No sooner had Clint Dempsey dropped out of the starting lineup Tuesday night because of what was described as a sore groin than the flotilla of ESPN observers began speculating whether Donovan would be the first alternative in any roster switch.
Lord Landon does not go away. He scored two goals for the Galaxy on the weekend and was voted Player of the Week in Major League Soccer. That probably does not intimidate Jürgen Klinsmann, whose mind has been made up for weeks, maybe years. However, as the expertise of the ESPN commentators shows, the issue will persist right into the World Cup. Suppose, just suppose, that the USA (despite the gaggle of strangers and recruits on the back line) hangs on for a one-goal deficit in the 65th minute in the opener against Ghana. Of all the Americans since the founding of this great nation, which adult male would you most like to insert into the lineup – George Washington? Abraham Lincoln? Jackie Robinson? I would say a living breathing Landon Donovan might be the national choice, if not Klinsmann’s. So that raises the question: what is there about independent, quirky yet talented players that make coaches so squeamish? Let us recall how Italian coaches used to recoil from pigtailed, Buddhist-convert introverted Roberto Baggio. The coaches preferred stalwarts who would do what the boss said rather than think on their feet at full tilt. Crazy. Of course, Arrigo Sacchi did not mind when Il Codino saved Italy’s pancetta in the 88th minute against Nigeria in 1994 – and did it again a few days later, same late minute, against Spain. But there was something a little too independent about Baggio that threatened coaches. (It’s called talent.) American coaches have had their issues with goal-producer types. Hugo Perez, a scorer, didn’t make the flight to Italy in 1990. And that meteor named Steve Snow flamed out going into the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Labelled “a cocky little twirp” by his coach, Lothar Osiander, Snow grumped about his low status and was not in the lineup against Italy, and promptly went off to reporters after the match. Snow never played in a World Cup or Major League Soccer and currently runs a pizzeria in Indiana. (Read the terrific article by Nick Firchau on MLS.com) http://m.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2014/05/09/usmnt-world-cup-hero-who-never-was-word The saga of Steve Snow illustrates the point. Coaches are more comfortable with players who stay home, metaphorically. . Donovan didn’t love winters in Germany, took a walkabout when he needed a break from his sport, and generally listened to his own inner radar. He also produced probably the most dramatic goal ever scored by the USA in the World Cup – the 91st-minute rally against Algeria in 2010. From now until rosters are frozen, the name will surface every time a Yank suffers a twinge. Lord Landon Lives.
Andy Tansey
5/28/2014 04:18:07 am
This comment may be better suited for the previous piece, which touched on "Eight World Cups" and the Rangers, but since this is the most recent, please pardon here my kind of acts of randomness.
George Vecsey
5/28/2014 04:50:37 am
Mr T: The editor of Howler honors me by asking me to write something. I should. Busy right now doing interviews for my book.
Andy Tansey
5/28/2014 04:57:41 am
You're welcome, and thank you! I neglected to mention that the key goal in QPR's promotion was a late one from Bobby Zamora, himself a quirky, talented, sometimes problem child (as I recall when he was with Fulham).
John McDermott
5/28/2014 07:00:16 am
I watched the WC warmup match against Azerbaijan(AZERBAIJAN?!?!) last night and came away scratching my head. Altidore moves very well and intelligently. Just not when he has the ball. I like Michael Bradley. Actually I like him very much. But he is not a playmaker. He needs to play a bit deeper to get the best out of his set of skills, more like Daniele DeRossi or a poor man's Andrea Pirlo. Seeing Brad Davis come on and do so well was encouraging, as was Diskerud's energetic performance. And as much as I may not like to admit it, even Jermaine Jones was good last night. Still, I couldn't help wondering, as I watched our lads bang there heads against the wall and lose the ball repeatedly during the first half, against what is supposedly a significantly inferior opponent, "what would Landon have done?". I get that he is older and no longer the guy to count on for a scintillating 90-minute performance every three or four days. But don't tell me that he isn't still one of the 23 best American players, including the five Germans, one Norwegian and the Icelander that have been discovered by Klinsmann and called in. That is my firm opinion, and I suspect it is also the opinion of guys like Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and others as well. I believe that after their failed mutual experience at Bayern Munich the relationship between Jürgen and Landon was seriously damaged, and that maybe Landon was a player whose "attitude"-being interested in things other than soccer sometimes-along with Donovan's refreshing candor when speaking about his life and career, was something that Coach Klinsmann couldn't deal with. I believe Klinsmann had his mind made up to get rid of Landon a long time ago and that he had to go through the charade of seriously considering him simply for PR purposes, hoping the player would play himself out of contention for a place on the World Cup squad. Rather than seeing it as a really positive development, Jürgen probably looked at Landon's excellent performance at the the Gold Cup last year as an unwanted headache as it would now be harder to get justify dropping the player. None of this reflects positively, in my view anyway, on Klinsmann's coaching ability. Time will tell, however, and if the USA somehow surprises everybody and does well in Brazil then I will be the first one to say that Jürgen did a good job. But if it all blows up in his face then not only Jürgen, but the guy who gave him a contract extension through the NEXT World Cup, before a ball was even kicked at THIS one, will have some questions to answer. As for the espn commentators and their predictable, and now tedious, speculation, every time a player seems to be slightly injured that it could be the opportunity for Klinsmann to recall Donovan, well that is just confirmation to me that they really haven't understood Klinsmann at all.
