Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I agree, he didn't seem happy and had to think about what he was saying a lot. IMHO he knew they needed him he just couldn't say it.
Agreed! His presence would have definitely helped the US team.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard/read Donovan was left out of the 2014 World Cup due to personality conflicts with coach Jurgen Klinsmann. I find that hard to believe.
Individual personality clashes should be placed aside for the overall good of the team. I myself am no fan of Donovan. Despite that, I acknowledge his talents in the field.
The explanation that makes more sense to me is that Jurgen is paranoid about fitness and Landon was below his expectations. Ironically, Altidore got hurt during the WC and Landon who should be there to sub him, wasn't.
Landon is a pretty good player (great by American standards) who never fully validated his career by not going full time to Europe. Sure he had a couple of loan stints at Everton, but he should have played 4-5 full seasons in Europe, imo.
I disagree, I dont think he needed to pay in Europe. Hes not the best player in the world but what he is is a consitent and iconic American player and nobody in the world can deny he was a fantastic influence for the national team. He did great in MLS and got paid well for it.
I started following the MLS just recently to be honest, but I did know he was doing a good job in the MLS.
Apart from these short terms loans, did he have a real opportunity to be recruited by a major club in Europe?
He was the property of Bayer Leverkusen from 1999-2005 getting only 7 senior caps (and 28 youth apps). To me this was an example of what not to do with a career, languishing mostly on the bench in spite of being on a pretty prestigious club. It was saved by a loan move to San Jose/MLS where he made his name.
The LA Galaxy bought him in 2005 who loaned him once to Bayern Munich and twice to Everton where he really impressed.
I think level of club play is overrated in determining ultimate level in international play. You could argue that Champions and Europa level clubs burn their players out from too many matches. And we all know top players who have played very poorly for their countries in big tournaments... Steven Gerrard anyone?
But it's a bit of a shame, Donovan is still pretty dang good, he showed a bucket of skills to get the game winner vs Bayern Munich the other day. And Klinsmann really screwed him (and US soccerfans) over not bringing him to Brazil. I really think we would have made it out of the group with him being our first attacker off the bench.
Landon is a pretty good player (great by American standards) who never fully validated his career by not going full time to Europe. Sure he had a couple of loan stints at Everton, but he should have played 4-5 full seasons in Europe, imo.
I agree..
I have a feeling that he loved the lifestyle in LA too much.. he could have gone to a decent mid level European team such as Everton, a Portuguese team or one of the lower Spanish or German teams
Keep hearing that Landon is the best American player ever but can anyone argue he had a better club career than Clint Dempsey?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
