Landon Donovan Talks World Cup Dreams and That Legendary Goal

What's This?

United States' Landon Donovan, foreground left, celebrates after scoring a goal to put the United States into the knockout stage of the 2010 World Cup on June 23, 2010, in Pretoria, South Africa.

Image: Elise Amendola/Associated Press

By Sam Laird2014-04-16 18:02:49 UTC

Even the most casual American soccer fan knows about Landon Donovan — and for good reason. After all, the man is generally regarded as the greatest soccer player the United States has ever produced.

The 32-year-old Donovan has played so much soccer, in fact, that he took a self-imposed three-month hiatus from the game early last year to rest up and recharge before returning to the pitch just over a year go. Now the L.A. Galaxy star says he's ready for the 2014 World Cup — which will be his fourth — in Brazil this summer.

But Donovan, who is also one of this centerpieces of this creative Samsung campaign, and the United States Men's National Team (USMNT) have a tough road in front of them. They landed in the World Cup's "Group of Death" alongside powerhouse Germany, hyper-talented Portugal and always-tricky Ghana (which has eliminated the USMNT from the last two World Cups).

This week, with less than two months to go until the World Cup kicks off on June 12, Donovan caught up with Mashable to chat over the phone. We talked about the USMNT's prospects in Brazil, the evolution of soccer Stateside and worldwide, the last-minute goal he scored against Algeria to push the U.S. through to the knockout stage of the 2010 World Cup — and much more.

What follows is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.

Q&A With Landon Donovan

DonovanTopPic

U.S. midfielder Landon Donovan (10) reacts to a call against Mexico during the second half of an international friendly soccer match Wednesday, April 2, 2014, in Glendale, Ariz. The game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Image: Rock Scuteri/Associated Press

Mashable: The group you guys landed in for this World Cup certainly is daunting in many ways. But what are the things you feel good about — either advantages you might have on the field or off-the-pitch things that might work in your favor?

Donovan: How many teams get to play Ghana, Portugal and Germany in one World Cup? We're excited about the opportunity, as daunting as it might seem. It's a great opportunity. We have a lot of guys that have been here before and understand what it takes, and we have a few guys that are young and hungry for an opportunity they've never had before. It's going to be a great experience.

I think we're certainly capable of beating all those teams. That doesn't mean it happens or it's easy, but we're absolutely capable of it. We feel like we have a very real chance.

Let's scout the competition beyond Group G. Who do you think are the favorites in Brazil, and who do you think could make a dark-horse run?

Well, I certainly hope the U.S. in in there. I think it would be hard to bet against Brazil in a World Cup in Brazil. There will be a lot of pressure on them, but they're certainly good enough to win. Argentina is a very good team, and Germany, too. A team that some people talk about but not everyone knows about is Belgium. Talent-wise, when you just look at their players, I think they're as good as any team in the world.

You scored that incredible late goal against Algeria to put the U.S. into the knockout stage in 2010, then videos of people reacting really went viral. But no one else on Earth can watch those reaction clips from the same perspective as you. How did you first come across them and what was it like watching them for the first time?

I found out about the videos the very next morning — that's the beauty of social media these days. But honestly, I just look at it the same way anyone else would. I just look at it as a fan, so it's fun for me. Being in the moment and watching the replay or reactions online are two completely different things. In the moment it was all about just doing what I could to help the team win — that's my job. After, it was about enjoying and appreciating the whole play coming together. Almost everyone was involved in it in one way or another. It was the ultimate team goal.

It was such an incredible fan moment though. People must bring it up to you all the time when they see you in public, right?

People do have a lot of cool stories around it. "I was with my son," or "I was with my grandma, who's since passed away." Just really cool stories. It's fun to hear them all and understand that you affected people in that way.

Julian Green has been a hot topic among USMNT fans since the 18-year-old Bayern Munich player committed his international future to the U.S. over Germany last mont. But very few people here have really seen him play. You got a good look at him training for this month's friendly against Mexico. What does he do well and what does he need to improve on?

