If you’ve been paying close attention to ESPN’s World Cup coverage, you’ve seen Landon Donovan popping up here, there and everywhere from their studio in LA.
The U.S. National Team legend, who, as we all know, was a shock exclusion from Jurgen Klinsmann’s 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup, somewhat surprisingly agreed to be a part of ESPN’S World Cup coverage.
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He has been honest, insightful and intriguing to listen to thus far, especially when it comes to topics on the USA and their journey in Brazil. SI.com’s Richard Deitsch caught up with Donovan for an excellent chat on the LA Galaxy star’s media career, why he chose to kick-start it this summer and his future for the U.S. and in soccer.
Here are just a few of the tidbits, click here to read the piece in full.
On the difficulties of being a soccer analyst:
“I have been on the other side of this and I’ve had people say things about me that I did not appreciate. I’ve said to [ESPN analysts] Taylor [Twellman] and Alexi [Lalas] on different occasions that, ‘I don’t appreciate what you said there.’ Now being on the other side of it, you realize how difficult it is. You only have a few seconds to say something and every word matters. That’s been a big learning curve.”
On his future with the USA...
“If I am playing in four years, that means we have not progressed enough, to be quite honest. As much as I would love to be there and play in Russia, I think it is better for our national team if I am not there.”
On talking about Klinsmann...
“I’m a little bit mindful that if I am critical of Jürgen, a lot of people are going to perceive that as bitterness, and that is difficult for me because there are things I want to say but I want to make sure that it does not come off that way. It’s a balancing act.”
On why he chose to be part of ESPN’s coverage during the World Cup...
“I’ve always thought it would be interesting to give insight on soccer because I have a lot of experience in my career. A lot of times I watch sporting events and there are things I want to say and things I see that don’t get said or talked about. I thought that would be a good thing to educate people. So I weighed the pros and cons and figured this is something I should do.”