Jurgen Klinsmann's son to play college soccer at Cal
The California Golden Bears men’s soccer team landed six recruits on National Signing Day on Wednesday, including one whose name should be familiar to U.S. men's national team supporters.
The university announced that goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann -- son of USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann -- submitted his signed Letter of Intent on Wednesday.
The Newport Beach, Calif., resident just finished playing with the U.S. under-18 men’s national team at the Copa Chivas in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has played with U.S. youth teams in a variety of competitions.
He played for the club Strikers SC last season, totaling 18 matches.
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Rated as a four-star prospect by TopDrawerSoccer.com, he helped the Strikers claim a spot in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy playoff final four last season.
The younger Klinsmann made headlines last year when he sent out a tweet mocking the exclusion of Landon Donovan from the national team's 23-man World Cup roster. Klinsmann later apologized.
Cal coach Kevin Grimes told the San Jose Mercury News that the incident factored into his decision to continue recruiting the young goalkeeper.
“The way that I looked at it was what his reaction was from it,” Grimes said. “That’s the most important thing. His reaction was one of real disappointment in himself."
Cal made the NCAA tournament last season, falling 3-2 in the third round to UCLA.
The elder Klinsmann will lead the U.S. men's national team on Sunday in a friendly against Panama.
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- Phil Watson
