Aaron Winter. He was a good player but I see he hasn't held a head coaching position since. I think I might read up on what he actually did in terms of Germany's revamp.
Me thinks Jurgen is a bit full of himself. Hard not to be considering the career he had, but man that is not an excuse for his actions if that is true.
Donovan coaches SD Loyal in his first pro match, a 1-1 draw with Wynalda's Las Vegas lights. He's building something pretty interesting down there. His assistant coach and technical advisor are both women. https://www.prosoccerusa.com/usl/sa...-macmillan-landon-donovan-technical-usl-2020/
“We felt we needed to stand up for something much bigger than a soccer game.” - @LandonDonovanLD on the reason behind the team’s decision to forfeit their earned point from the 9/23 match at LA Galaxy II.#SDLoyal | #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/k3qMoc3rmu— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) September 30, 2020
Maybe. But as much as I like and admire him he doesn’t seem to have the personality that lends itself to becoming a great coach. He’s too well balanced. Belichick, Coach K, Mourinho, etc. all are driven, sometimes ruthless, competitive maniacs.
https://www.sdloyal.com/news_article/show/1124690 I hadn't seen anything about this before (I looked it up after watching the video above). I would like to see the Galaxy investigate and take action regarding this very disturbing allegation. Perhaps it's referenced in a G2 thread that I haven't read.
Yes, it is in the G2 thread. Player was released. SD walked off the field after the opening kick of the second half tonight due to one of their players, Collin Martin, being the victim of a homophobic slur by a Phoenix player. https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/san...ter-homophobic-slur/bv0m48in2jeb1x7ws0cu8pucx
This is a load of horse crap. Do you really think that Landon wasn't competitive or driven as a player? There have been great coaches in all sports who are more placid in style with reputations for being great man coaches. You can start with John Wooden, Phil Jackson, Greg Popovitch, Tony Dungy, and in MLS Brian Schmetzer.
I don't know if LD will be a great coach or not; I remember he himself said he didn't see himself coaching adults initially. I do think the world needs more men like Landon in leadership positions, who can be examples of masculine leadership that isn't toxic or maniacal. Having said that, this is like the most I've seen him fired up off the pitch! Amazing clip really. @TheLocalsSG here is @PHXRisingFC Head coach actively telling @landondonovan “it’s apart of Soccer”. pic.twitter.com/UurXGISNPa— Clinton St. Clair (@cdog209) October 1, 2020
Agree 100%. He was raised in an academically oriented family who saw sports as less important than most. From the pieces I've read his mom would be much more impressed with a dedicated social worker than an NBA MVP. Donovan shared those beliefs but also was talented beyond belief in soccer. He struggled with the dichotomy his whole career - does what I'm doing matter? And he seemed to share his mom's unselfish personality. Taking care of others mattered. Even on the field Landon often seemed to get more satisfaction from getting an assist than a goal. I remember both Galaxy and USMNT fans getting frustrated from time to time that he wasn't more selfish and sometimes just wouldn't shoot. Of course he was so great he still scored like crazy while making everyone around him so much better. Donovan isn't a 20-something anymore and I'm sure he's always growing and changing. And he may become the best coach in soccer history. But in my experience even the "laid back" coaches like Phil Jackson or Popovich have a very sharp, kind of cut-throat edge to them. Don't know enough about Wooden to know if that was true of him. In any case I don't care because Donovan is one of the finest men I know. He is a true role model of what it means to be human and be a good man, imo.
