Klinsmann on Donovan cut: ‘It’s not easy, it’s just part of the process’
By Mike Dyce
American soccer fans are still processing the decision to not include Landon Donovan on the United States men’s national team heading to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup. After the announcement was made, manager Jurgen Klinsmann gave a lengthy explanation about why Donovan was left of the roster.
“Obviously you congratulate everyone being on that 23-man roster, and you feel sorry for the guys who are left out of that moment and hope for their understanding, and you hope for them that they take it the right way, that they are still available at any moment over the next couple of weeks,” Klinsmann said, as transcribed by U.S. Soccer’s website. “For a coach, there is a mixture of feelings that you go through – on one side you’re very happy for everyone now being on the 23-man list, and on the other side you feel really bad for the guys who haven’t made the cut in that moment. That’s part of our work, and they understand that, as well.”
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“…It is a very tight race for those spots, and at this moment, we feel like the other players, without naming any of those guys, are a tiny bit ahead of him. That’s why we made that decision, which is obviously and understandably the biggest topic out here.”
“We read everything. Where he maybe is not the one to go one against one all the time and go into the box, he brings other values to the table – his outstanding passing game, his experience, which is a big factor always, and other elements. He’s changed his game over the past four years, which is normal at this stage of his career. Those things, we coaches discuss. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the other guys that we have and then we have to make a decision. He has done an amazing job in the last 10 days he was here, and has done everything right, like all of the guys did. They all had strong cases. With every player yesterday to kind of go through those couple minutes, it’s been not easy. It’s just part of the process.”
Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl discusses Jurgen Klinsmann’s bold decision to leave veteran Landon Donovan off the U.S. World Cup team in the video below.