July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Juergen Klinsmann quit as coach of the German soccer team after leading the three-time world champion to third place at the World Cup. He will be replaced by Joachim Loew, his assistant.

Klinsmann's resignation comes a week after Germany was knocked out of the World Cup by Italy, its only defeat in the monthlong tournament. Italy went on to win the competition, beating France on penalties in Sunday's final in Berlin. The fourth-time champion's coach, Marcello Lippi, also quit today.

``I'm thoroughly exhausted and feel like reloading my battery,'' Klinsmann said at a news conference in Frankfurt. ``I don't think my decision would've been different even if we'd won the World Cup.''

Loew, who accepted a two-year contract by the German football association, will have his first test as head coach when Germany plays Sweden, its second-round opponent at this year's World Cup, on Aug. 16. The team will face Ireland for its opening qualifier for the 2008 European Championship in Switzerland and Austria on Sept. 2.

``We want to become European Champions in 2008,'' said Loew, who will be the country's 10th national coach since 1934 when Germany played its first of 16 World Cups.

Huntington Beach

Klinsmann, a former Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Tottenham forward, overhauled the squad after taking over in July 2004 from Rudi Voeller who failed to win a match with Germany at the 2004 European Championship. The 41-year-old, a member of the team that won the 1990 World Cup and captain of Germany's 1996 European Championship-winning squad, introduced new training methods and arrived at the World Cup with the competition's youngest team.

Klinsmann weathered a storm of public criticism during his two-year term because of his decision to travel between Germany and his Huntington Beach home while preparing the team for the tournament. In March, Klinsmann was vilified after a 4-1 defeat by Italy, the team's biggest loss to its European rival since 1939.

More than half a million supporters packed into an area near the capital's Brandenburg Gate on Sunday to greet the three-time world champion team, a day after the players did a lap of honor and joined in songs with fans amid firework displays in Stuttgart. Newspapers talked of ``Klinsmania'' and shrugged off last week's semifinal defeat to Italy.

Woodstock in Stuttgart

``You are our World Champions,'' said the headline in the Bild-Zeitung newspaper. ``World Champions of the Heart,'' wrote Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, while Sonntag Aktuell called the celebrations ``A Small Woodstock in Stuttgart,'' a reference to the 1969 rock festival.

Loew will enhance the attacking play initiated by Klinsmann, said Theo Zwanziger, co-head of the DFB soccer association. Germany netted 14 goals in its 7 World Cup matches, five of which scored by striker Miroslav Klose who won the Golden Shoe for the tournament's top striker.

``To me, Loew was never an assistant coach,'' Klinsmann said. ``He was always a firm partner. The actual work was done by him.''

Loew, who like Klinsmann started his soccer career as player for one of the city of Stuttgart's two professional clubs, lacks the departing coach's international impact. The 46-year-old Loew scored his biggest triumph as coach when leading VFB Stuttgart to winning the German Cup in 1997 and reaching the European Cup Winner's Cup final the following year. Two years before becoming Klinsmann's assistant, Loew also won the Austrian Championship with FC Tirol.

While he wants to retreat to his California home over the next six months, Klinsmann ruled out accepting any other assignments including a possible offer by the U.S. to coach their national team. Germany's Bild reported last month the U.S. soccer federation may ask Klinsmann to take over from Bruce Arena.

Klinsmann's achievement ``moved and changed the country in an unprecedented way,'' Zwanziger said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Kirchfeld in Frankfurt at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net Andreas Cremer in Berlin at acremer@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 12, 2006 08:18 EDT