this interview tells me that without a doubt landon is injured, he is injured in the mind. if he is going to drag this on though I will loose respect for him despite what he has done. We need complete finality to this situation by the time we get to the first HEX training camp.
He'd lose, as LD is a public figure, and he would be forced to prove that Wynalda acted with reckless disregard to the truth. Also, they are opinion orientated statements, further making it harder to prove defamation.
Well I should at the very least be able to win a lawsuit for the cost of replacing my mute button from overuse during the times that he's on air.
I don't think Wynalda ever let it go that Donovan broke his scoring record. Or that he was more talented. Or scored more WC goals than him. Come to think of it, Wynalda is Donovan's Frank Grimes.
Time to put this puppy to sleep. He is literally begging someone to end his misery. End of an era. Greatest player the US has ever produced. Sad to see him to go as we have no brilliant counter attack without him. Goal against Brazil in the Confed Cup is the greatest US goal ever scored. Maybe Moyes can squeeze two more seasons out of him.
The rumors of Mr. Donovan's demise are greatly exaggerated. But, his situation keeps a lot of us off the streets and engulfed in all kinds of speculation. Even the guys flipping burgers at macdonalds occasionally get burned out. !! But they too recoup ! He'll be fine, (we'll be fine) Although getting through the hex will be a serious challenge. Even with our greatest player ever. Eric, you're ……………………….
He has no hills left to climb in MLS. What, four titles? Or is it five? A slew of Supporter's Shields. A couple Open Cups. MVPs. I hope that once he gets his batteries recharged, and gets healed up, he'll be OK.
This. Watch the entire interview then realize how much of a spin the media has put on this. That full interview is so different than the cut down version - leaves the viewer with two very different net takeaways. Thanks lplaksina, you're right. And as a marketer, seeing a version of the work I do with videos is revealing. Shows what you can do with creative editing and story titles. And the entire US soccer industry went along with it hook, line and sinker. It's not a story to say LD needs a break. It is a story to say that he's considering retirement. Guess which one they picked?
I'd go for Alex Morgan if I were Donovan. Hell Donovan can probably get thousands of girls. I doubt this is an issue over a lady.
Isn't she going out with a guy who plays for the Seattle Sounders? Also it looked like Chicharito tried to get with Alex a few month ago but wasn't successful.
Why is everyone making this more complicated than it really is. 1. Landon needs 2-3 months off 2. He is telegraphing that in the media - so people give him a break (fans, Arena, Klinsmann, USSF, MLS, media, and etc.) 3. Landon is setting the table for his next/last contract renegotiation/early release from the Galaxy 4. Landon has hinted at a few things he enjoys - a) likes playing soccer in "this weather" i.e. Fall, b) loves Everton and David Moyes, c) enjoys playing in menaingful games, and d) he enjoys traveling and wants to one day coach/broadcast... all of which points to him playing a few final years in the EPL (gaining experience, building relationships/bona fid's he'll leverage as a coach/broadcaster
Defamation of character? That was probably closer to the truth. Donovan should not be holding the national team hostage. I'm glad JK put him in the same category as Chandler.
Jurgen's interview addresses Donovan: Where he sees LD: I find it very courageous of him to talk openly about what is going through his mind. I can understand all those thoughts so I just try to pick him up every time a game comes a long and the way that I try to understand his personal situation, which I do with every player out there because every player is a special individual person, so I try to adjust and understand everybody’s individual needs and issues. He’s carrying his topic with him since quite a while. What we are doing at the same time is trying to develop a very strong team ahead of the Hexagonal for 2013 and, especially, hopefully, once that job is done, towards Brazil 2014. It’s really down to himself, what he wants to further achieve in his career, what he wants to do and whatever he decides to do will be very respected by us and therefore it might be easier to get that answer from him, directly.” Does he see a role for Donovan in the Hex? “Absolutely. Things can change overnight in our environment. Football is just living in the present and it’s all about the future, what you want to achieve. Whatever happens during the next couple of months or during 2013, we will always adjust to it. We will always bring in the strongest team we have into our games and we will slowly develop a culture and chemistry on the National Team that is able to do really well in the World Cup down the road. It’s an on-going process that we’re going through. It’s similar to Landon going through his career in a process where one day you feel sharper and fitter than another day. For us, with the National Team, we just need to evaluate all the players constantly. Whether we are happy with them, we will tell them that. If we are not so happy, we might leave them out. We just adjust to the specific situations based on the timeframe that we have. We are all going to see how this will work out in 2013. As I said in the beginning, we widened our player pool especially because of a very busy and hectic 2013 ahead of us. When one player is not there, it’s the chance for another player to step in and make a case for the squad, and that’s what happens. We’ll all be curious to see how it continues.” Discussion of Landon "faking injuries" “No, that hasn’t been the feeling inside the team. Every time he had injury issues or problems and couldn’t come in for games, we just took the information straight from him. We believe him. When he has a problem, he has a problem. From our end, there is absolutely no problem at all. It is a team sport environment and the National Team is the most profile team in the country. There are hungry fights going on for spots. I don’t know if he has a feeling that maybe some players didn’t buy in, but I didn’t see that. I always told him we take it exactly the way it is and make the best out of it, which we did in 2012. I think we had overall an outstanding year with whoever was involved in every individual game. We missed Michael Bradley here and there, we missed Clint Dempsey here and there, and we missed key players in many games Reaching out to LD: “I was with him in Miami before the last World Cup qualifiers and then he had to pull out. Now he is going into the playoffs. I let him do his playoff games and I hope, for him, that he gets as far as possible with his team, the Galaxy. I will definitely, then, once he has a moment, reach out to him and meet for lunch or dinner with him and talk through his thoughts.”
Please read JK's latest interview where he basically says LD has an open door policy to come back to the national team. Doesn't fit your storyline, does it? For all some denigrate Jurgen, he doesn't seem like a dodo. He knows where his bread is buttered and it does him no good to close that door to LD. Why should he while LD can still contribute to the team? Hell, EJ just got back in. It does us no good to permanently shut a door until a player retires because what if they become good again? Why on earth would you limit your options? Oh, and LD is on the provisional roster for Russia. Won't go, but he was named. How is he holding the national team hostage? Total overreaction. The next game of import isn't until 2/6. I don't want to see any of our veterans at the Russia friendly. There's no point to them being there minus a couple of people (maybe) for veteran/captaincy value. That game should be for finding more players, that's it. So LD gave the USMNT a crap ton of warning.
I don't make too much of this. Last time he gave an interview like this, he came out the next week and went all King Edward against Scotland.