This is true which is also true of your original post. I agree much more with the post above. With respect to Coach Wooden, he wasn't a saint and he certainly was competitive. But with only a few exceptions, most of his former players loved him. While he was a product of his environment, he did things that weren't all that different from Landon's in walking off the field. The most striking example was cited by John McCarthy, who served as the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament Director: "Coach Wooden, as the Coach and Athletic Director of the 1946-47 Indiana State Teacher's College, turned down the opportunity to play in the NAIB (now the NAIA) National Tournament because Clarence Walker, who was black, would not be permitted to play. This was Coach's first year as a collegiate Head Coach and he turned down the opportunity to compete in the nation's most prestigious National Championship because a black player - who, by the way, was a freshman, did not start, and played sparingly - was not going to be able to play. Flat out turned it down on principal, although the opportunity would have been a huge boost for his personal career. "The following year, the same scenario presented itself and Coach turned it down again. Eventually, Coach received a call back, telling him that Clarence would be provided the opportunity to play, BUT he could not eat with the team, stay with the team or be seen in public with the team. Coach thought that this was embarrassing and humiliating, and turned the invitation down again. Eventually, the NAACP got involved and Coach Wooden suggested that Clarence talk to his parents to get their thoughts. In short, Clarence Walker decided to play. Although the surrounding circumstances would be embarrassing, the Walkers - and the NAACP - thought that they could play a key role in breaking down a major racial barrier in our society. And thus, under Coach Wooden's leadership, Clarence Walker came off the bench and stepped onto the court on March 7, 1948 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City and helped break down another key barrier in American society." Another example was cited by Kareem Abdul Jabbar in an interview with Bill Littlefield regarding his boycott of the 1968 Olympic basketball team. "Yes. John Wooden received a letter from a woman that was upset that I was considering a boycott of the Olympic Games," Kareem says. "And then Coach Wooden wrote back to her and said that he had seen firsthand what black Americans have to deal with at times, and he understood why a protest would be something that any black American with common sense might want to consider. He got that. I have that letter, and, you know, I printed it, and it’s published." "How did you come into possession of that letter that Wooden had written in response to the woman who wrote him?" I ask. "Coach Wooden gave it to me. He had saved it, and he said that he thought I should have it. It’s one of my prized possessions, you know, because it’s written in his hand." Finally this also from Kareem in that same interview: "He didn’t see himself as someone who dehumanized the people that he had to work with in terms of coaching them," Kareem says. "How did Coach describe it? He said, 'A coach is someone who can criticize without creating resentment.' " If Landon can do that, I am sure he has the qualities necessary to become a successful coach. He already knows that the most important thing isn't winning.
I was watching it live and it was incredible. He was out on the field. He was livid. I am really proud of him and his team for standing up for what is right, even though it cost them a possible chance at playoffs. Few professional sports teams out there with this kind of integrity
Yes, most of the posts on here are indeed individual opinions, with some information and facts thrown in for support. And I have no problem when you or anyone else disagrees with my opinions and then explains why. But you took it further and labeled my opinion as "horsecrap." Your use of childish insults add nothing positive to the board. That's why I don't similarly insult your opinions even though such descriptors would often be accurate.
Yes, let's try to respect everyone's opinions and not be mean about it, thanks. That said, I think Donovan was tougher than most realized, but also not cut-throat and willing to sacrifice everything in his life for success on the field.
For what it’s worth I was enjoying reading what you both had to post on the topic. The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. You can quote me.
You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books. You're very well read, it's well known, and you can quote me on that.
I don't really know enough about those coaches to know what trait it is that you're attributing to them and not to Donovan. I don't think Donovan was ever at odds with scoring and winning, which he did more than any other American; I think he struggled with carrying the expectations of a nation. I also think Donovan himself is probably a bit obsessive; we're talking a guy who didn't really settle down until he retired (which he came back from twice). But I don't know if obsessiveness or competitiveness are the exact traits you mean. I thought about this though: Because of the points the Loyal forfeited, his team may miss the playoffs, while ironically the "bigoted" teams will make it in. Maybe the kind of coach you're talking about would put the results first?
Interview with Wahl. NEW: SD Loyal's @landondonovan on pulling his team off the field due to homophobia, finding his post-playing calling as a coach, Maradona, the turmoil at LA Galaxy, how good the US could be at WC26 & more.SUBSCRIBEApple https://t.co/A1kX0uYUEgSpotify https://t.co/VCDYuGPWy7 pic.twitter.com/0pMgkrwyQy— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) December 3, 2020