BERLIN, July 10 - Public pressure on Juergen Klinsmann to stay on as Germany coach has grown to unprecedented levels in recent days, in part because he has unwittingly tantalised the nation with his anguished inability to decide.

"We've had this party in Germany the last four weeks unlike anything ever seen before it," Klinsmann said at a celebration attended by a million fans in the capital Berlin on Sunday.

"It's just crazy. But give me a few days to decide. We all need a bit of time," he added.

While there are weighty arguments suggesting Klinsmann may agree to extend a contract that expires after the World Cup, there are also at least six key reasons why the free-spirit from Stuttgart may return to his adopted home in California for good:

- Klinsmann was always unpredictable and unconventional during his playing career -- he almost never stayed anywhere for more than two years and left some clubs, such as Tottenham Hotspur, after just one season to move on.

- He is close to his family and cherishes his anonymous life in California.

- The German Football Association (DFB) has caused him much grief in two years, challenging his decisions, denying several staff requests and hiring some executive personnel he opposes.

- Klinsmann has faced constant media second-guessing and criticism over his California home base from newspapers.

- He knows it will be hard to duplicate the success he has had in taking Germany to the World Cup semi-finals.

- Above all -- he does not need the money.

ERSTWHILE CRITIC

"I'm not dependent on long-term job security," Klinsmann said in an interview with Reuters last year in California in between twice monthly commutes to Germany on 11-hour flights.

He has also dropped plenty of hints about how important his family is to him, about how much he regretted missing much of his son's early life because he was on the road as a player.

Even though his critics have all done about-turns, with one columnist calling himself an idiot for doubting Klinsmann, the former striker has insisted on more time to decide.

The latest opinion poll by the Promit research institute in Dortmund shows 95 percent of the public want him to stay.

"I would have thought if he planned to stay he would have said something by now," said Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath.

"If Klinsmann just sends us an e-mail saying 'I'm not coming back', it would be a betrayal to the emotions Germany invested in him," said Claus Strunz, editor of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Fears among the national team's supporters that Klinsmann may say "Auf Wiedersehen" after taking Germany to third place in the 32-team tournament are growing. His unguarded remarks right after the semi-final loss to Italy have fuelled that angst.

"It's absolutely unimportant what happens to me," he said. "It doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't depend on my person."

"We've started a reform process that is independent of any trainer -- me or anyone else. It's a philosophy that will carry on no matter who is in charge."