Written by Jacquizz (Jake Payne) and Johnny Futbol (John Oremus)

Photo by Tomperto (Alina Tompert)

With the recent developments having to do with the 23-man roster, Jürgen Klinsmann is in our hot seat. We like to call this process… ATTACKING AND DEFENDING.

Defending: Jacquizz

People are going to rag on Jürgen (Juergalicious) Klinsmann for leaving US Men’s National team icon Landon Donovan off of the Brazil Bachelor Party list. I think that this move was well-deserved and I’m actually pretty proud of Klinsman for doing so.

“But Jacquizz, the team is so young now with out him.”

That’s exactly the problem, Donovan hasn’t been doing good enough to be anything more than “that old guy who has experience” on the team. He hasn’t scored this year for the LA Galaxy and he only has two assists to his name which is setting a pace that is way off what he normally achieves, he hasn’t been fantastic for the national team as of late and he hasn’t showed that leadership that they’ve needed him to show. Starting off your coaches career with a self-imposed exile to WhereAmIVille, Africa when your team is trying to get things going to qualify probably wasn’t the best choice when a new coach comes in. He looks like he’s let his relationship with Klinsmann get in the way of his play, and leaders put aside their personal vendetta’s to benefit the team.

He hasn’t been acting like the leading scorer in US national soccer history as of late, and he shouldn’t take up a spot because of what he’s done in the past. He hasn’t been that player lately, and I think Aron Johansson (whom it is being said took Donovan’s spot) has done a lot get a chance on the team. He has 17 goals in 32 appearances with the Dutch League team AZ Alkmaar and in his one cap with the US team, he scored the game winning goal against Panama in the qualifying stages. He’s young, but he’s shown that he’s there when he needs to be.

Realistically, this was probably done to give a spot to Kyle Beckerman as well, who is more than deserving of his first World Cup roster spot. Beckerman is consistently awesome in the MLS and he has shown that he is willing to work to make his country proud in the World Cup in the past fixtures he’s played. He’s pretty old too, and he might not have World Cup experience, but I think people are mixing up the need for experience with the need for leadership. Donovan hasn’t been a leader it seems from the way he’s been playing, and just because he has the pedigree of a great player doesn’t mean that he can help this young team.

If I got anything from Jürgen and how he coached the German national team, it’s that he doesn’t care how much you’ve played, its how much you are willing to work to win. Donovan has done the opposite of that and I honestly rather have Beckerman than him. He’s even said that there were “several players ahead”. SEVERAL. LIKE MORE THAN ONE. Donovan pushed himself down the pecking order enough for Klinsmann to make an important decision that I wholeheartedly agree with.

But the choice to keep Julian Green… that’s a whole different issue…

Attacking: Johnny Futbol

Landon Donovan is old. Landon Donovan is out of form. Landon Donovan is probably a full step behind where he was in 2010 and at least 4 steps behind his scintillating debut in 2002 (as well as about 2 inches of hair behind). I very much understand Jurgen’s immense decision to leave the most capped American of all time off the plane, but that does not mean it’s the right choice. Since taking the reins of the USMNT in 2011 the German has taken plenty of risks, all pale in comparison to this one. Here are the 5 reasons I think Jurgen Klinsmann was wrong to leave Landon Donovan off the 23 man roster.

1. It was a decision of personality more than it was one of skill. .Jurgen is undoubtedly an alpha dog in the locker-room, which is part of what makes him a very good manager; this trait is why Donovan will be watching the Americans get sent home early alongside a nation of disappointed, yet understandingly cynical, sports fans. On one hand you have the coach, on the other you have the hero and face of the game. The German should have been able to get over that.

2. Julian Green. Plainly stated: if you’re under 20 and your name doesn’t rhyme with “Teaonel Stressi” you have no business being on a 23 man roster of a team seeking to make a run. Putting him on the 30 man roster was a stretch; this is bananas.

3. Landon’s a versatile threat who, despite a dry spell in form, is still capable of magic. He’s got a bag of tricks and is still a versatile attacking threat who can play just about any forward position. At his age his best spot would have been as a “super-sub” where he could have injected creativity into the last 30 minutes of a game.

4. It’ll change the conversation about the side in the wrong way. Instead of people praising Klinsmann for putting faith in spry youngsters like Aron Johannsson and Mix Diskerud the press will talk about Donovan’s omission. These conversations may be fueled by people who are not entirely familiar to the game and the situation at hand, but the guys on Sports Center are talking about this circumventable decision instead of the fact that this is probably the strongest American team ever sent to a World Cup Tournament. We should be talking about the diversity and versatility of this team instead of this.

5. He’s been there three times. I get that he isn’t the only player with World Cup experience, but he’s the most notable and he should have been able to use that veteran experience to calm and hold the mentality of what is a very young team. Landon is also the only active American who has ever been part of a side to win a game past the group stages. I sound like the old guys in Moneyball, but there is an immeasurable quality to his experience that should not have been ignored.