Klinsmann in California

Greetings. This week's blog is about a hurriedly arranged trip to Los Angeles to interview Jurgen Klinsmann.

I can see some of you already penning your "waste of licence fee payers' money" and "expensive jolly" comments, so let me offer this early defence.

The interview with Klinsmann will not only be available on Football Focus but also as part of a documentary about the England national side and how they can put right the wrongs of this summer's World Cup in South Africa. I also stayed in a dodgy hotel miles from anywhere and was seated at the back of the plane on the flight in and out.

In fact, the journey out there will live with me for quite some time. Flying to LA is a bit of a 10-hour beast and the last thing you want to hear when you sit down on a packed flight is this from the bloke you are wedged next to...

"I've got a significant bladder problem!" Such was the regularity of his rising that I had to abandon watching The A-Team an hour in. A forced intermission every seven to eight minutes does not make for perfect viewing conditions.

Jurgen Klinsmann welcomes me to his home

I was only in LA for two days so I developed a cunning plan to avoid the eight-hour time difference on my return. I went to bed at 7.45pm and then got up at 3.45am. The only flaw was the early rise gave me a four-hour wait before the hotel opened the buffet breakfast. The pancakes and syrup were eventually devoured in record time.

Jeff, our American cameraman, picked me up and we headed to the very posh and swanky Newport Beach. It did not take me long to realise Jeff was the most showbiz operator I have worked with.

He had spent the previous week filming interviews with Cheryl Cole for The X Factor and unleashed this classic quote: "I'm telling you, Dan, I've met some pretty ladies in my time but she's a winner man. What a face... and that accent... she's Scottish, right?"

At that point in the conversation, Jeff's mobile went off. It was Michael Sheen, the star of Frost/Nixon, trying to set up a meeting for the following day. It soon became clear that Jeff pointed his camera in some significant circles and, even though he thought Klinsmann was a Formula 1 driver, I felt the shoot was in safe hands.

Klinsmann's gaff was even more impressive than Jeff's contact list. There was one central corridor that ran through the whole pad, which even Usain Bolt would have struggled to cover in under seven seconds at full tilt.

They were renting this place while their family house was being renovated. I dread to think what it was worth but, with NBA star Kobe Bryant living round the corner, I imagine the heaviest of wallets is needed to call this part of town 'home'.

We settled into the first part of the interview for the documentary, which featured Klinsmann's cool analysis of the reasons for England's World Cup wonkiness. He also spoke of the merits of a winter break and detailed the measures he took to rebuild the German national side after they failed to make the knockout stages of Euro 2004.

Jurgen and I recreate his famous goal celebration routine

He was engaging, intelligent and incredibly insightful. When he brought out some water halfway through, I almost felt guilty for disliking him so vehemently during the 1990 World Cup. I may have felt slightly worse if he had added some biscuits!

We paused briefly while he let in some carpet cleaners and then settled into the Football Focus stage of the interview.

You will have to wait until Saturday for the full hit but, among other things, Klinsmann talked about his time at Tottenham being the highlight of his career, defended the morals of the modern-day footballer, confirmed he was never approached about the Aston Villa job, batted away questions about Chelsea and Liverpool but did claim he thought the job of coaching the United States was his when Bob Bradley was suddenly reappointed.

I wish I could tell you some of the stuff he said about certain clubs off camera. The journalist in me was disappointed but, as a fellow human, I hugely respect him for not spouting off with a microphone on.

After two captivating hours, he ran off to a meeting and told Jeff and I to let ourselves out. We had a final glimpse of the sort of house we would never live in and returned to the hotel.

You can see Klinsmann in California on Saturday's show at 1215 BST on BBC 1. Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez and Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce will also be on, while we'll have a special report on the coolest team in world football.

If you have got any questions or comments about the Klinsmann interview, let me know and the best place to keep up to date with Focus is at twitter.com/danwalkerbbc

West Ham United Scores West Ham United Matches West Ham United Results West Ham United Tickets Wigan Athletic Fixtures