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Donovan dealing with pace issues
Schedule limits his play in Cup
By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff | June 12, 2007
This is going to be a long, hot summer for Landon Donovan. Following the Gold Cup, Donovan plans to play in Copa America, then rejoin the circus that the Los Angeles Galaxy will become once David Beckham arrives in late July.
This will be a difficult juggling act for Donovan, and the demands of his schedule are among the reasons US soccer coach Bob Bradley is limiting his playing time in the Gold Cup.
"These are two heavy tournaments, with a lot of travel," Donovan said yesterday. "That's why I will not be flying [on the field] my first game back [in MLS], but I will have to be flying and ready to go.
"I'm old enough to understand and adjust. I believe the mental and physical conditions are closely related, and the more stress you feel, the greater it affects you.
"But I'm excited about this; in the past I would have been more worried, but I'll be ready."
The US, the defending Gold Cup champion and the favorite this year, is the only team to win its first two games -- against Guatemala (1-0) and Trinidad and Tobago (2-0) -- and has clinched a quarterfinal berth. The US needs only a tie against El Salvador tonight at Gillette Stadium to clinch first place in Group B, setting up a meeting with the third-place team in either Group A or C at 4 p.m. Saturday in Foxborough.
Donovan is a Californian, but he seems truly comfortable in Massachusetts, where the US has never lost a game that mattered. The US is 14-1-4 in all games and 10-0-2 in qualifiers and tournament matches in Foxborough. The US has won a Gold Cup-record 30 games (six more than Mexico) and is 20-0-1 in group play since the event was revived in 1991.
"This is the only place where we know there are going to be a lot of Americans in the crowd," Donovan said. "It feels like home. LA does not feel like home -- we knew what the crowd was going to look like against Guatemala. I understand it better than anybody, I grew up playing with Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Mexicans, Costa Ricans, and I know the passion they have.
"There are a lot of Latin Americans who were born here, grew up here, or lived most of their life here and they are proud of where they came from. But if we play well, they will take off the jersey of their country and cheer for us. They want to see good soccer.
"It never irritates me. As long as we keep playing and winning, the generations who grow up here and their kids will be there. I meet a lot of people whose accents are clearly [Latino] and they tell me, 'We are rooting for you guys.' They are as American as natives."
Donovan's awareness of the mind-body connection prevents him from dwelling on the negatives. But as the frequent flyer miles add up, Donovan and Bradley will be monitoring the fatigue factor.
"It was an emotional ride, getting to the final against Panama," Donovan said of the US' penalty-kick win in the Gold Cup title game two years ago. "I was completely exhausted afterward. If we do it again, then have to fly halfway around the world a couple days later -- I am preparing mentally. [Bradley] knows my feelings and I will be going [to Copa America]."
The Gold Cup final will be June 24 in Chicago. The US' opening game in Copa America will be against Argentina June 28 in Venezuela.
"It's tough on everybody," Donovan said. "MLS teams are going to be missing players. The European guys should be somewhere taking a break. But a lot of guys want to be here and get the experience of tournaments.
"People say it's going to be Mexico and the US but it's not that easy. The Guatemala game was not as comfortable as it seems. Honduras has a decent team. If you don't score first, it can be difficult. Teams know what they are doing and it's not a given that we will win.
"A lot of factors go into it -- fitness, yellow cards. [Coaches] are doing a lot of thinking. But it doesn't matter who's on the field, we understand we have to win this game, period. We don't want to tie El Salvador, we want to beat El Salvador.
"We have not played as bad as people think. We've gotten good opportunities and that's my benchmark. Of course, you always want to score, and we could have had more possession against Trinidad."
Among the upsets in the Gold Cup was Honduras's 2-1 victory over Mexico Sunday, dropping the Tricolores to third place in Group C.
"I was happy they lost," Donovan said of Mexico. "Then I thought, 'Oh my God, we could be playing them Saturday.' That would be awesome, I would love it. Mexico is struggling but they could win four in a row. You can't count them out. But they need to sort something out, they've got to win."
When the Gold Cup dust settles and Copa America concludes, Donovan will be at the forefront of a new MLS horizon as Beckham joins the Galaxy. Beckham's first four MLS games will be on the East Coast; the team's schedule is backloaded with road matches to maximize the Beckham appeal. Donovan is anticipating the best.
"Those are going to be sweet road games, with big crowds, a lot of Beckham lovers, and a lot of excitement," Donovan said.
