Landon Donovan and former USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann had a tumultuous relationship, and the last straw between them was when the German coach decided to leave Donovan out of the 23-men roster to play on Brazil’s 2014 World Cup.
Although they have cleared the air since that time and there have been numerous articles where they made peace, there was a point where things were as bad as they could be as Landon Donovan explains.
Donovan spoke to Klinsmann with authority
Recently, Donovan reflected on what happened back then while being interviewed by CBS’s show Golazo “I said to Jrgen there are guys who you’re going to take to the World Cup, who’ll never play for the U.S. again, will rarely step in the United States again and don’t give a f*ck what happens to U.S. Soccer after this tournament.”
There were many who agreed with Donovan, even Klinsmann said cutting him was one of the most difficult decisions he ever had during his coaching career “to tell a player like him, with everything he has done and what he represents, to tell him that he’s not part of that 23 right now, I just see some other players slightly ahead of him.”
There are some who claim that their beef began when Klinsmann got cut from directing Bayern Munich after he’d brought Donovan to the team but did not deliver what was expected from him, back then he gave his input on the problem with US players who reached European teams.
Klinsmann had some tough words for US soccer players, as he said “The problem is dealing with a generation who settles too early, if [US players] can sign a contract in Europe, they think, ‘I made it.’ But what have you done? You’re over there now and in our eyes in the U.S., we give recognition. But you talk to people overseas and they say they are just average, nothing special. You want to go for a team that’s top four-five in the Premier League, the Bundesliga. Don’t be on the bench, play all the time. I think we just gotta keep them hungry.”