It appears that Juergen Klinsmann has been given the job of fixing the myriad problems of Toronto FC.
Sources close to the MLS club have confirmed that owners Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment are in the final stages of negotiating a consulting role for Klinsmann and his California-based company Soccer Solutions. An announcement is expected early next week.
The former German national team player and coach will be given a free hand to rebuild an organization that has failed to make the playoffs during each of its four seasons of existence. This past year saw the firing of TFC's original general manager Mo Johnston and his latest head coach, Preki, and a protest by the club's supporters over both the poor calibre of play and ticket price increases for next season.
Though Klinsmann will not take on the role of general manager or coach himself, he will be asked to make a recommendation as to Johnston's replacement.
But it is more than a simple head hunting assignment. Klinsmann and his company will look at the club's infrastructure, at its academy and scouting system, will suggest a playing style, and then find someone to accomplish the goals they set out.
Klinsmann, who lives in California, brings impeccable credentials to the task.
He had a long and brilliant playing career in the Bundesliga, in Italy, in France and in England, and scored 47 times in 108 international appearances for Germany. Klinsmann was part of the World Cup winning side in 1990, the European champions of 1996, and was Germany's captain from 1995 until his retirement following the 1998 World Cup.
In 2004 he was hired as a technical adviser for the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS. That same year, he was asked to take over a struggling German side in the build up to the 2006 World Cup at home, and led them to a surprising third place finish.
Klinsmann left the German national team after that tournament, but returned to take over the reins at Bayern Munich in 2008. He walked away following a single season after a falling out with the club's board of directors.
Rumours in recent years also had him being approached by Liverpool FC's former owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, and being offered the job of coaching the U.S. national team