The outside world's expectations are irrelevant. If we went by that criterion no USA team would ever have dared win a WC match. We have no idea if JK honestly believed that keeping Landon at home was "best for the team", if by that phrase you mean it made for a stronger team that could go further in the WC. The evidence against that notion, from the testimony of other players, never mind our lyin' eyes, is overwhelming. In his early 30's Donovan was still "just too good" compared to all but 2-3 American field players. On the other hand there is little doubt that JK believed keeping Landon at home was "best for JK". It will be a fascinating story, surely revealed one very interesting day, as to why Juergen decided it was not "best for JK" that a Landon inspired USMNT be in a position to go deeper into the WC at Brazil. Should it still be an issue? Well, Landon is no longer in the national team picture, beyond the USSF imposed window-dressing against Ecuador, sure. But JK sure is. And his failure to put the good of the USA's team, at the most important tournament the sport has to offer, over his personal pique, is a question of character and judgement which will not go away as that character, and his judgement, are called upon through this next WC cycle.
We just have different philosophies on what makes a good team and coaching. Nasri is one of the best players available for France, Quaresma and Portugal is the same thing. His way worked. I believe JK wants the USA to be among the best in the world because he loves our country and this game. He thinks the upcoming pool has the talent. I'm under the impression, and excuse me if I'm wrong, but you think JK wants the USA to be among the best because he thinks it will make him invincible or because he wants credit or something along those lines.
Nasri didn't play great for France. Big difference there. JK's way worked just like taking Laetner on the Dream Team worked.
Robbie Keane is not playing for the Galaxy tonight. They are beating the MLS East leading D.C. United 3-0. Donovan has been the dominant player on the field, by far and has delivered two assists. If he keeps this up for the rest of the season, he will probably be the league MVP in this, his final season.
I cannot believe there are still people defending JK in this decision after seeing the numbers that LD is putting up. Mind boggling. And it's still relevant because it's an indication of JK's personnel management. That will not go away until he's done as coach. Tim Howard's return will be a part of this. As will JK's handling of the veterans over the next year.
Generally, national team coaches who can't "click" with key players aren't that good as national team coaches (unlike the club level where you can get other players if you don't "click"). So the question is - was the failure to "click" with LD a one-time event that won't be repeated or will it manifest itself in the upcoming cycle again?
Who cares if he's the only one who said it? It's true for a lot of them, obviously, since the team suffered from a litany of muscle injuries in Brazil. It's obvious that, again, Klinsmann was wrong about something important, and again, it hurt the team. This is one of the other many things that bothered me about that game. You've got your team matched up against a squad that is clearly superior, but you don't have any of the weapons necessary to even give your team a chance. Dempsey is the only scorer on the field, you have no counterattackers, and once Zusi was out of the game, there was no one who could put in even a remotely adequate cross. Adding Donovan to that lineup patches up a lot of problems. Does he guarantee a win? Of course not, but it's plainly obvious that the team was worse off for his absence.
The point is that there's no evidence that Donovan suddenly can't play every few days. He's not playing any less than he ever has. The whole thing is a fabrication because of one lousy friendly when he had tendinitis.
It's clear that it probably had nothing to do with performance--that's for sure. He was the driving force for thefirst goal vs. my DCU last night just 2 mins in....I really think he's making a mistake leaving...but they say it's best to leave while you're still hot. I would have loved to see him change scenery and try his game in Mexico...but if his love for the sport isn't quite tehre anymore...it's selfish to think that way as a fan.
As Donovan continues to be one of the best MLS has to offer, I have to wonder how he is going to feel in a couple of years. Many athletes have come out of retirement after being away from the game, realizing there is nothing else in the world that fulfills one's competitive urges, the lifestyle of being on a team and all the other accoutrements a career as a professional sportsman provides. Maybe he'll try baseball first?
I see your point but Landon is a different kettle of fish. Here is one thing us old timers remember: Landon is a very good student and highly intelligent. He accelerated his schooling to turn pro. So I suspect he wants to use his mind and not just his body.
Arguable. If you had told me before the Cup that Germany was going to drill Portugal 4-0 and Pepe would be red carded, I would have been pretty darned thrilled. That made our path to advancement pretty plain...beat Ghana, use the tactical advantage of superior GD to draw Portugal, then don't get drilled by Germany. That's exactly how it played out. Then we looked awful against Belgium. So to me, the JK scoreboard looks like this...moderately positive result against Ghana, average against Portugal and Germany, and moderately negative against Belgium. (Belgium is better than us, sure, but to me, not THAT much better.) To me, there were two key results in the group, and both happened on MD 1. I would argue that the Port-Ger match was the more significant of the two.
Seriously. The amount of credit that Klinsmann has gotten for Portugal imploding against Germany is absurd.
Landon Donovan: 13 years making MLS his b-tch. And for those saying the "big fish in a small pond" stuff, most of our USMNT players are in MLS, including the most important ones. So, in the league, LD is proving he dominates them. Strong supporting argument to the opinion that he's still one of our best.
It is of course obvious to even the casual observer that Berti Vogts should get credit, not Klinsmann.
At his best, he could have easily played and kicked ass at any of the top 4--he showed it with Everton. But he's not a guy who likes to explore outside of his comfort zone which in the end is fine. Playing in MLS did NOT hurt his level nor his performance, because he got that high level exposure to the world's best when he would play for teh USMNT. But it does suck as fans of his, one will always wonder what could have been with him, and how high could his level had gotten if he wasn't so happy with just playing at home.
But the flip side of this is that he REALLY helped to build MLS. I think in the long run this will outweigh all other factors. The USA will win the WC when MLS is one of the top 6 or 4 leagues in the world and not before. So the question is: did you want a little joy now (watching Landon do well on a big team) or a lot of joy later (watching the USMNT lift the Cup)?
I agree. Without him, MLS wouldn't be as bright. He helped bring guys back home too. He will be a pioneer in that sense, and really what I think doesn't matter! It's all about him, and what he feels works best for his career and hapiness. He's been a joy and at times a headache as a DCU fan to deal with. He's caused pure destruction when it came to palying against my black and red....but now he will soon be gone and retired! Phew! I do hope we win a WC one day, and Donovan's name is tied to it in that he really did help stabilize and strengthen our league by not being afraid to stay home, earn a good pay check, and cause hell in a league he was the best player ever. In his prime though, Jaime Moreno was faster wtih teh ball tahn him. Just wanted to add that in, my DCU/Bolivian wanted to make note of that! He did knock off Moreno's record and I think his assist record too...right? Either way, Donovan clearly the best ever player to play in this league and stay playing, Moreno #2.