Is Jurgen finally having to settle his karmic debt for a career of outrageous dives?

From the never less than excellent The Week

“Jurgen Klinsmann’s reputation as one of the greatest figures in German sporting history is under threat, says Ian Hawkey in the Sunday Times. The former Spurs striker has courted ridicule ever since he took over as manager of Bayern Munich, bringing with him some “new-age gimmicks”, from California. Within days of taking over the club, Klinsmann erected four Buddha statues on the roof of Bayern’s training headquarters - including a “mysterious addition” from Burma called Shakyamuni.

Klinsmann, who coached Germany to the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup, claimed they would “spread positive energy”, although the “porcelain deities” have had a decidedly negative impact on results.

In the first game of the new season, Bayern lost the German equivalent of the Community Shield. The team then conceded three goals in a cup tie against third division team Rot-Weiss Erfurt. Three weeks ago, Werder Bremen came to town and “walloped” Bayern 5-2. Klinsmann’s side then lost 1-0 at Hanover and conceded two goals in the last six minutes at home to Bochum in a 3-3 draw. The team is currently languishing in 11th place in the Bundesliga.

Needless to say, the fans aren’t happy. “No professional footballer needs a Buddha,” said Mario Basler, once a playing colleague of Klinsmann’s at Bayern. “In my day, me and Stefan Effenberg would have gone up and shot the things.”