Wednesday, July 12 2006 15:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Berlin: Juergen Klinsmann will quit as German national head coach after leading the World Cup hosts to a third-place finish, said the president of the German Football Federation (DFB).

DFB President Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder confirmed Tuesday that Klinsmann informed him that he would be leaving the job. "I regret his decision, but we have to accept it," said Mayer-Vorfelder. The German team's largely unexpected performance under Klinsmann had shown that will "can move mountains," he added. However, he refused to discuss the probable successor. "Whoever succeeds Juergen Klinsmann in the job must continue the work that's been started," Mayer-Vorfelder said. Klinsmann had sought a few days to make his decision after the World Cup, retreating on holiday with his family to an undisclosed location. Team captain Michael Ballack had also reportedly been informed. Current assistant trainer Joachim Loew is likely to replace Klinsmann as head coach, German newspapers Bild and Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Wednesday, citing DFB sources. Appointed in July 2004, Klinsmann had been derided much of the year for bringing in new coaching techniques, as well as for his controversial decision to choose Jens Lehmann over national hero Oliver Kahn as goalkeeper for the tournament. Klinsmann also resisted pressure in Germany to move his residence to the home country, instead continuing to fly frequently from California, where he lives with his American wife and their children. The 41-year-old quieted his critics as soon as the World Cup began, delighting fans and players alike with an attacking style of play that had been missing from recent German squads. Snap polls following the end of the World Cup showed that more than 90 percent of Germans wanted Klinsmann to stay on as head coach, a sentiment echoed by his players. "Klinsmann had a lot of opposition for a long time and had many critics before the tournament," Ballack said earlier.

"For us it has been tremendous fun, not just the six weeks at the World Cup but over the two years with everything he introduced to the team," he said. Klinsmann is to receive Germany's Order of Merit, while the 23 players will get the highest award for athletes, the Silver Laurel, for their outstanding World Cup showing. The awards will be presented by German President Horst Koehler at a ceremony August 14. With Klinsmann out of a job, US fans will be hoping he might take up the head coaching job in the US, likely to be vacated by Bruce Arena following the country's first-round exit in Germany. Klinsmann's tenure comes to an end after 34 games in charge of the national squad, and the German hero has already said that this World Cup experience was probably the highest point of his career. "This can't be topped," he told delirious fans Sunday in celebrations on Berlin's fan mile.