Few players have had as large an impact and influence on U.S. soccer as Landon Donovan has had. His is a talent that has seen him rise to the top in Major League Soccer, becoming the top scorer in league history this week with goals number 135 and 136 against the Philadelphia Union. Surpassing Jeff Cunningham, Donovan has cemented his name in MLS history, but he won’t be adding to that history in Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named his 23-man roster for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil, and while there were plenty of familiar faces like Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey in the mix, one big, notable name was missing – that of Landon Donovan, a long-time staple of the national team, hero of the 2010 campaign and an all-around quality player.
Donovan’s snub, and it most certainly was a snub, came after Klinsmann took a camp of 30 players to pre-tournament training. There, he was cut from the team, replaced by the San Jose Earthquakes’ Chris Wondolowski up top or the Houston Dynamo’s Brad Davis out wide, depending on how Donovan would have been utilized in the U.S. formation.
This decision was most certainly a surprise but one that was founded in a little bit of reason; Donovan had not been scoring prior to the cut, notching his first two goals of the year after being cut from the team. He also took a bit of a sabbatical before the season started and even contemplated retirement.
If Klinsmann is going on form alone, then Donovan’s absence makes some sense. However, he is such an instrumental figure in the line up that it seems strange that he won’t feature in at least some capacity.
Certainly, many a fair-weather fan will wonder aloud (loudly) where Donovan is, his being the only name remembered by the large portion of the U.S. population that watches soccer exclusively during the World Cup. Donovan is a national icon and a household name.
Across the pond, Donovan is one of the few U.S. players who have street cred in the English Premier League, with two successful loan spells at Everton making him a fan favourite in the city of Liverpool.
Klinsmann has no room for brand name recognition, though. His challenge has been made much more difficult that many other teams in the World Cup, being put into Group G alongside Germany, Portugal and Ghana. The former two will most certainly qualify first and second while Ghana alone proved a difficult test for the U.S. in the last World Cup, in the knockout stages.
Bradley told reporters in Toronto and again in U.S. camp that to win the World Cup, a team eventually has to face big sides, and that the U.S. just had to take them on earlier; that’s a positive spin on what is really a very tough situation to deal with. The U.S. could very well pull through and make it to the next round, but as we’ve analyzed before, the odds – and history – are certainly against them.
While other players could replicate Donovan’s goal scoring skill, his ability to turn a match on its head cannot be forgotten. That first task isn’t so easy, though – Donovan has scored 57 goals in 156 appearances, some of them quite crucial.
Donovan’s clutch goal against Algeria gave the U.S. the win that secured a spot in the next round of the competition. By leaving Donovan at home, that responsibility falls on the shoulders of some unproven names, including one Julian Green.
Yes, this young, promising up-and-comer is certainly an interest pick for Klinsmann. Green, 18, is 14 years younger than Donovan, 32. He plays for German giants Bayern Munich but was born in Tampa Bay, Florida. Green has had some interest from the German national team so it was imperative that the U.S. gave him a call up in order to secure his services in the future.
That process seems to have involved a promise of a World Cup spot, which is exactly what Green got, despite his young age and inexperience with the U.S. team. These will be some of his first games with the United States. Donovan has been in the national outfit since 2000.
So how will the U.S. look without Donovan in the picture?
Tim Howard will most certainly start in net, with Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron, Matt Besler and Timothy Chandler in the back line; in the middle of the park, Bradley partners with Jermain Jones, Graham Zusi, Dempsey and Alejandro Bedoya. Jozy Altidore will take the role of a lone striker.
Coming off the bench, players like Mix Diskerud, Aron Johannsson, Wondolowski, Davis and Kyle Beckerman give the U.S. a mix of different qualities and skill sets, but it’s hard to see how some of these players offer something better than Donovan can.
Perhaps it’s a case of transitioning an older player out for a new generation; that certainly has precedent in the international game. Could Donovan’s snub be a blessing in disguise?
It’s an interesting idea, one that says the U.S. is producing enough young talent to actually make Donovan’s age a factor. It’s a problem unique to big teams like Spain, Germany and Brazil, who cycle through experienced veterans and young players at a rapid rate at each World Cup.
Other sides like Greece, Italy and England like to hold on to established players for as long as possible; it’s why players like Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon are still in the picture for their respective sides.
But age just isn’t a factor for Donovan, 32, who continues to score and, apart from that, hasn’t really lost a step in pace or in vision; he is still connecting with well-placed passes and is getting into good spaces. None of that has changed significantly enough to say it falls on age alone.
Whatever the reasoning may be, it looks as though the U.S. has entered the post-Donovan era, one with plenty of MLS talent and one that continues to churn out talented players.
It could very well work this time around, but if the U.S. exits the World Cup quickly, you can bet the one name people will be talking about is Landon Donovan, the prolific scorer Jurgen Klinsmann left at home.
U.S. World Cup Roster:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England), Nick Rimando (Salt Lake)
Defenders: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla, Mexico), Matt Besler (Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Geoff Cameron (Stoke, England), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg, Germany), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes, France), Michael Bradley (Toronto), Brad Davis (Houston), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg, Norway), Julian Green (Bayern Munich, Germany), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas, Turkey), Graham Zusi (Kansas City)
Fowards: Jozy Altidore (Sunderland, England), Clint Dempsey (Seattle), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose)
