How Jurgen Klinsmann became the favorite for the Southampton job

The American soccer world has been rocked by a bookie. Sky Bet has Jurgen Klinsmann as the favorite to be the next manager at Southampton, which comes as a surprise to just about everyone, USMNT and Saints supporters alike. Klinsmann shows up on the odds for next manager of Premier League clubs frequently, but this is the first time he’s been the favorite.

Southampton hiring Klinsmann certainly isn’t impossible, but bookies don’t set odds based on insider information. They do it to try to attract a wide range of bets and make money. Here are a few reasons why Klinsmann as the betting favorite makes sense, even if he’s not likely to get the job.

1. He’s a big name -- This is the easy one. Klinsmann was a great player for Germany, had some good seasons in the Premier League, and managed both Germany and Bayern Munich before heading to America. Famous people get irrational money bet on them all the time.

2. He’s attainable -- U.S. Soccer pays Klinsmann good money, but probably less than Southampton can afford to pay their manager. The USMNT job is a good one, but not a huge one in global perception. If Southampton want him, most bettors probably think he’d leave.

3. The managerial market is thin -- Frank de Boer doesn’t have experience outside of Ajax and presided over a meltdown at the end of his tenure. Manuel Pellegrini might want a bigger job. Eddie Howe has said he wants to stay at Bournemouth. After them, you’re looking at retreads, inexperienced names and foreign managers who don’t have name recognition in England. Southampton will probably hire one of those guys, but they never attract bets.

Klinsmann hasn’t addressed the completely manufactured by gambling rumors himself, but he’s sure to be asked this weekend.

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