Didn't realize opinions on Donovan were split in the locker room. If so, gotta question the intelligence of the half that don't support LD and don't see the value of him.
I think Wynalda had a lot to say about this in this podcast. http://www.mlssoccer.com/extratime look at october 25th.
Wynalda gave up on LD when LD returned from Leverkusen in 2005. Since then, he (Wynalda) has a personal vendetta against him. It's funny, he and Bruce Arena were commentators for the USA v. Ecuador game and I have it on tape and Wynalda is in mid-sentence on a disparaging comment on LD when LD breaks free and scores his third goal...and it silenced him for a few seconds. Then, when LD broke Wynalda's scoring record, Eric said he wished he would have broken it while scoring a "real" goal (because of course PKs are not real). Anytime LD is asked about Wynalda, LD just responds that he doesn't spend one second wasting a thought on Wynalda. There's more from Eric, but you get the gist.
My own psychoanalysis: Wynalda is extremely bitter that he had to retire due to injury sooner than he was ready. Due to the personality he has always had, he has not aged gracefully, a la Eddie Pope, Brian McBride, etc. and just can't be happy for the achievements of others, since he still thinks, sans injury, he could have set unbreakable records.
Interesting. Wynalda was a pleasure to meet here in Atlanta. I had a nice conversation with him. Really nice guy.
Well, of course. He is quite personable, I'm sure. You're also not a former player, are you? You know, I was absolutely not surprised when it was Eric Wynalda and Michael bradley who got into it off camera. Even John Harkes, when repeatedly bagging on Dempsey during the Confed Cup, limited it strictly to his play on the field, he left all personal feelings about Dempsey and his character out of it; not so with Wynalda, who personalizes and psychoanalyses LD every chance he gets, and always throws in a snide comment about the most innocent of things that LD says or does. Such as, when LD had the flu/bronchitis and had to sit out his last game at Everton - Wynalda basically said LD was scared, it was overwhelming for him, so he made up this excuse that he was sick. "Come on, guys play sick all the time" - never mind than a teammate on Everton had just missed a month for being sick in the same way; also, LD was forced to sit out a couple games when he returned to Galaxy because of it as well.
I was in ODP back in the 90s but got burnt out and honestly not good enough. I met him at the SIlverbacks when he was coaching this last summer. really nice guy. I knew a lot of the players at Atlanta but nothing incredible. I am more familiar with Texas and New Jersey than the California side of things. Georgia has some pockets of soccer.
wynalda doesn't like anyone who has better credentials than he himself had. A bitter person who has a chip on his shoulder. He needs someone to knock that off his shoulder and he will be a better man for it. A verbal bully who yells louder than the other guy and is more base in the hope of causing any different view to Kowtow and silencing such an opinion. However, as a player, I have always admired his talent and how he used it. He was a good player for that US. Talk about EGO. I think you will find, as Altidore nears EW accomplishments, there will be an attitude adjustment as to his admiration of Altidore.
If he is speculating, poor ass writing. If he isn't speculating, he needs to provide something to back up a statement as big as this. The writer provides nothing in the way of evidence to his claim that opinions in the locker room are split.The closest thing to backing up the statement was a former teammate, Freidel which was ages ago. Also, Freidel comments were blown up out of proportion, if you ask me. As far as naming LD or anyone captain, you do it for reasons of the leadership they provide. Not as a bribe. I seriously doubt that Donovan will have any problems playing for the NT in the future as long as he is healthy. I do doubt how committed he is to playing in MLS as he has experienced all there is and it must seem rinky dink (scheduling, CCL, play-off format can make matches meaningless at times, July/Aug matches, friendlies in middle of season, etc) at times given where he is in his career.
Wynalda has an opinion of who the greatest American soccer player is, and if you disagree with him, he'll let you know.
It's interesting... When Bradley came in after Arena, he made a conscious decision try to lower the expectations for Donovan and reduce his responsibilities to the team. He moved him from the CAM where Bruce had him to a winger, and made Boca the captain. IIRC, he also made some public comments about Donovan only being one member of the team. I took all of this as a positive move to try to help Donovan recover from the tough 2006 WC performance. In that light, I don't know if making LD captain will address Donovan's current existential crisis. On the other hand, it could bring everything into sharper focus for him, and force him to either commit or step away. However, I agree with other posters who say that the captaincy shouldn't be a tool to manipulate a particular player... it should be a leadership position that's earned. That's not to say Donovan hasn't earned it... but it shouldn't be "given" to him as a motivational tool.
To me Donovan needs a challenge. Maybe the NT is not enough for him anymore. He may only be 30 but he has to know there are younger and almost bright as him options coming along. They need the time and matches to make a difference. His moving to the pasture could speed that up. Maybe JK can help him get a loan to Europe again. Might help his "hunger"
Donovan is well beyond 'needing' the captaincy. And I'm sure he is quite content to show up and just play. Bob had a lot of trouble early on placing Donovan (and Dempsey) on the field. Early on, he was mainly used in a forward or high midfielder and really required a target forward he could play with (Mainly Ching). He often got lost without a lot of forward movement with the ball. Finally settling him on the midfield played to his strengths, plus Donovan played a lot more aggressively and with a chip on his shoulder when he was given defensive responsibilities going forward.