Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/magazi...

Klinsmann fell for the United States in his late teens after a trip to Florida with the Stuttgarter Kickers, his first professional team. Klinsmann and a teammate had such a good time that upon landing back in Germany, they immediately booked return tickets. After Klinsmann met his wife, Debbie, during his time playing in Milan from 1989 to 1992, it was an easy decision to ultimately settle near her family in California.

Decades later, Klinsmann has embraced even the most mundane parts of America. “I like that someone asks, ‘How are you?’ ” he said. “I always say, ‘I’m fantastic!’ ”

When it comes to soccer, however, Klinsmann remains European in his outlook. He bemoans the frequent loss of top young players in America to other sports like baseball or lacrosse. He believes the N.C.A.A. is killing the talent pool in the United States because teenage stars go to college and miss out on formative years of training with professional teams. He cannot stand that Major League Soccer, the top professional league in the country, schedules its games through summer instead of winter, like the rest of the world.