Despite their captain’s poor World Cup finals in 2006, when they finished bottom of their group, the United States entered this tournament putting their faith in Landon Donovan’s inspirational ability and the trust in the squad’s most gifted player is paying off handsomely.
The 28-year-old scored the injury-time winner against Algeria yesterday that put the US into a round-of-sixteen match against Ghana on Saturday and also found the net against Slovenia in the previous match as Bob Bradley’s team recovered from a two-goal deficit.
Bill Clinton, the former US president, was in the stands to watch the match in Pretoria and was so captivated that he has changed his itinerary and will travel to Rustenburg to see the next game. Clinton, honorary president of the US’s bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup finals, said he was so hoarse after cheering the team on that he had to drink hot tea with lemon for an hour after the final whistle.
After his performances so far in South Africa and a successful spell on loan at Everton in the second half of last season, Donovan is sure to be linked with another move to Europe. It is a far cry from eleven months ago, when he was in the midst of a divorce and a book, The Beckham Experiment, revealed he and his superstar Los Angeles Galaxy team-mate did not see eye to eye.
David Beckham took the armband at the Galaxy when he joined in 2007 but missed the start of the 2009 Major League Soccer season because he went on loan to AC Milan. Donovan questioned Beckham’s loyalty to the cause.
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“Maybe he’s not a leader, maybe he’s not a captain. Fair enough. But at a minimum you should bust your ass every day. That hasn’t happened. And I don’t think that’s too much for us to expect. Especially when he’s brought all this on us,” Donovan said in the book.
“I can’t even say he’s a good team-mate any more. He’s not shown that. I can’t think of another guy where I’d say he wasn’t a good team-mate, he didn’t give everything through all this, he didn’t still care. But with Beckham, I’d say no, he wasn’t committed.”
The furore generated by Donovan’s comments died down and the pair are said to have patched up their differences. He is presumably on good terms with his ex-wife, a Hollywood actress named Bianca Kajlich, too – since he thanked her for his support when talking to reporters after the game, about an hour after he had wept with joy during a press conference.
The dramatic victory and Donovan’s contribution made headlines all over America, where even non-football fans are taking an interest in the tournament. After the match, Donovan suggested that the team symbolised their country’s work-ethic and spirit.
All-American heroes, then. Certainly, Donovan’s emotional response to his goal seemed essentially American. “I’ve been through a lot in the last four years,” he said. “I’m so glad it culminated in this way and it makes me believe in good in the world and when you try to do things the right way it’s good to be rewarded.”