23 Jun 2014
LA Galaxy star Landon Donovan has once again indirectly hinted that he does not get along well with US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann after appearing to challenge his predictions. Donovan was recently appointed as the World Cup 2014 pundit by ESPN. The 32-year-old is regarded as one of the finest players to have represented the US national team. However, Klinsmann chose not to have him in his final 23 man squad despite including him in his provisional squad. This has left Donovan with a bitter taste in his mouth.
After being appointed as the pundit for ESPN, he first and foremost stated that the US national team will go into the tournament with the belief that they can win it. This is contradictory considering that Klinsmann recently stated that the US will not be thinking about winning the title. Donovan says that he has been with most of the players in the squad and they all are winners according to him. He does not see the reason why US should not think about the World Cup title, which would be their first in the history.
The US are expected to struggle in the group stages since they will come up against the likes of Germany and Portugal – favourites for the title. "This will come as a surprise to nobody, but I don't agree with Jurgen. And as someone who has been in that [USMNT] locker room and has sat next to the players, we agree with the American Outlaws: We believe that we will win. I think that's the way Americans think and I think that's the sentiment,” said Donovan.
"If we're really expecting to go out and beat Ghana, beat Portugal and beat Germany -- in my opinion Germany is one of the best teams in the world,” continued the striker.