Schedule limits his play in Cup
By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff | June 12, 2007
This is going to be a long, hot summer for Landon Donovan. Following the Gold Cup, Donovan plans to play in Copa America, then rejoin the circus that the Los Angeles Galaxy will become once David Beckham arrives in late July.
This will be a difficult juggling act for Donovan, and the demands of his schedule are among the reasons US soccer coach Bob Bradley is limiting his playing time in the Gold Cup.
"These are two heavy tournaments, with a lot of travel," Donovan said yesterday. "That's why I will not be flying [on the field] my first game back [in MLS], but I will have to be flying and ready to go.
"I'm old enough to understand and adjust. I believe the mental and physical conditions are closely related, and the more stress you feel, the greater it affects you.
"But I'm excited about this; in the past I would have been more worried, but I'll be ready."
The US, the defending Gold Cup champion and the favorite this year, is the only team to win its first two games -- against Guatemala (1-0) and Trinidad and Tobago (2-0) -- and has clinched a quarterfinal berth. The US needs only a tie against El Salvador tonight at Gillette Stadium to clinch first place in Group B, setting up a meeting with the third-place team in either Group A or C at 4 p.m. Saturday in Foxborough.
Donovan is a Californian, but he seems truly comfortable in Massachusetts, where the US has never lost a game that mattered. The US is 14-1-4 in all games and 10-0-2 in qualifiers and tournament matches in Foxborough. The US has won a Gold Cup-record 30 games (six more than Mexico) and is 20-0-1 in group play since the event was revived in 1991.
"This is the only place where we know there are going to be a lot of Americans in the crowd," Donovan said. "It feels like home. LA does not feel like home -- we knew what the crowd was going to look like against Guatemala. I understand it better than anybody, I grew up playing with Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Mexicans, Costa Ricans, and I know the passion they have.
"There are a lot of Latin Americans who were born here, grew up here, or lived most of their life here and they are proud of where they came from. But if we play well, they will take off the jersey of their country and cheer for us. They want to see good soccer.
"It never irritates me. As long as we keep playing and winning, the generations who grow up here and their kids will be there. I meet a lot of people whose accents are clearly [Latino] and they tell me, 'We are rooting for you guys.' They are as American as natives."
Donovan's awareness of the mind-body connection prevents him from dwelling on the negatives. But as the frequent flyer miles add up, Donovan and Bradley will be monitoring the fatigue factor.
"It was an emotional ride, getting to the final against Panama," Donovan said of the US' penalty-kick win in the Gold Cup title game two years ago. "I was completely exhausted afterward. If we do it again, then have to fly halfway around the world a couple days later -- I am preparing mentally. [Bradley] knows my feelings and I will be going [to Copa America]."
The Gold Cup final will be June 24 in Chicago. The US' opening game in Copa America will be against Argentina June 28 in Venezuela.
"It's tough on everybody," Donovan said. "MLS teams are going to be missing players. The European guys should be somewhere taking a break. But a lot of guys want to be here and get the experience of tournaments.
"People say it's going to be Mexico and the US but it's not that easy. The Guatemala game was not as comfortable as it seems. Honduras has a decent team. If you don't score first, it can be difficult. Teams know what they are doing and it's not a given that we will win.
"A lot of factors go into it -- fitness, yellow cards. [Coaches] are doing a lot of thinking. But it doesn't matter who's on the field, we understand we have to win this game, period. We don't want to tie El Salvador, we want to beat El Salvador.
"We have not played as bad as people think. We've gotten good opportunities and that's my benchmark. Of course, you always want to score, and we could have had more possession against Trinidad."
Among the upsets in the Gold Cup was Honduras's 2-1 victory over Mexico Sunday, dropping the Tricolores to third place in Group C.
"I was happy they lost," Donovan said of Mexico. "Then I thought, 'Oh my God, we could be playing them Saturday.' That would be awesome, I would love it. Mexico is struggling but they could win four in a row. You can't count them out. But they need to sort something out, they've got to win."
When the Gold Cup dust settles and Copa America concludes, Donovan will be at the forefront of a new MLS horizon as Beckham joins the Galaxy. Beckham's first four MLS games will be on the East Coast; the team's schedule is backloaded with road matches to maximize the Beckham appeal. Donovan is anticipating the best.
"Those are going to be sweet road games, with big crowds, a lot of Beckham lovers, and a lot of excitement," Donovan said.
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