BT – I don’t know if it’s because I’m a devoted fan or because I’ve got precious little of value happening in my own life, but I’ve put in several hours over the last month soaking up all of the info I could find to prep myself for the next few weeks in South Africa.
Throughout all of what I will loosely term “my research,” I was surprised to find that one thing kept occurring to me: Landon Donovan is an A-Hole. In every interview, whether it was video or print, he comes off as smug, arrogant, and irritated that people are interested in talking to him. Not exactly what Team USA wants from their most famous player. Thoughts?
ZP – Alright Benny, I can’t argue that Donovan is an A-hole. Everything that you have read and seen is probably right on the money. I have to concede that number 10 isn’t going to win any congeniality competitions.
But, with that being said, isn’t that what you want from a competitor? Look at the second greatest French footballer ever, Eric Cantona. He set new heights (lows?) with his disdainful attitude and behavior. He drop kicked a fan in the middle of a game!
Manchester United’s captain in the 90’s was a bit over the top in his A-holeness, but I would argue that you need something like that from a team leader. He’s not playing the game to make friends, he’s there to prevail over his opponents.
People hate Kobe for the same reason, but that cold blood is exactly what makes him such a lethal killer. There is no way to argue that Kobe doesn’t have those the self-worshiping, douche-bag qualities in spades. But he wins, and this covers a multitude of sins.
I can vividly remember Donovan being interviewed about the U.S. National Team’s burgeoning rivalry with Mexico in 2002. He was so matter of fact about how it wasn’t much of a rivalry because of the way the U.S. had dominated them so thoroughly in their last several contests. He even used the phrase “kicked their ass”. It was a classic, “Put up, or shut up” type of comment, directed right at our neighbors to the south. It was also classic A-hole, and I loved it.
What would you attribute his captainship to?
BT – Important to note that Donovan is not the captain of Team USA. Carlos Bocanegra is the player-voted captain. When Bocanegra isn’t on the field, and Donovan often inherits the armband, I would imagine that it is out of seniority as much as anything else.
K
eep in mind, I’m not condemning Donovan as a soccer player. I believe Landon Donovan is a victim of circumstance. A huge responsibility was placed on Donovan’s shoulders, a responsibility that he cannot possibly live up to. US Soccer presented Donovan as its messiah, giving fans the impression that he would dominate games from end line to end line. This is simply not the type of player that Landon Donovan is.
But what Landon does, he does very well: He gets the ball into the finishing third of the field, and makes smart decisions and crisp passes once he gets there. You rarely see Landon blast one fifteen rows into the seats, and numbers don’t lie: USA’s top-dog all time in goals and assists.
Like him or not, Landon Donovan is to US soccer what Kobayashi is to hot dog eating contests, or what beer is to, well, anything. That may attribute to his pseudo-captainship. Who else is there really to challenge him for the crown?
ZP – Alright, I can buy the “victim of circumstance” argument. Although, if you remember DeMarcus Beasley had a similar amount of expectation as America’s new golden boy in 2002, but he crumbled with the pressure. Tip of the cap to Donovan for standing strong thus far.
As far as a challenger to the U.S. Soccer crown, maybe we should differentiate between the best player and the rightful wearer of the captain’s armband.
With as much sense as it makes to designate a man who’s name means “black mouth” to be your communicatory ambassador to the referee, Bocanegra is probably the best choice. Claudio Reyna seemed to give the U.S. less than nothing on the pitch each time out, but the players steadfastly preferred him as captain during his tenure. Boca seems to have the same level of respect.
As far as the best player argument goes, how about your boy Clint Dempsey? I don’t follow the Premiership as closely as I should, but this Fulham chant speaks volumes about his reputation across the pond:
“He scores with his left, He scores with his riiiiight, That boy Clint Dempsey, Makes Drogba look shite!”
Make an argument for Deuce, I’m all ears.
BT – One of the most overused terms in soccer analysis is “creativity.” Analysts throw it into their critique of every midfielder that steps on the field. It’s frustrating because it cheapens what truly creative players, like Dempsey, do so well.
Due to the lack of breaks in action, soccer is very much a game of rhythm, not unlike ping pong or Barrel of Monkeys
I think that Dempsey is probably the most talented player on the US roster, but in terms of achieving results, talent can only take you so far (see Portugal, which basically runs out a roster full of Dempseys every time they play). While I’d certainly prefer to get into a dialogue about Dempsey’s fabulous beard stubble, I instead will ask you this: Would saddling him with the captaincy interfere with his wildcard mentality, and keep Deuce from being Deuce?
ZP – I agree with you regarding Demsey’s talent, swagger, impact on the game, and even his attractive beard stubble. I’m not sure if I would call him a creative player, but I like the picture you present of him being a disruptive force to another team’s equilibrium.
As far as being captain goes, I do think that it would be a bad idea for Clint and his fragile emotions. He plays on a tight-wire of tension, aggression, and PMS quality emotional rawness.
When I first saw Clint Dempsey crying at the end of the Confederation’s Cup final last year, I was encouraged by it. Maybe he was exhausted after the effort that he had put forth and simply didn’t have enough strength to control his tear ducts. Perhaps he was reflecting on the death of his sister as a child, and the subsequent opportunities that had given him the opportunity of that moment. In my view, I believed that he understood the historical impact of the result that his country had just earned. I believed that he was devastated by falling short of his personal goal. By all accounts, I was right.
But here is my problem.
When Michael Jordan won the NBA title, he embraced the Larry O’Brien trophy, and cried like a baby. Adam Morrison and Tim Tebow wet their collars while the clock ticked down to a loss. When Steve Nash finally swept the Spurs in the playoffs this year, he went into the locker room and bawled his eyes out. When the Lakers finished the Suns within a fortnight, not a tear was shed.
Winners cry when they win.
Who cries when they lose?
I’ll give you the last word.
BT – I feel as though I’ve seen many players cry when they lose, though no examples immediately pop into my brain. That is probably because the losing team gets fewer articles written about them and as such their tears are significantly less publicized. Everything you said about Dempsey being an emotional player is spot on, and I agree that being saddled with any resposibility other than being a wildcard would severely cramp his style.
That said, if Clint Dempsey is not a creative player then I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one. I mean, seriously:
If this is the last word then I suppose a verdict must be rendered: Who is better for US Soccer, Donovan or Dempsey?
In this World Cup? Donovan. This team is going to give up some goals, and they need him to play and play well in order to get those goals back on the offensive end. It’s very possible that Dempsey could finish with more points than Donovan, but the threat of Donovan’s speed on one of the wings is crucial to open up space for the rest of the team to operate.
For the long run? Dempsey. If the US is going to make an impact when they hopefully host the Cup in 2018 or 2022, that means that America’s next generation of superstars are in junior high and high school right now. It’s important for those kids to know that you don’t have to be from South America or Europe to have world class soccer skill, and important for them to see a player who is truly unintimidated by the traditional powerhouse soccer countries. Dempsey is the player who shows displays these attributes most clearly.
Plus, Landon Donovan is an A-Hole…
