Cali Kickers

Natalie Tucker, Sports Writer

Jonathan Klinsmann, son of former US men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, has been selected to play for the US under-20 championship team as a goalkeeper. The opening game of the championship will determine which four nations advance to the FIFA under-20 World Cup later this year.

Jonathan is 19 years old, just a few years older than many of the students at Vista, and is known for his explosiveness in goal. He plays for the University of California’s soccer team as goalkeeper and is in his sophomore season, with 14 appearances last season. He played soccer throughout high school as well, just like some Vista students. This raises the question, could a Vista student become famous like Klinsmann in the future?

Jonathan hopes to play professional soccer one day, but for now he is content with helping Cal return to prominence. “I just want to get a good foundation, get to a good team and get a starting spot,” Jonathan said. “That’s all I’m thinking about right now. Just getting that starting spot and getting experience and getting better in general is my goal,” Jonathan said in an interview for The Daily Californian.

Competitive spirit and talent seem to run in the Klinsmann family. Jurgen Klinsmann was considered one of the best strikers of his generation and won the World Cup with West Germany in 1990. He started coaching in the U.S. program in 2011, but was fired after back-to-back World Cup losses to Costa Rica and Mexico.

Jonathan’s success story is a classic one, but Vista del Lago soccer players might have different opinions about fame than Klinsmann. “I don’t want to be a famous soccer star. I did when I was younger,” said Riley Terando, a senior at Vista and a member of the Vista del Lago women’s varsity soccer team.“I thought I could go and make the national team and play in the Olympics, but I think that was every child’s dream.”

For Vista students like Terando, it’s more about a lifelong love of soccer than the fortune and fame. “I don’t know if I could take all of the attention,” said Terando. “But it would be really cool to be able to play soccer for the rest of my life.”

Academics are a top priority to students like Terando, adding another reason why fame isn’t the largest priority. “I got more interested in schoolwork and possible careers, and I found that engineering was more suited for me than soccer was,” said Terando, who is a goalkeeper like Klinsmann.
Whether they are at Vista or at the University of California, there are many talented soccer players that come from California. While fame may not be for everyone, love for soccer is the most important part of developing talent and enjoying the game. Even if a player doesn’t achieve fame like Klinsmann, they can still be successful at improving their skills and teaching others how to play the game.

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