Hertha Berlin's Pal Dardai: "Jonathan Klinsmann gets an A"
Jonathan Klinsmann showed good diving is in his blood with a spectacular penalty save in the dying stages of his Hertha Berlin debut on Thursday.
The 20-year-old goalkeeper, whose father Jürgen was famed for his diving goal celebration as a player, sprung to his left to deny Ostersunds captain Brwa Nouri a late winner in Hertha's final UEFA Europa League Group J encounter at the Olympic Stadium.
The contest ended 1-1, with Hertha already having been eliminated from the competition.
Hear what Klinsmann had to say (in English) after his penalty heroics!
''The penalty save was amazing," Klinsmann said after the game. "The fans were behind me. It's incredible. I had nerves before the game but my Dad told me to just play my game.''
Klinsmann didn't disappoint in the absence of seasoned stoppers Rune Jarstein and Thomas Kraft, despite having only made six appearances for the Hertha Under-23s prior to the game.
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"Jonathan played well," opined Hertha head coach Pal Dardai. "He made some good saves and kept out the penalty. He's a young man and he had a good game. But he needs to keep working hard, continue to learn and build on this showing. Today he gets an A."
U-20 USA international Klinsmann, formerly of the University of California, signed professional terms with Hertha following a successful trial with the club in the summer.
Klinsmann's father, Jürgen, who was USA coach until last year, also took to Twitter to congratulate his son.