#landon donovan
The USMNT kicks off its World Cup campaign without Landon Donovan, this generation’s brightest soccer star.
Landon Donovan is the greatest American soccer player of all time.
Goalies are often cited as our greatest player export, but there is an unfortunate scaling in assessing the careers of a goalie. In order to be remembered as great, their feats must be unimaginably brilliant, and no such American keeper has reached the same heights as Dino Zoff, Gordon Banks, or even Gianluigi Buffon. Landon on the other hand has consistently proven himself at the international and club level as a player that delivers at the biggest moments against the biggest teams. In order to understand Landon Donovan, all aspects of his career must be looked at – his tactical evolution, his feats, and his personality.
As a player, Landon has always been somewhat of a contradiction. Tactically, Bruce Arena once famously said that the problem with him was that it didn’t matter where you put him because he’d be your best player in that position. Bruce was right, and during his time with the Galaxy and the USMNT, Donovan played on both the left and the right of a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2, as a striker, behind the striker, and even as a central attacking midfielder in a diamond behind two strikers during the 2006 WC qualifiers.
But his versatility isn’t what made him a contradiction–his qualities did. Glancing at Landon Donovan, you would immediately notice his speed, technique, vision, and coupled with his crossing ability led to many believing that he was some sort of tricky winger. He was anything but. Landon Donovan combined all the qualities of a goal-poacher with the elite speed of a sprinter. Jurgen Klopp, the Borussia Dortmund coach obsessed with “verticality,” would have loved Landon Donovan. He was at his best when combining quickly with precise passes and making runs behind the defense. He could run at players, exchange a 1-2, and be behind the defense slipping the ball into the corner of the field within seconds.
Landon was also an unbelievable counter-attacking player, essential during so many of the USMNT’s world cup and tournament games. He was arguably the best player of the 2009 Confederations Cup, leading the U.S. to the final and scoring one of the great all-time counter attacking goals against Brazil to put the U.S. 2-0 up. They eventually succumbed to a much better Brazil side than people remember, but he had cemented his position in U.S. lore.
That was until 2010, when he gifted us with the greatest U.S. soccer moment of all time.
The goal against Algeria will live long in the memories of all U.S. soccer fans as the moment that Landon Donovan awoke a sleeping beast. The passion and furor that followed that goal as it rang across all US. news outlets felt like we had finally made it. The broken and sectioned off soccer community in some ways has always felt like a diaspora of sorts. We all share the same love of the game and sense of belonging, yet without any attention from the media, it has always been hard to find one another and create a solidified identity. Landon Donovan’s goal that won us the group in 2010 will forever be in my eyes the day that soccer in America experience it’s “Miracle on Ice” moment. Ian Darke’s spontaneous “GO GO USA” line already belongs in the annals of history as one of the all-time great sports commentator lines.
As a person, Landon Donovan has never lived up to the athlete persona that many fans and pundits expect from a talent such as himself. He moved to Germany at a young age and decided he was better served coming home to build his career. First at San Jose and then the LA Galaxy, Donovan built an impressive record of championships and goals scored, quickly asserting himself as the most successful player to ever play on American soil.
A stint at Bayern Munich under Jurgen Klinsmann was doomed from the start. Klinsmann had already lost the dressing room and the backing of the entire club as a whole, and Donovan became nothing more than another reason to sack Klinsmann. The squad never respected Donovan and perhaps he failed to impose himself. But bigger players than Donovan have failed at Bayern Munich and it has no bearing on his quality or career.
A loan spell at Everton confirmed what many U.S. fans already knew, which was that England would prove a far better home to Donovan than Germany ever would. His familiarity with the language, high-tempo style of play, and choice of club, Everton, all combined to make his spell extremely successful. Phil Neville once even declared Landon Donovan one of the best right-sided players he ever played with.
But Landon Donovan always came home. There was a natural pull to being in the U.S. and representing his country, even when playing at club level. By staying in the U.S., Landon Donovan provided a sort of legitimacy to MLS that no player could have provided at the stage the league was at during his early years. Despite being the greatest American soccer player, Landon never felt the need to leave and play in Europe, and this was his greatest contradiction. He is the man who never left, the one who chose to remain, and this is why we hold him at the top.
Perhaps leaving him off the squad will turn out the right decision, Donovan has certainly not been at the top of his game in recent months, but it will certainly remain a note on this World Cup for years to come. No matter how far the U.S. squad goes, we will always be left wondering how far we could go with Donovan, the man who carried us to the quarter finals in 2002, the Confederations Cup final in 2009, and to the top of the World Cup group stage in 2010.
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Cross-posted through a partnership with The Philly Terrace.
The U.S. demonstrated just how deep this squad is during their run to the Gold Cup title.
The Gold Cup played out just about how everyone expected.
The U.S. beat a talented, well-organized Panama side 1-0 in the final, confirming that the Americans remain the best of the group, but that the group nevertheless still lacks in quality. Fans got an entertaining diversion during a period otherwise devoid of important soccer. And manager Jurgen Klinsmann seized on the opportunity to demonstrate just how far the national program has come under his tutelage.
The reaction to the U.S. squad’s showing, though, seemed a bit more unsettled. Some saw brilliance during the three-week tourney, praising Klinsmann’s tactics, player selection and prescient substitutions (both Eddie Johnson and Brek Shea netted goals with their first touch). Others came off a bit more skeptical, reserving judgment for when the Americans face stiffer competition. More likely, as it often is, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
To his credit, Klinsmann navigated the U.S. “B” squad through the Gold Cup. The June World Cup qualifiers deprived him of a handful of key players, forcing the coach to plug those holes without much disruption. But calling this particular team the “B” squad is perhaps an insult to the talent assembled.
The U.S. fielded several players who make their living in European and Mexican leagues. All-time goals and assists leader Landon Donovan also made the trip, instantly elevating the national team above the likes of Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras. Klinsmann’s main challenge here was not squeezing a great performance out of mediocre players, but selling all those players on his tactics and strategies well enough that he could throw them out on the pitch together and produce 90 minutes of cohesive play.
That interchangeability has quietly been months in the making. Klinsmann faced criticism early in his tenure for using a different squad in nearly 23 straight matches. Those teams were sloppy and inconsistent, often featuring players simply because they happened to be on the right continent at the right time.
Yet while those matches might have been frustrating to watch, they accomplished a larger goal of providing Klinsmann with perhaps the largest player pool in national team history. Now when the U.S. team trots out for tourneys, they benefit from the experience given early on to a wide range of then-unproven players.
There was Kyle Beckerman’s steady play as a pivot in the midfield, a testament to Klinsmann’s faith in him during a string of European friendlies. Brek Shea assimilated right back into the flow despite missing several first-team matches due to injury. Stuart Holden and DaMarcus Beasley turned in strong showings, and Landon Donovan used the Gold Cup to demonstrate why he could become the national team’s star. Even so, the U.S.’s vast roster means Donovan might find himself on the bench when the squad kicks off in Rio.
Thanks to the Gold Cup and Klinsmann’s long-term strategy, there will be serious competition in the defense, midfield and attacking positions when the “A” and “B” squads merge and vie for 23 final spots. Its the sort of dilemma every coach loves, and a luxury few American squads have enjoyed until now.
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Zach Ricchiuti is a contributor and resident soccer expert for Began in ‘96.
