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Landon Donovan: Saturday Is An "Opportunity At Redemption"
Landon Donovan sees qualifying for the World Cup as a means to avenge a poor 2006 performance.
Oct 9, 2009 11:18:53 PM
By Noah Davis
SAN PEDRO SULA -- The United States Men's National Team crashed out of the 2006 World Cup in Germany without winning a game. For Landon Donovan, Saturday night's match in against Honduras in San Pedro Sula represents a chance to avenge the past. Win, and the Red, White, and Blue earn a trip to the main event next summer in South Africa.
"This would be an opportunity at redemption in some ways, to get to the World Cup and do better than we did last time," the American's best field player told a cadre of American journalists during a press conference Friday afternoon. "That's certainly been part of my motivation along the way."
Although the U.S. has struggled on the road during the final round of CONACACF qualification -- posting a 1-2-1 record -- Donovan believes the young squad is learning to play in the hostile stadiums of Central America and the Caribbean.
"The reality is that we have a lot of players who have played in some pretty big games but we don't have a ton of players who have played in a lot of these kind of games," he said. "The hope is that we've learned along the way. I think judging by our results, you can see we've learned along the way. The first game in El Salvador, we didn't start well and we had to scramble to get a tie. Costa Rica was obviously not a good game for us. I thought we played well in Mexico and obviously winning the game in Trinidad [was good]. This will be our biggest challenge to date. We'll see how much we've learned."
The midfielder admits the surroundings can be intimidating, but thinks part of the fun is playing in front of a packed crowd and the electric atmosphere they provide.
"For us, there's an aspect of intimidation if you allow it to be, but there's also an aspect of excitement," Donovan said. "It's better than playing in a stadium that's empty. For those of us who really enjoy competing, we like atmospheres like this."
The political situation in Honduras remains tenuous, but Donovan -- who admitted that in 15 away qualifiers he's never left the hotel except to train and travel to the stadium -- noted that it didn't alter any preparation.
"Aside from the soccer aspect of it, it's obviously of interest to those of us who pay attention to the world news in general. That part aside, the only interest from a soccer standpoint is making sure that it's safe and that everything is okay for us," he said, before giving credit to the security force and U.S. Soccer for keeping everyone safe.
If the U.S. does slip up in Honduras and needs a tie against Costa Rica on Wednesday to advance to the World Cup, the American's all-time leading scorer is confident his team can recover.
"We've been through this process enough time that we know how to get mentally and physically ready," he said.
Noah Davis covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com.
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SAN PEDRO SULA -- The United States Men's National Team crashed out of the 2006 World Cup in Germany without winning a game. For Landon Donovan, Saturday night's match in against Honduras in San Pedro Sula represents a chance to avenge the past. Win, and the Red, White, and Blue earn a trip to the main event next summer in South Africa.
"This would be an opportunity at redemption in some ways, to get to the World Cup and do better than we did last time," the American's best field player told a cadre of American journalists during a press conference Friday afternoon. "That's certainly been part of my motivation along the way."
Although the U.S. has struggled on the road during the final round of CONACACF qualification -- posting a 1-2-1 record -- Donovan believes the young squad is learning to play in the hostile stadiums of Central America and the Caribbean.
"The reality is that we have a lot of players who have played in some pretty big games but we don't have a ton of players who have played in a lot of these kind of games," he said. "The hope is that we've learned along the way. I think judging by our results, you can see we've learned along the way. The first game in El Salvador, we didn't start well and we had to scramble to get a tie. Costa Rica was obviously not a good game for us. I thought we played well in Mexico and obviously winning the game in Trinidad [was good]. This will be our biggest challenge to date. We'll see how much we've learned."
The midfielder admits the surroundings can be intimidating, but thinks part of the fun is playing in front of a packed crowd and the electric atmosphere they provide.
"For us, there's an aspect of intimidation if you allow it to be, but there's also an aspect of excitement," Donovan said. "It's better than playing in a stadium that's empty. For those of us who really enjoy competing, we like atmospheres like this."
The political situation in Honduras remains tenuous, but Donovan -- who admitted that in 15 away qualifiers he's never left the hotel except to train and travel to the stadium -- noted that it didn't alter any preparation.
"Aside from the soccer aspect of it, it's obviously of interest to those of us who pay attention to the world news in general. That part aside, the only interest from a soccer standpoint is making sure that it's safe and that everything is okay for us," he said, before giving credit to the security force and U.S. Soccer for keeping everyone safe.
If the U.S. does slip up in Honduras and needs a tie against Costa Rica on Wednesday to advance to the World Cup, the American's all-time leading scorer is confident his team can recover.
"We've been through this process enough time that we know how to get mentally and physically ready," he said.
Noah Davis covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com.
Want more from Goal.com delivered right to your door? Introducing "Goal.com Magazine." Subscribe now!
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