I think he has a good starting point. He moves well, and technically he's gifted. He has good feet and some good pace. So it seems like he's going to be a good player. But I'm a little cautious, because we've been a little fast anoint good young players in this country when they come up.

So I'd like to give him some time to develop. That's for good and bad — you can let him grow that way, and if he doesn't pan out then you didn't build him up for no reason. I hope he gets some games with Bayern or wherever else he might end up. But eventually it does seem like he'll be a very good player for the national team going forward.

Fair or not though, a lot of the questions many fans have are about what he might be able to add this summer. Do you think he can contribute to the team in Brazil?

Fortunately, I don't have to make those decisions. (Laughs) But I did think he held his own in camp before the Mexico match. At some point, what he needs is to just play in more games. The only time you're going to tell if he's really capable is when he plays in more games, at whatever level that is. So I hope he gets to do that and keep improving.

You're lined up to play in your fourth World Cup this summer. Have you thought one way or another about it being your last?

I haven't made any decision definitively. But from a physical standpoint, the game is so much faster now than it's ever been, and one of my greatest attributes is my ability to run and my speed. As you get older, that sort of tails off. It's not that I don't think I'll be capable, but it might be more difficult at 36 to keep moving the same way. So we'll see. I certainly haven't made any decisions yet. It would certainly be difficult to do another one, but not impossible.

2002 World Cup

USA's Landon Donovan, left, is chased by Germany's Bernd Schneider, right, and Thomas Linke, during the 2002 World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Germany and USA, at the Munsu Football stadium in Ulsan, South Korea, Friday, June 21, 2002.

Image: Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

How have you seen soccer change or evolve as a sport since you've been a pro and even going back to when you were a kid?

I think it's becoming more and more of a young man's game. It's just so much faster and more dynamic than ever. I think what you're going to see here soon is that you're going to have to start backing off a bit more in training because the games are so intense and demanding that you need a lot of the week just to recover.

Ten or 20 years ago you could train all week really hard and play that one game a week and it'd be fine. But with the amount of games and the speed of the game overall, I don't think that mentality can last. Players will just break down.

Is this just a higher caliber of athlete playing the sport, or what do you think this is the result of?

It's that, but it's other things too. Ten years ago we didn't have the same nutritional knowledge and we couldn't track training habits as well. Now you have everything at the touch of your fingertips. Teams are doing all the right things for recovery — from ice baths, to treatments, to doctors — and then we're also just developing better players all over the world.

What about in the States? The game has really boomed here since you first joined the national team. Where do you think American soccer is now and what do you think it needs to keep improving?

(Laughs) It sort of makes realize how long I've been around. I've seen some pretty dark days in soccer in this country, where you almost weren't sure if MLS was going to stick around. So to see where it is now is truly remarkable. As far as the national team, we keep getting better, talent-wise. But we have to make sure we advance in other areas too, having smart and clever players as well as physically talented ones so that we can really compete with the best teams one day.

As a fan of the sports, what teams do you like watching the most?

I still follow Everton closely, because of the time I spent there. And obviously it seems most people love watching FC Barcelona play as a whole. Those would be my two answers, for the most part.

Favorite players? Or is that too hard to say, given that they're also competition?

I like watching Cristiano play. Gareth Bale, too. Yaya Toure — I think he's a great player. I like watching Sergio Aguero. That's a good start, but there are so many more guys I like watching too.

Samsung's Galaxy 11 premise is clever — a dream-team match for the future of Earth. You're on that team with Cristiano, Messi — it's stacked. Would you guys just cakewalk to the World Cup title this summer if you competed there together?

(Laughs) No matter who you have, it'd be hard for any squad to go out and win the World Cup on just talent. But when you look at that group, there are some older, veteran leaders too — guys who would be really fun to play with. So we'd have a good shot.

Actually, maybe they should do that — have it where players make their own teams from all over the world. There could even be a draft. How fun would that be?

Dude, I'd pay anything to watch that.