Klinsmann “ran around a lot.”

Now in order to succeed at this World Cup, Klinsmann needs to run past his old team, his former glory. Germany and its precursor, West Germany, have not been knocked out in the first round of this tournament since 1938, a remarkable history. The Americans are 3-6 head-to-head against the Germans, all of those results coming since 1993. The U.S. lost a one-sided 2-0 match at the 1998 World Cup, then dropped a much tighter 1-0 game in 2002 it might have won. Most recently, the Americans won a 4-3 friendly in June of 2013, in D.C.

“They have consistency in performing at the highest level,” Klinsmann said. “They have a very strong domestic league, if not the best, that develops lots of strong players. The national team is the locomotive running it.

“Expectations in Germany are very simple: You have to win it. Otherwise they’re disappointed. Second place and third place doesn’t mean much to the people.”

Somehow, though, Germany was happy enough with Klinsmann’s third-place finish in 2006. Because he is Klinsmann.

The coach insisted that Germany is “99% through” this group, because of goal differential. That is a slight exaggeration, although it is hard to imagine a scenario in which Ghana or Portugal wins its match by enough goals to oust the Germans, who stand at plus-four in goal differential. Regardless, Klinsmann once again vowed that neither team will play for a gentlemanly midfield draw that would get them both through.

“Their spirit is always going to the last second of the game,” Klinsmann said of Germany. “It’s something we have as well in the U.S.”

Spoken, again, like the eternal positivist.