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 sort of despise David Beckham and his celebrity. I get why Landon Donovan didn't like him and was ticked off at his circus, seemingly lack of committment to the Galaxy and the cohesiveness of the team. But I've always thought Donovan was a major turd for being the source of Grant Wahl's book that slammed Beckham, while they were still CURRENT teammates. Ouch! A very high profile excerpt was printed in Sports Illustrated: Grant Wahl: New Afterword from The Beckham Experiment - More Sports - SI.com
Seriously, who helps a reporter write a book that slams your current teammate and just tells all these really petty slights? Beckham's response was very reasonable when he said he wasn't sure why a teammate would come to him with his complaints vs. an author/reporter. Stuff like Beckham wouldn't pick up the check for team meals on the road, despite making much more than the other players. Donovan was complaining about Beckham being a bad teammate, while he did something much, much worse.
This is the same Donovan who takes a sabbatical to still see if he has the desire to continuing to play football, claims he's totally recharged and committed, and then retires right after the WC. So basically Klinsman was right that Donovan probably really not committed to football and Donovan was a total hippocrite sniping at him throughout the WC, especially after the team exceeded expectations.
Now he gets to be yet another former USMNT TV analyst that constantly complains about the current team and coach.
Good post. I agree everything you said, except, I do not consider the USMNT to have exceeded expectations in the WC.
Regarding former USMNT becoming TV commentators, well, I find myself agreeing on very few things they say.
I think given the circumstances and the group they had, for USA to qualify from for the R16 was amazing
Yes, and that's probably what slim04 meant but if you look at the actual facts, they were dissapointing, at least to me.
They played just one good game, against Portugal but the draw in the end was fair. IMO Portugal was a real disappointment in that group.
Ghana played much better than the US, that head goal in the end that gave US the victory was luck.
Their performance against Germany was pretty pathetic, they barely touched the ball, just 1 on-target shot against 9 from Germany. Algeria and Ghana had much better performances against Germany.
They were able to hold even possession against Belgium but were very poor creating goal chances, except in the end of extra-time when it was too late. Belgium could have massacred them if not for that record-breaking performance of Howard.
I sort of despise David Beckham and his celebrity. I get why Landon Donovan didn't like him and was ticked off at his circus, seemingly lack of committment to the Galaxy and the cohesiveness of the team. But I've always thought Donovan was a major turd for being the source of Grant Wahl's book that slammed Beckham, while they were still CURRENT teammates. Ouch! A very high profile excerpt was printed in Sports Illustrated: Grant Wahl: New Afterword from The Beckham Experiment - More Sports - SI.com
Seriously, who helps a reporter write a book that slams your current teammate and just tells all these really petty slights? Beckham's response was very reasonable when he said he wasn't sure why a teammate would come to him with his complaints vs. an author/reporter. Stuff like Beckham wouldn't pick up the check for team meals on the road, despite making much more than the other players. Donovan was complaining about Beckham being a bad teammate, while he did something much, much worse.
This is the same Donovan who takes a sabbatical to still see if he has the desire to continuing to play football, claims he's totally recharged and committed, and then retires right after the WC. So basically Klinsman was right that Donovan probably really not committed to football and Donovan was a total hippocrite sniping at him throughout the WC, especially after the team exceeded expectations.
Now he gets to be yet another former USMNT TV analyst that constantly complains about the current team and coach.
Yeah, I agree with you, from what I read about him, I never loved Donovan and thought he was selfish for sure. I'm not really looking forward to Donovan being an analyst, but I have grown to like Twellman. Lalas gets annoying, but I think that is his role on TV...Lalas is another one with a big ego.
Yes, and that's probably what slim04 meant but if you look at the actual facts, they were dissapointing, at least to me.
They played just one good game, against Portugal but the draw in the end was fair. IMO Portugal was a real disappointment in that group.
Ghana played much better than the US, that head goal in the end that gave US the victory was luck.
Their performance against Germany was pretty pathetic, they barely touched the ball, just 1 on-target shot against 9 from Germany. Algeria and Ghana had much better performances against Germany.
They were able to hold even possession against Belgium but were very poor creating goal chances, except in the end of extra-time when it was too late. Belgium could have massacred them if not for that record-breaking performance of Howard.
Germany, Portugal and Belgium are all better teams though, so that is to be expected.. US made a good go at it, but ultimately they just don't have the quality
Perhaps if he really got stuck in. Something with Donovan I thought was that I really don't think he loved the game and therefore willing to sacrifice things to achieve 'goals'. Was he burned out from training or was it stress in meeting expectations for him? Some guys may not like that kind of 'heat'. Coming back from Europe probably sunk him with JK. No doubt it told a lot of who Landon Donovan was in certain respects.
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.
. I think he's still traumatized by the 94 WC loss.
