Friday, May 23, 2014

Thoughts on final USMNT 23 for Brazil: Let's start with Donovan

I am floored. I am a numbers guy, so lets just do this real quick. Here is a quick and dirty synopsis of just appearances and goals for club and caps, goals, and assists for the USMNT. These are only those who either made the 23 and are competing for a spot with Landon Donovan, or whose initials are LD. Before I get to naming names, some of whom I'm sure that you already know, let me put these same totals up in a table along with totals for each column so you can get a sense of just how imbalanced this is:


Player Age Caps Int Goals Int Assists First Team Apps First team Goals
1 18 1 0 0 0 0
2 31 19 9 1 181 84
3 23 17 2 1 127 14
4 27 26 1 4 129 20
5 32 14 0 4 305 47
6 31 103 36 12 305 91
7 27 20 3 4 142 19
Totals   200 51 26 1189 275
Landon Donovan 32 156 57 58 340 145

Landon Donovan has more 6 international goals then everyone else on that list combined, and that list includes Clint Dempsey. LD has over double the assists of everone else on the list, and his international experience dwarfs everyone except Deuce. I realize this is unfair, and that if you did this list with a basically any experienced player over a young player (say Ashley Cole over Luke Shaw) then it will come out with the more experienced player looking better. Having said that, this list includes 3 others who are basically the same age as Donovan. It's not like he's the same age as Samuel Eto'o or anything. He may have lost a step recently, but he is the greatest US player to ever put on that jersey, and he has always risen to the biggest occasion. Even as recently as last summer he was exceptional during the Gold Cup, leading the US to the title, while taking both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball (most goals in the tournament and best player in the tournament).

So let's go back to that list and give some names:

Player 1 - Julian Green
Player 2 - Chris Wondolowski
Player 3 - Mix Diskerud
Player 4 - Alejandro Bedoya
Player 5 - Brad Davis
Player 6 - Clint Dempsey
Player 7 - Graham Zusi
Player 8 - Landon Donovan

It's actually very interesting how closely Graham Zusi and Alejandro Bedoya's numbers compare, uncanny even, but that's a discussion for another time and place. Everyone else on that list made the final 23 but Donovan. To be honest, If you look at my picks for the 23 man roster, you'll find every one of these guys going except Brad Davis. I don't have a problem with any of these guys, but to say that they all offer more that Landon Donovan, to take them to Brazil when you leave him home, that's a little much for me. Klinsmann has done it before (see Bocanegra, Carlos), and will probably do it again, but if we had a sacred cow, this was it, and Klinsmann just killed it.

The arguments against Donovan are, as far as I can tell, and read from the internet, mainly along two lines. First, he's mentally disengaged, as foretold by his sabbatical. Second, father time caught up with him quickly, he's lost a step, and he isn't the player he once was. These two main argument lead to a third: he wasn't going to start and it would be toxic for him to be on the bench. Let's start with that first argument. I know he went on a self-imposed sabbatical, I know that he left his team in a time of need. Maybe this just comes with my background and my wife's work in the social field, but mental illness should be taken just as seriously as a physical injury. If his head wasn't right, if he was sad, depressed, not enjoying life, and needed some time away, then not only is it understandable that he took some time away from the game, but I applaud him having the balls to do it when he knew how much crap he was going to get. When he came back, he was different, the interviews he gave were more positive, and he seemed to genuinely enjoy life and the game again. He was head and shoulders above every other player at the Gold Cup, which included guys like DaMarcus Beasley, Mix Diskerud, Kyle Beckerman, and Chris Wondolowski.

Some people have accused him of mental frailty, that while everyone else was focused on making the 23, and reeling off their platitudes and cliches, Donovan was already cutting his losses, talking about how he might not make the 23. In case you haven't been around since 2002, let me reveal something about Landon Donovan, he is extremely self-aware and truthful in interviews. That's really weird for sports fans to digest, we aren't used to athletes saying true things. One of the most hilarious things my wife will do when we are watching sports is answer interviewer questions for the athletes, and it's amazing how often she's spot on. Let me give a couple examples:

Interviewer: "There is a lot of speculation about who is going to be on that plane when it leaves for Brazil, what do you think you have to do to be on it?"

My Wife's Answer: "You know, it's all about giving your all every day on the training field. I'm just gonna give it 110%, take it one day at a time, and the rest is up to the coach."

Inteviewer: "You guys have a difficult draw, some people are calling it the 'Group of Death'. How do you prepare for those type of tough matches?"

My Wife's Answer: "Oh man, you know, you just gotta take it one game at a time. You can't look ahead, just focus on that next game. Ghana is the only game that's on my mind."

Those are exactly the responses we have been conditioned to expect, and they are basically the only ones we accept. Landon Donovan does not, and will never, give answers like that, he gives real answers to the questions, he's honest, his interviews are a breath of fresh air. Just because an athlete is self-aware and introspective does not mean that he's mentally weak, fragile, or lacks killer instinct on the field. How could you ever describe Landon Donovan with those words? Nobody has scored more goals in World Cups, against Mexico, at tournament finals, and at crucial times than Landon Donovan. Nobody. Dude gets up for the big games. He has a killer instinct, and he raises his game when the stakes get higher. That same self-awareness and honesty to himself would allow him to be able to start on the bench and not be a locker room cancer. It just isn't in his nature to draw the spotlight to himself and try to be the story.


Now, I'm not there in Stanford, maybe Donovan has done more than just lost a step. He hasn't been the same this MLS season. I admit that in the Mexico friendly I was surprised when he got chased down from behind, but soccer isn't just about pace. He has guile, he has experience, he has great touch, and he can do more than just blow past people at pace. Do I think we'll be fine in Brazil without him? Yes, actually I do. I don't think him not being there will make a big difference. He isn't Landon Donovan of 2002 or 2010, and he was probably going to be on the bench for most games anyway. But getting out of your group in a World Cup, and the sport of soccer in general, isn't about big differences. It's about little differences, it's about tiny margins, it's about individual moments of magic. And you can't convince me that Landon Donovan off the bench is not more capable of those moments than Brad Davis' "cultured left foot". I see his decline, I understand why he is going to be watching from home, but when I look at that roster of 23, there is no way that I could personally justify his exclusion.

1 comment:

  1. This is exactly what I have wanted to say to everyone. Thank you Topher!

    ReplyDelete