Andy (Mr. T) Tansey
5/29/2014 03:34:49 pm
Re: the friendly. I agree that the errors were sobering. The two goals were pretty much gimmes, a rebound and a wide open header because of an absent opponent.
Michael
5/28/2014 10:05:01 am
Hey, hey guys, please don't judge Simeone by his tirade. He is much more and give him credit for using great man management skills to overcome both RMA and Barca in the league race. Did you know the journalists in the press room gave him a standing ovation when he entered to give his post-match (losing) comments? He applauded RMA's victory and gave no excuses for Atleti's last minute tie and ultimate loss in extra time. I'm a big Atletico fan and a big Simeone apologist (in this instance).
George Vecsey
5/28/2014 11:36:59 am
Michael, I've got to put it this way, if they gave him an ovation after the match, then they are not journalists, by my definition. I understand that standards are different. Americans endure rabid rooting in World Cup press boxes. I've been at Caligiuri's goal and Donovan's goal and never saw an American cheer. I thought Simeone did a great job preparing Atletico, but his behavior at the end of the match was shameful. And I had no dog in that fight...nowhere near a Real fan. GV
John McDermott
5/28/2014 01:56:58 pm
And to answer the question in the headline, yes I think coaches are often afraid of creativity because they fear the loss of control that it represents. A "fantasist" by definition deviates from the carefully-crafted(by the coach) tactical plan. But a really smart, confident coach embraces the creative player and builds a team around him, making the adjustments in personnel and their roles necessary for that player to be able to do what the others cannot. When you hear coaches criticizing such players it often involves terms like "doesn't track back" or similar nonsense. But if you have a Zidane you can bring in a Deschamps or a Petit to do the tracking back. If you have a Roberto Baggio you put a Dino Baggio behind him to track back and win the ball. Unless you believe in some misguided notion about "everybody has to do his share of the defensive work" why would you want your most creative player expending energy on winning back the ball, unless it is in the opponent's half of the field? You want that player as fresh as possible every time he gets the ball. 5/28/2014 02:17:53 pm
George
Andy Tansey
5/28/2014 04:30:52 pm
This is stimulating stuff! More random brainstorms.
George Vecsey
5/29/2014 12:48:52 am
Mr T, I hate to do this, but...IT"S IN MY BOOK!
Ed Martin
5/28/2014 11:41:03 pm
hello from Copenhagen. Denmark over Sweden last night bringing joy here.
George Vecsey
5/29/2014 12:50:34 am
I've seen both in World Cup matches...Probably no fun being on the outside. Must be lovely this time of year.
Brian Savin
5/29/2014 06:30:56 am
Too bad, Donovan and Klinsmann are a perfect match -- a Hot Dog and a Sauerkraut.
John McDermott
5/29/2014 09:47:52 am
I ran into Beckenbauer at the Tokyo airport a couple of days after the 2002 Germany-USA game waiting for the FIFA car and he very sincerely, and I have to say, enthusiastically, told me he thought the USA absolutely deserved to win that game. Then, a few minutes later, Carlos Parreira showed up and said the same thing. I had been at a different game and didn't even see the USA v. Germany but listening to their accounts of the game made me wish I had.
G
5/29/2014 03:05:45 pm
I do a whole riff on that in the book, how German journalists said the US outplayed Germany. I didn't think so, but they know the game better than I do. The dos-a-cero victory over Mexico in the R16 was the best match I ever saw the US play. Then again, Germany had a better squad than Mexico. But as Bruce Arena said (sarcastically), Comments are closed.
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