With the 23-man squad selected by Jurgen Klinsmann coming under heavy scrutiny for certain selections - and certain omissions - the fans aren’t the only ones confused.
San Jose Earthquakes defender Clarence Goodson isn’t about to second-guess the national team coach when he was trimmed from the squad, but he does want to know one thing: why.
“I asked Jurgen for an explanation,” Goodson said to MLSSoccer.com. “It was something that he was unwilling to give me. He said that he would speak with me after the World Cup about it, and I said that I thought I certainly deserved an explanation. And it was something that he was unwilling to give.”
It’s a curious quote for sure, and it’s unclear why exactly Klinsmann would want to wait on giving his player something all players deserve.
“When Jurgen needed a result, he called on me,” Goodson said. “You look at the games that were played last year. Gold Cup final, snow game, 2-0 against Mexico. Were there any games bigger than that? I played in all three of those. So it’s certainly surprising and something I think Jurgen got wrong.”
This weekend, Goodson implied that Klinsmann could have had his mind made up before camp, but that’s something that’s less likely to be true.
However, it’s odd that Goodson would be this openly frustrated with his cut, and clearly there is a little animosity between Goodson and the man in charge.
Left off for John Anthony Brooks, some have questioned the decision by Klinsmann considering Goodson’s versatility along the back line as well as Brooks’ poor performances recently for the national team.
“For me, I thought that certainly I would be going to the World Cup,” Goodson proclaimed.
Landon Donovan the other day spoke about his frustrations with being left out, saying he believed he wasn’t just good for the squad but also thought he was in contention for a starting spot.