Hours before his final game for the USA, Landon Donovan made no effort to hide his anger at the manager, Jürgen Klinsmann, for omitting him from the 2014 World Cup, saying “I still know I should have been there”.
The face of American soccer for more than a decade, Donovan had been counting on going to his fourth World Cup. And then after practice at Stanford Stadium on May 22, Klinsmann called in the 32-year-old forward and told him he wasn’t going to Brazil Donovan was stunned and livid.
“Although I didn’t agree with the decision and I still know I should have been there, it was also good for me to say, you know what, it’s not always going to go your way,” he said. “And it took time for me to get to that place. I’m human. I had some very real emotions after. But after a while I said: ‘maybe this is a going to be a good thing’. And I wouldn’t have the opportunity to grow had it not happened. I certainly grew a lot more by that happening than if I had gone to the World Cup and played there, and in that way you can learn a lot from it.
“I had the opportunity to feel what other players have felt in my career. A lot of times when I made a team I was so happy for me that I forgot about the guy who got cut, so for the first time it kind of put that in front of my face.”
“Three, four months ago, if someone asked if this day would happen, I would have said you’re out of your mind and you’re crazy,” Donovan said. “I give all the credit to Sunil [Gulait, president of the United States Soccer Federation] for sticking with me through some hard conversations and understanding what was important and making it happen.
“I believe this is a day I deserve. I believe this is a day my family deserves for all the sacrifices they’ve made.”
“ People forget, for those of us who weren’t selected this summer to play in Brazil, it’s not only difficult for us, it’s difficult for our families,” he said. “In many instances, our families had this amazing vacation trip of a lifetime planned, and that was taken from them.”
Asked about his relationship with Klinsmann, all Donovan would say is: “You know.” It took him awhile to accept Gulati’s offer of a testimonial match. “The thought of being in this environment again didn’t seem all that appealing at the time,” Donovan said. “But at the end of the day I looked at the big picture and realized what a special day this could be. It’s almost like, if you care to believe this stuff, in many ways it’s meant to be. I think it’s no coincidence it’s 10-10 today.”