“A Tale of two teams.”
That is how Landon Donovan’s assessment of the United States’ campaign at the 2016 Copa America Centenario.
In an introspective interview with the Washington Post’s Steven Goff, Donovan discussed the USMNT’s tournament which will end on Saturday in the third-place match against Colombia. Although Donovan was encouraged by several of the team’s performances throughout the competition, he admits that the team must continue to improve.
“It’s been a tale of two teams. The Colombia game, I didn’t think it was great, and I didn’t think they had ideas or ways to figure out how to break them down. And the Argentina game obviously was really disappointing,” Donovan said. “In between, they had really good games. They weren’t perfect. In Seattle, when I watched them come out for pregame, having been in those situations, I could tell there was an energy and cohesiveness and team spirit I hadn’t seen for a long time.
“They had these really good moments, and that was interspersed between two games that were pretty disappointing. So it was a little strange. I think the [third-place match against Colombia on Saturday] is important for a lot of reasons. They need to end on a good note because if you win, you can say, ‘Hey, the tournament really is a success.’ If you don’t and you lose poorly, it makes people say, ‘Gosh, we are still way, way, way far away.’ ”
Donovan also discussed his relationship with U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, which the Galaxy legend admits has improved since his famous omission from the 2014 FIFA World Cup two years ago.
“People find this hard to believe, but I have long since gotten past it and gotten through it and made peace with it. Publicly people don’t understand that. For me, it was still important to reach out and speak to him for a lot of reasons, none of which had to do with me calling the game [on Fox Sports]. That was beneficial. We’re both going to be a part of [U.S. soccer] going forward, especially if I continue in a commentary role.
“I want to have a respectful, good relationship. It doesn’t mean we have to be best friends. It doesn’t mean I won’t disagree with him, and he knows that. I’ve made some comments over the years that were critical of him, but he said to me he understands when people are critical and he understands when I was critical and he knows it was never nasty and personal. It was good to hear that, and we can have an honest relationship in that way and get on with it. I certainly don’t have an ax to grind. I have always prided myself on being honest and I know it comes off in certain ways to certain people, but for me it’s just about being honest.”