After courting him twice without success, the United States Soccer Federation on Friday hired Jürgen Klinsmann to coach and revive a seemingly stale men’s national team.

Klinsmann, a former German star who coached Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup, becomes the first foreign-born coach of the American team since Bora Milutinovic, a Serb, guided the Americans to the second round of the 1994 World Cup.

Unlike Steve Sampson, Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley, his immediate predecessors, Klinsmann was a top player at the highest levels of international soccer. He scored 47 goals in 108 appearances with the German national team, played a key role in West Germany’s victory in the 1990 World Cup, and was captain of the team when it won the 1996 European championship.

He was hired a day after Bradley was fired and will coach his first match with the United States in a friendly against Mexico on Aug. 10 in Philadelphia.