Donovan: I Should And Will Talk To Beckham

 “I can’t think of another guy where I’d say he wasn’t a good teammate, he didn’t give everything through all this, he didn’t still care. But with (Beckham) I’d say no, he wasn’t committed.” That was one of the more explosive quotes from Landon Donovan in Grant Wahl’s newly-released book The Beckham Experiment.

Now, with Beckham’s return to the team just days away, the Galaxy star has stated that he never should’ve said anything publicly.

 “For me, it's something I need to correct,” Donovan said in a press conference on Thursday. “I made a mistake. I spoke about something between the team publicly, and when David comes, I'm going to talk to him about it, man to man. The past year was hard for all of us, but I shouldn't speak publicly like that. I should and will talk to David.”

For the Galaxy, Wahl’s book has raised questions about whether or not Golden Balls will be welcomed back to the squad, but Donovan says that the comments were not made recently and that he will speak to Beckham about them in person.

“The timing now - everybody thinks we said these things last week,” the U.S. National Team star said. “The reality is that this happened last year. The timing of it now makes it uncomfortable, and obviously, they're trying to sell books.”

Still Donovan seems to know that he will have to make amends, and he says that he plans to do so in person.

“The reality also is that as a man, I should have told David what I felt and I will tell David what I felt,” he said. “I have already apologized to him and I will apologize to him in person, in a public manner, and we'll get through it internally. “

Beckham is slated to return to L.A. on the July 15. His return, coupled with the return of Donovan from international duty, could not come at a better time. The Galaxy are locked in a tight battle for a playoff position in the Western Conference. The team will have one more match before Beckham’s return when they play this Saturday against LA rivals Chivas USA.

Allen Ramsey, Goal.com

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