So the news is out that LD has signed a multi-year contract with the LA Galaxy. Actually, since he was already on a contract with them, this is a contract extension.
This press conference call is where he's going to talk about it.
I'm on hold. Classical music playing.
New Galaxy press dude Brendan Hannan is now on the line, introducing LD, recapping his greatness. Press stuff, but yeah, multiple MLS titles and records.
Q: When the deal was struck?
LD: Beginning of July, talks started. After Gold Cup, we made it a priority.
Kyle Mac asks about decisive factor.
LD is a bit vague, says he likes the organization, the team, the fans, the success they have had together. Mentions specific players. Becks gets a shout-out.
Jeff C asks about loan - why not?
LD admits he thought about it, but decided against it - partly to be ready for WC.
My turn!
I asked LD about the length of his contract. He jokes that it's for 20 years. Then I ask if he'd like to retire with the Galaxy. He definitely does.
SB asked about teams interested in signing him. LD demurs specific names, but says there were some big ones.
I hit the high points, but it's still surprising that the call was so short. In some ways, I think that Donovan staying on with the Galaxy is a bit taken for granted. Or at least, not big news given that instead of, "Wow! A change!", it's basically, "OK, more of the same."
Grant Wahl has a nice piece here about Jozy Altidore living up to his potential (finally!). Now, of course, Jozy has been a prodigy for a long time, but he's been up and down, too, and it has taken him a while to get used to Klinsmann's style.
Frankly, Jurgen Klinsmann is different. He can seem easygoing, with a veneer of California casual (I'll bet he wears flip-flops a lot of the time), but he's also got German grit and toughness to him. It's too bad Frankie Hejduk's days with the team are done, because he would have gotten Klinsy. Frankie was all surfer-boy style, but deadly serious about playing and getting results, even while having fun and building team spirit. Klinsy believes the US team can be great (that's the sunny optimist in him), but he knows how far they have to go (because he's seen the top of the mountain with Germany) and he won't mince words in telling Altidore or anyone what they have to do to get there.
In contrast, Bruce Arena is, and was, while coach of the national team, more New York understated cool, with a bonus chip on his shoulder about how the USA was often disrespected by the soccer world at large. Truth is, a former lacrosse player-turned-one-national-team-game goalkeeper wasn't ever going to get the respect Klinsmann receives by virtue of having been one of the world's top strikers, so Arena's bitterness is understandable, if tiresome. While in charge of the USMNT, Arena cultivated among the players an us-against-them mentality that gave the US resolve and temerity. But that influence wore off somewhat when more American players evolved to be soccer citizens at large - meaning, they worked and played internationally, and had other priorities than just the USA team. Remember Claudio Reyna refusing to participate in US qualifiers? 2006 was a disappointment partly because it was clear that Arena wasn't getting through to his players as he once had.
Princetonian Bob Bradley was less sardonic than Arena, yet more serious about soccer. His emblem was about work, work, and well, more work. He reminded me of Animal Farm's Boxer, whose mantra was: "I will work harder." That's an inspiring form of leadership - for a while. It can get exhausting, though, because frankly, while work rate is very important, so is working smarter and better. Plus, the inherent awkwardness in the family connection of having father manage son on the national team level took a toll on all three elements involved - Michael, Bob, and the USMNT. Some long-time readers might think I dislike Bob, or Michael, but that's not true. I do think they are better off on different teams (Go Egypt!).
Back to coach Klinsy. I think of when Jerry Brown, in his first stint as in charge of California, was nicknamed Governor Moonbeam for ideas that were perceived as too progressive and weird. Klinsy could be Coach Sunbeam for similarly shaking up the status quo of the national team with his willingness to experiment and tweak. It hasn't always been smooth sailing, but I think the results are beginning to prove positive.
It's been pretty much a well-known fact that Brazil was going to get to host the 2014 World Cup but the official announcement still gives me jitters.
Brazil is now officially the host nation for the 2014 World Cup.
In soccer terms, there are few nations as deserving as Brazil to host a World Cup. The last time Brazil hosted a World Cup, the nation had exactly zero World Cup titles. Now, Brazil has five. Then, games were not broadcast on television. Now, overall viewers for one World Cup numbers in the billions.
But soccer is not the only factor considered for hosting a tournament, and Brazil's economy has lagged. I don't profess to know the economic health of Brazil but I would venture to guess that it is healthier than South Africa's. Maybe it's not, I don't know. But I do know that South Africa isn't a safe nation at all. In fact, I think it has one of the highest murder rates in the world. So if South Africa can host a World Cup despite its economic and safety shortcomings, surely Brazil could pull one off.
Well, that's not exactly the line of reasoning behind this latest selection. Actually, it was the rotation process that landed South America a World Cup. 2014 will be that continent's first World Cup since Argentina 1978, so the continent will be a focus for the tournament, not just Brazil.
Personally, I don't know if I'll go. Who knows if I'll even still be in the business in 2014? As a freelancer, I've got to pay for stuff on my own, and I'd fancy to guess that that would be an expensive venture. I won't go to South Africa for monetary reasons and other issues as well and I wasn't in Germany. I did go to Japan for the '02 World Cup, which was cool.
I'd love to go to Brazil. My daughters will be, uh, let me see, 10 and 8 by then, so maybe we could plan a family trip... or not. That's quite an expensive trip.
Regardless, I'm happy that Brazil got the nod for 2014.
