An Uncertain Donovan

Landon speaks for the first time since MLS cup final:

“I wanted to get the enjoyment back," said Donovan after the Galaxy's training session at Georgetown University on Thursday morning, his first media availability since MLS Cup 2012. “And I watched our first game against Chicago, the Galaxy game [on March 3] at home and really had that itch again to play, and I knew that I was ready.

“I've been fortunate in my career, I generally stay pretty fit,” he said. “It's going to take a while to get that going. I don't really want to put a timetable. My initial goal was to try and be back to participate at some point in the April 6 Montreal game, which has now been moved because of the CONCACAF game. So I think ideally somewhere in there I get some minutes, I guess.
“We're not going to push it, the last thing I want to do is force it and get an injury.”
He admitted that both LA coach Bruce Arena and USMNT boss Jurgen Klinsmann were unhappy with his decision to step away from the game, yet remained steadfast in his conviction that it was a necessary break.
READ: Cahill says Donovan should embrace "weight of the world"
“I definitely needed a break, and was fortunate to have a lot of people both personally and professionally that understood that,” said Donovan. “And now I'm excited to be back and to move forward and enjoy playing.
“Understandably, no coach wants to lose one of their players for three months or four months of the season, so at first Bruce wasn't ecstatic about it. But I've known Bruce a long time and I think he understood pretty clearly how passionate I was about needing this break. And now I think everyone can agree that it was absolutely needed and the right thing to do.”

 

Odds are he gets hurt and can't make it.

 

Q: What were your conversations with Jurgen like regarding this break?
LD: Jurgen and I have always been very open and honest with each other. It’s one thing I really respect the most about him. He certainly hasn’t agreed with a lot of my choices and that’s understandable. But we’ve always been honest and I let him know I needed some time away and he’s heard that a lot from me lately, unfortunately, but I needed to do that for myself. He’s always been very respectful, he’s always been supportive and now my task is to find my way back in and certainly no obligation on anyone’s part to let me back in, I’ve got to earn my way back.

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/the91stminute/2013/03/donovan-talks-absence/

 

Offtopic, but if this story got you thinking, there's a great Ted Talk on this very topic:
http://www.ted.com/talks/markham_nolan_how_to_separate_fact_and_fiction_online.html

 

Hopefully you haven't wagered too much on that one.

 

A few comments from a club and country teammate.

 

He'll be back in a US uniform this year. The only way it doesn't happen is if he gets injured or has an unexpected drop in form. Klinsmann, for all the legitimate complaints, doesn't seem to be someone who sticks with his guys based on personality. He seems pretty earnest about getting the best players who are in the best form on the field. Given that I don't see how he looks at his available player pool and concludes that Landon Donovan wouldn't be one of his better options.

 

I'm thinking about it.

 

From Jeff Carlisle's twitter today:

 

Thank *ing G*d.

 

Well we'll know Klinsmann's really lost it if he asks Donovan to play goalie!!

ON a side note neems - this is one of my favorite titles ever for a thread, and every time I see it - I think "An Uncertain Donovan" sounds like it should be the title of a classic novel, or a book up for a major literature award, or at least an Oprah's Book Club book.

That said - don't let Grant Wahl steal it from you when he writes his new book about Landon!

 

He probably stole that line from Mike Magee.

 

Requesting thread title change:

Landon: A New Dawn-ovan.

 

Donovan hoping for UNMNT return:

“My primary goal is to get back playing here,” he said after the Galaxy's Thursday morning training session at Georgetown University. “I realize I have a long way to go both on the field and off the field to work my way back into the national team, and that's my goal. If that's something that presents itself, then that's something I want to do. I miss being a part of that and I want to represent my country again.”

“It was fantastic,” he said of the rare point gained in Mexico City. “Having been a part of many of those games both home and away, I don't think you can overstate the significance of that result, and I was so proud to watch, so proud to be just an American fan – forget about a player or a teammate.
“In those games, it's not always pretty but there's not many teams that go there and get a result.”
Donovan was frank in admitting that Klinsmann had taken issue with his decision to step away from the game at such a crucial period in the USMNT's schedule. He has been in communication with the German-American coach, however, and remains hopeful that he can return to strong enough form in MLS play to earn a recall to the national team.

“Jurgen and I have always been very honest with each other. That's one thing that I respect about him,” he said. “He certainly hasn't agreed with a lot of my choices and that's understandable. But we've always been honest and I let him know that I needed some time away.
“He's heard that a lot from me, unfortunately, lately. I needed to do that for myself. But he's always been very respectful, he's always been supportive and now my task is to find my way back in. There's certainly no obligation on anyone's part to let me back in – I've got to earn my way back.”

 

Watching our offense right now, I practically want to roll out the confetti cannons.

 

A confetti cannon would be more offense than we showed Tuesday.

 

Donovan: "If I go back to the national team and they ask me to play goalie, I'll play goalie."


Clearly, the really short Nick Rimando type...

 

You know what? You should do it. I suspect we are going to have stuff to talk about. Close this one, open the new one?

 

I can see JK thinking: "Hmm... Zusi, Sacha or Donovan... decisions, decisions...."

 

The wait is over...the king returns:



Some quotes from Landon upon returning to the fold for L.A. and the USMNT (credit to deuteronomy):

I decided this thread might be appropriate because this could be a re-birth for Landon as he enters the latter stage of his career. His journey has been a special one and will surely be a catalyst for further discussion.

Credit to neems for providing Part 1 of this saga entitled: "An Uncertain Donovan"

If you're new to/unfamiliar with Donovan's recent life/career decisions, you can read up on them in that thread:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/an-uncertain-donovan.1976882/

Discuss!

 

Done.

Part 2:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/landon-a-new-dawn-ovan.1984986/

Thanks for this very awesome thread neems! What an interesting read and discussion covering a truly unique person.

 

Cap: Now