Landon Donovan enjoys pitch-perfect ending to international career
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — When he was first presented with the idea of a farewell match with the U.S. national team, Landon Donovan balked at the idea. The fresh scars caused by missing out on the 2014 World Cup made the idea of playing for the national team, and for Jurgen Klinsmann, even for one largely ceremonial appearances, too tough to bear.
Donovan eventually changed his mind, and on Friday night he was treated to a send-off worthy of a player who has meant so much to American soccer. Fans from across the country filled Rentschler Field to bid farewell to Donovan, and chanted his name and unfurled banners in his honor. By night’s end, Donovan was in the stands, singing with those same fans, and even capped his emotional night with a perfectly timed joke regarding his conversation with Klinsmann after leaving the field as a national team player for the 157th and final time.
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He may not have found the goal to make it a true storybook ending, but Donovan’s final night with the USMNT was still one to remember.
“It was beyond my wildest dreams, for sure,” Donovan said after the match. “As a human being, to feel that kind of love and support is incredible. I’ve put a lot into this game over many years and tonight feels like it was all worth it, so I’m very grateful and the best for me was watching the video and actually letting myself go a little bit.
“There’s just a lot, a lot of moments and memories. My life has been shaped through this sport and I’m so blessed because I’ve been able to grow and learn with all the experiences this sport has given me and that’s pretty cool.”
Donovan didn’t just go through the motions in his farewell. He played well, and flashed the quality that has made him the U.S. national team’s all-time leader in goals and assists. He had a header saved well, and saw another shot hit the post. An impressive display for a player who hadn’t even trained with the U.S. this week, a player who was juggling the emotions of his national team farewell.
“I’m not overly comfortable with that kind of attention on me so it was a battle with myself to just try to enjoy it and allow it and appreciate it, while balancing still playing a game,” Donovan said. “This was a real game, and for a lot of guys, for all the guys, it’s a big opportunity, so I wanted to take that seriously and I wanted to make sure I contributed to it, so that made it a different game.”
Donovan did make a difference, so much so that the initial plan to have him play just 30 minutes went out the window as Klinsmann left him on to see if he could create one more bit of magic. Donovan played a total of 40 minutes before receiving hugs from teammates as he walked off to a loud roar of applause.
Donovan followed up with a handshake with Klinsmann, and words with the coach who left him off the World Cup team last summer. The two men, who had exchanged barbs in recent weeks and months, were cordial and helped add to the good vibes of a ceremonial evening.
“I just congratulated him and thanked him, and I think he had a really good time out there,” Klinsmann said. “And I saw that in his movement, in his game, and I hope for him, and for us to, to score a goal. He hit the post, and he was so close in the other occasion, and I thought it might be coming up, another chance, so leave him on longer, he probably will enjoy that, so that’s what we did.”
Donovan’s mood was so good following the match, he even found time to crack a hilarious joke when asked what Klinsmann said to him when Donovan left the match.
“He told me he should have taken me to Brazil. Just kidding,” Donovan deadpanned before cracking a wide smile.
“Jurgen and I spoke today,” Donovan later added. “We had a good conversation and we both agreed that we wanted tonight to be about tonight, and that’s it, and so it was nice and I’m appreciative of everything that everyone did to make tonight special.”
The evening wasn’t just special for Donovan. It also meant quite a bit to the fans who traveled in to say goodbye, and to the teammates who got to say goodbye to a legend.
“He’s been the driving force of this team for so long, of the league, of soccer in America,” Jozy Altidore said of Donovan. “We’re going to miss him. It was an emotional day for everybody. I kind of didn’t want it to end. You kind of didn’t want to see him go off the field, because he was also playing well. He could have probably created some chances for us, but it was an amazing day and we’re going to miss him.”
And Altidore was not done with his praise of Donovan, or the moment in which he got to take part.
“It was an amazing experience, and kind of surreal,” Altidore said. “The guy that inspired so many of us, and when you look on the field and see so many young guys, so it was kind of like him passing the torch a little bit to a lot of younger players who can hopefully make some moments that he made along the way.
“It was a bittersweet day because, as you start a new chapter with the national team, and a lot of new guys people don’t know about, you say goodbye to somebody that’s built everything. Maybe not by himself, but he was a huge driving force.”
Donovan shared his special night with 20 family members and friends, but he also took time to go into the stands and share a moment with U.S. national team supporters, even leading them in a rendition of the popular chant “I Believe.” He admitted that the moment was out of character for him, but he felt this night was a good time to cut loose, especially to share that moment with team supporters.
“Those people, supporters, clubs and American Outlaws, they’re the blood of this team and this sport,” Donovan said. “When I started, there might have been a few hundred people, and now there’s thousands of people that probably made the trip from all over the country to support us, and support me, and that’s pretty special.”
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