interview
The former coach of the German and US national teams Jürgen Klinsmann (61) has lived in the USA for decades. In the run-up to the World Cup, he met Ingo Zamperoni, whom he has known for a long time, for the ARD documentary “Playfield of Power. The World Cup in Trump’s America”. In the interview, Klinsmann makes it clear that he doesn’t think much of athletes expressing political opinions. A representative Sportschau survey shows that the majority of Germans agree with him. According to the survey, young people, on the other hand, are mostly in favor of athletes expressing their opinions.
Ingo Zamperoni: The Football World Cup is coming up – in your second home. How is your anticipation?
Jürgen Klinsmann: The anticipation is really great. It’s really special to have a World Cup like this in the country where you’ve lived for almost 30 years. Soccer in the USA has continued to grow and made huge strides. I think it makes people here proud to host a World Cup together with Mexico and Canada.
Zamperoni: Does the World Cup have a chance of breaking through in this sports-crazy country where so many sports compete for attention?
Klinsman: Yes, you already notice it. It is a country of immigrants, a melting pot. Millions of people are interested in football. Football has been big for a long time. You can play here until you’re 70 or 80 if you feel like it. Of course, many immigrants are excited about their country of origin and I am excited about Germany.
Zamperoni: Are you worried that this World Cup will be overshadowed by politics and the Trump administration?
Klinsman: Yes, we fear that and still hope that politics will stay out of sport during the tournament. Any messages that have nothing to do with the World Cup itself are absolutely out of place.
Zamperoni: As a coach of the US national team, you have personally experienced how football and politics collide. What exactly happened there?
Klinsman: When Trump came into the Oval Office for the first time, we had two international matches against Mexico and against Costa Rica shortly afterwards. They were then full of aggression and anger. We both played games and we coaches then lost our jobs after almost six years.
Zamperoni: At that time, a disrespectful statement by Trump against Mexico was the stumbling block. And that was directly transferred to the game?
Klinsman: Yes, he said back then that he wanted to build a wall. The game a few days later was one big battle. It wasn’t a football game. And we lost in the last minute and the Mexicans celebrated with satisfaction. And so the emotions spill over from society and then also to football. And I really hope that won’t happen at this World Cup.
Zamperoni: There are also big question marks as to whether you can even get into the country and how safe you will be in the USA. How will this affect this World Cup?
Klinsman: I hope with all my heart that entry will be unproblematic for fans from all over the world. That they feel confident that they will have incredible joy and fun. I really hope that they all come and see for themselves.
Zamperoni: How do you view the performance of the German national team at the past tournaments in Qatar and Russia?
Klinsman: What happened in Germany towards Qatar was an absolute impudence and an impudence towards Qatar. I found it disastrous to force the team to take a team photo with their hand over their mouth. From a German perspective, you can no longer repair what was broken in Qatar. And you can no longer correct Russia either. The bad things were said before the World Cup even started. I was there the whole time in the countries at both World Cups and it was fantastic.
Notice
In the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, there was a public discussion in Germany due to the human rights situation in the country. The German national team made headlines with their protest at the World Cup. During the official team photo before the first game against Japan, the players demonstratively held their hands over their mouths. They reacted to FIFA’s ban on the so-called “One Love” captain’s armband. The armband should set an example for diversity, human rights and against discrimination. The German players’ gesture was intended to symbolize that they were “forbidden to speak” and that criticism of the conditions in the host country Qatar was suppressed.
Zamperoni: The human rights issue, especially in Qatar, was not invented. And in the USA we are also talking about things that a few years ago one would not have thought would become an issue in relation to the USA. Isn’t this also a stage that athletes can use?
Klinsman: The football players, the football teams that travel to a tournament have the job of playing football successfully and making their home country happy through their game and nothing else.
Zamperoni: So is it asking too much of athletes to position themselves?
Klinsman: Everyone can position themselves however they want. Everyone can say and do whatever they want. But you can do that before or after the tournament, but not during the tournament. That is my opinion. The task as an athlete is to come to America with the German national soccer team, win the tournament and not send any political messages. In retrospect, it’s also the case that no one cares anymore. All that matters is that Germany went home after the group phase in Qatar and Russia. Nobody asks what your opinion was on socio-political issues anymore. The only question is, why did you waste the World Cup?
Notice
A majority of Germans share Jürgen Klinsmann’s opinion that athletes should not take political positions. A representative survey commissioned by Sportschau in the run-up to the World Cup showed that 54 percent of Germans support that German athletes should refrain from expressing political opinions. 38 percent say athletes should express their opinions. The situation is the other way around for young people (18-34 years old): a majority (53 percent) support that athletes should express their opinions. 38 percent are against it. (Source: ARD-DeutschlandTrend June 2026)
Zamperoni: What do you think are the chances for the German team this year?
Klinsman: First of all, I hope that they approach this World Cup with full openness and anticipation. So that they make you forget everything that happened in Qatar and Russia. This is very important. I think we have so much quality in this team that they can definitely compete for the title. I count us among the favorites at this World Cup.
Zamperoni: And the host country USA, how do you see their chances?
Klinsman: I think the USA can spring a surprise. I think they can definitely make it to the quarterfinals. I actually think the quality of the squad is almost unique in the history of American football. Now they suddenly have players playing in the Champions League in Europe. These players are used to playing against the other big players from other nations.