Jul 5, 2006, 13:28 GMT
Berlin - The German Football Football Federation (DFB) will be urging Juergen Klinsmann to stay on as coach of the national team after the World Cup, its president said Wednesday in Berlin.
Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder said Klinsmann had 'awakened something in this team and there is something of an obligation to carry on'.
Klinsmann, 41, has asked for time following the tournament to consider his future. Mayer-Vorfelder said the coach would be put under no pressure for a quick decision.
Despite the disappointment of Tuesday's semi-final defeat to Italy Klinsmann was 'a stroke of luck' for German football. 'We want Juergen Klinsmann to continue,' he said.
'That he needs time to think about things is completely understandable. We have to give him this time,' he said.
The DFB president, who is to stand down after the World Cup, also indicated the federation would agree to Klinsmann's conditions for continuing in the job.
Klinsmann has not enjoyed unflinching support from all members of the DFB executive, particularly on the questions of the cost of his coaching tenure and the fact he lives in California.
Mayer-Vorfelder said differences of opinion within the federation's executive were normal, but that Klinsmann has the DFB's support.
'I am personally of the opinion that this World Cup has shown that the investment we made was right and good. I can only hope that this will be seen exactly so within the executive,' he said.
Mayer-Vorfelder praised Klinsmann for installing the belief in the team and helping to cause 'an unparalleled wave of enthusiasm in the country'. The squad was still young, with seven players who could be playing in the under-21 team, he said.
'This team has not reached the zenith of its ability. In 2008 and 2010 we will reach the stage where the Italians are now. This is a great chance for German football,' he said.
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