Wednesday, May 28, 2014

No Donovan on World Cup Squad

The lack of Landon Donovan on the U.S. Squad for the World Cup in Brazil this summer will be strange for U.S. Soccer fans who are used to him being the face of the sport in the country for the last decade or so. Klinsmann really made quite a bold call here, but ultimately he may have made the correct one. He wanted people who were hungry; and between Donovan's age, his sabbatical from the sport this winter, and apparent "sluggishness" in training, Klinsmann doubted not only Donovan's fit within his plan for the World Cup, but also his waning athletic ability and leadership. He didn't need a figurehead for the new era of U.S. Soccer, but instead wanted to find a new face for the team because Donovan simply wouldn't cut it if they wanted anything more than Pyrrhic victories.

It's still quite possible that a player gets injured or something in the run-up to the first game against Ghana, and Donovan gets called up. This simply isn't the U.S. team we're used to seeing though, with no Onyewu, no Bocanegra, and plenty of other veteran mainstays of the team no longer on the squad.

Donovan will be missed, and will always be a U.S. Soccer legend:

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