Jurgen Klinsmann: "Porto look strong contenders for the title" | OneFootball

Jurgen Klinsmann, a reference figure in German football, gave a lengthy interview to this Wednesday’s edition of the newspaper O Jogo, in which he anticipated a balanced clash between his Stuttgart (the club he played for between 1984 and 1989) and FC Porto, with a place in the Europa League quarter-finals at stake.

“I see that FC Porto is having a fantastic season, leading from the start, and they seem strong enough to win the title this season. These are compliments that say it all, but Stuttgart is full of ambition and eager for these matches, currently boasting several German national team players who want to go to the World Cup,” he said.

The former striker, known as the Golden Bomber, also highlighted Porto’s European history, recalling in particular the 1987 European Cup final and Rabah Madjer’s backheel goal, which helped turn the game around against the powerful Bayern Munich at the Praterstadion in Vienna.

“That match is in every fan’s memory, because of Rabah Madjer’s incredible goal. There’s no one who doesn’t remember that goal. It was a team full of stars, like Futre, João Pinto, and Jaime Magalhães, knowing that the latter two spent their entire careers at the club,” he added.

Asked about what sets Stuttgart apart, he pointed out: “It’s a club that easily attracts special players, with more than 100,000 fans and a sold-out stadium every time they play at home. I maintain a strong connection and a special relationship with former teammates, like Buchwald, who won the 1990 World Cup with me. He’s one of the club’s ambassadors, along with Hansi Muller and Sami Khedira.”

“I remember those goals against Benfica with a big smile, because it was against a football giant”

Born in Goppingen, Klinsmann began his career at Stuttgart, where he started to build a prolific path in goals and titles, later playing for clubs such as Internazionale, AS Monaco, Tottenham, Bayern Munich, Sampdoria, and OC Blue Star, the club where he retired in 2003.

“I grew up in Stuttgart dreaming of playing for this great club. Our main rival was always Bayern Munich, since we’re both cities in southern Germany. It’s a rivalry like that between FC Porto and Benfica. We had a very good team at the end of the 80s, and we played the UEFA Cup final in 1989 against Maradona’s Napoli. But, without a doubt, the matches against Bayern Munich were the most exciting, the ones all Stuttgart fans looked forward to all year,” he recalled.

However, he admitted that there are matches that left a deep mark on him, such as the one on November 21, 1995, when he scored four goals against Benfica:

“Obviously, scoring four goals in a European match is very special, and it was even more special because we managed to win that UEFA Cup final.”

“I set a record of 15 goals in that campaign. I remember those goals against Benfica with a big smile, because it was against a football giant. I was at my peak in 1996, and I won the European Championship with Germany, in England,” he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.