SAN DIEGO (AP) — Landon Donovan is the biggest name in American soccer, though U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann has little respect for that distinction.
U.S. Soccer’s all-time leader in goals and assists lost his standing on the national team thanks to a 144-day sabbatical where he completely stepped away from the game. He returned to the Los Angeles Galaxy on March 30, but Klinsmann didn’t include him on the roster for World Cup qualifiers in June.
Klinsmann wasn’t impressed by Donovan’s form, and his reputation didn’t alter that stance. It did help him land on the roster for the less prestigious Gold Cup, a campaign preceded by Friday’s friendly against Guatemala at Qualcomm Stadium.
Donovan’s on a roster largely devoid of big-names, with few having a lock on a full-strength U.S. roster. Though Donovan would seem to be an exception, Klinsmann doesn’t see it that way.
