Toronto FC hire Germany's Juergen Klinsmann as consultant

Former Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann will advise Major League Soccer (MLS) club Toronto FC as they seek to become more competitive in the US soccer league, the club said on Wednesday.

"Toronto FC announced...that they have retained the consulting services of former footballer and manager, Juergen Klinsmann, and his consulting company, SoccerSolutions, as advisors to Toronto FC as the club reorganises its soccer infrastructure," the Canadian club said in a statement.                                           

"We're honoured to work with a football icon like Juergen and have access to his wealth of experience and expertise to evaluate our current operations and support our team's development," said Tom Anselmi, chief operating officer for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the club''s owners.   

Klinsmann, who won the World Cup with Germany in 1990 and steered the national team as coach to a third-place finish in 2006, has been living in the United States for several years.  

The German had been in the running to take over from Bob Bradley as the US national team coach after the World Cup in South Africa before talks collapsed.                                           

Klinsmann took Germany to the semi-finals of the World Cup on home soil four years ago and had a brief and unsuccessful spell with Bayern Munich from 2008 that did not last a full season.  

At this year's World Cup he was an analyst with ESPN television.  

Toronto finished fifth in the MLS Eastern Conference in the 2010 season.