German legend Jürgen Klinsmann relived the memories of his FIFA World Cup™ triumph during an emotional visit to the FIFA Museum on the morning of Friday, 23 May. The ex-striker, a world champion in 1990, was treated to a personal tour of our exhibitions, with the World Cup Trophy naturally front and centre.

Given his remarkable personal history with the World Cup, the 60-year-old understandably relished reliving some of his crowning moments at the tournament. Asked about his favourite memory of the tournament, the former didn’t point out one of his goals or a specific game: “When you get the opportunity to win the biggest tournament in football, you look back at who you shared that moment in time with – your team-mates, your staff, the coaches. In 1990 all the fans from the just reunited Germany came down to Italy and we had pretty much home games everywhere. And when we won the trophy, it was party time for days. These are nice memories.”

When reunited with the trophy he won in 1990 Klinsmann couldn’t help feeling emotional: “Of course, there is a little pride and gratitude that you were able to experience something like that. On the other hand, there is also the clear awareness that this moment has changed your life – whether you want it to or not.”

After lifting the famous trophy again, Klinsmann – who has recently been sharing his insight and experiences with fans worldwide as part of our THE AWAY GAME discussion show – added a golden pin as well as his signature to the iconic Wall of Champions.

Klinsmann sits in the top ten of the all-time World Cup scoring charts with 11 goals across three editions, including having netted three times in West Germany’s run to glory at Italy 1990. His other highlights as an international include having won the UEFA EURO 1996 and a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics.

As a coach, meanwhile, he memorably guided Die Mannschaft to third place at the global showpiece on home soil in 2006. His team included future world champions Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski, Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Miroslav Klose, who would go on to become the competition’s leading goalscorer ever. Later, he also coached the USA, whom he steered to the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup.

At club level, Klinsmann notched over 280 goals across seven countries in his successful career. The German burst onto the scene with second-division Stuttgarter Kickers, before establishing himself in the top flight with Stuttgart. He subsequently enjoyed spells at Inter Milano, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Sampdoria, winning silverware – including two UEFA Cups – with Inter and Bayern. Klinsmann hung up his boots in California, where he now resides, with Orange County Blue Star, playing under the pseudonym Jay Göppingen, based on the name of the town where he grew up.