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So, you been watching the Olympics?

LANDON DONOVAN: Yeah, I'm a big fan. Any event that has Americans in it, I'll watch. I mean, I found myself watching archery and badminton and shooting the other day. I would never watch that stuff otherwise.

ESQ: Is Phelps the greatest Olympian of all time, for your money?

LD: Obviously the medals record stands for itself. I'm not that old to remember some of the all-time Olympians, but it's hard to imagine a better Olympic athlete. And it's crazy to think the guy's only 27 years old.

ESQ: With the men's Olympic soccer, it's mainly under-23 guys. Are there a couple of players we should really watch in the second half of the Games here?

LD: Well, we played against the Brazilian team a couple months ago. And they're building toward the World Cup in 2014, so they're basically keeping this young group of players together through this whole process. There's a kid, Danilo, who plays; there's a forward named Damião who's very good. The Mexican team, I think, is very good — there's a kid who's been around for a while, Giovanni dos Santos, and as they get later into the tournament he can do some really special things.

ESQ: What do you think about Neymar for Brazil? Pelé has said he's better than Lionel Messi.

LD: I played against him a couple months ago, and I think about two minutes into the game I found myself sort of defending him. And I'm not a defender, but he made me look pretty stupid and just dribbled by me pretty quickly, so that kind of sold me on him.

ESQ: He's done that to a lot of guys, it looks like.

LD: Yeah, that's why I don't feel bad.

ESQ: Do you like that system for the men for the Olympics – under-23 players plus three over-23 guys?

LD: I think I do. Otherwise it just simulates the World Cup. It's kind of nice to have some players that people don't know.

ESQ: There's been some talk that men's Olympic basketball will move to that format as well. Think that's a good idea?

LD: Well, that surprises me a little bit because they don't have a – well, I guess they have a world championship – but they don't have a World Cup that's as significant as our World Cup is. So it would be sort of disappointing for these NBA guys – not only American NBA guys, but foreign NBA guys – who want a chance to play in the Olympics. That would be pretty disappointing because they don't get a chance really to play with their national team in the way that we do.

ESQ: Well, there's also been some talk about a straight-up basketball World Cup.

LD: That would be a great idea. I would be for all sports doing it. It globalizes the game. And I think if you ask the NBA or Major League Baseball or the NHL or the NFL, having their brand more well-known around the world is a big positive. I mean, I've never met anybody who says they don't like the World Cup. If you're a soccer fan or not, everybody loves watching it, and I think it could be the same for other sports.

ESQ: You don't think it might water down the name "World Cup" for you guys?

LD: Well, maybe they could use a different name then. I just think it's cool.

ESQ: What's your take on the Hope Solo thing? She had some pretty harsh tweets for color commentator Brandi Chastain.

LD: Well, I've known Hope pretty well over the last few years, and you have to remember that, in this environment, these are your family members. So if you can imagine someone on TV talking poorly about one of your family members, you'd probably react similarly. Now, it doesn't mean that we all agree with what she did or the way she did it, but she's sticking up for her family. I also know Brandi very well, and she does a good job of not being too harsh, but I can also understand why Hope would take it that way. Sometimes things get a little blown out of proportion when you do things publicly.

ESQ: So tell me about this Gatorade "Beat the Heat" campaign you're a spokesperson for. Is this the kind of thing that would help all those 300-pound NFL guys going through training camp right now?

LD: Yeah. Unfortunately, I think there's not enough education about hydration. When I was young, we knew nothing about it. We all know that there's cases of athletes having serious issues because of dehydration and even dying. And I think Gatorade's done a good job of bringing together some of us who are very passionate about this and allowing us to speak about it and hopefully educate people on the importance of staying hydrated, especially during the summer months where it gets pretty nasty, whether you're young or a professional.

ESQ: You and your LA Galaxy teammates have got a big friendly against Real Madrid tonight. You guys gonna take 'em?

LD: [Laughs] Well, there's a little discrepancy in the values of the players. They're worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and we're not quite there. I think there's realities, but our guys are really excited about it.

ESQ: You mentioned the discrepancy, financially. How big or small is that gap, talent-wise?

LD: Well, it's hard to quantify, right? These are guys that have played at the absolute highest level most of their life. I mean, I watched the USA basketball team play Tunisia the other day, and there's massive differences. They're not as athletic, they don't run as well, they don't shoot as well, they don't handle the basketball as well, they don't pass as well. Now, I wouldn't compare us to Tunisia. I think we have a little better chance than that, but there's a reason that the Real Madrid players are playing for Real Madrid.

ESQ: That Tunisian player who asked Kobe Bryant to sign his shoe after the game – have you ever experienced anything like that, one way or the other?

LD: Well, I've never asked a player if they would sign my shoe. I've certainly had players come up, even before the game has started, and say, "Hey, after the game, can we trade jerseys?" It's kind of like, "Well, let's get through the game first and we'll deal with that later."

ESQ: I imagine there's already a little talk among Galaxy players about who's going to trade jerseys with Cristiano Ronaldo.

LD: My guess is that if David Beckham wants Ronaldo's jersey, he's going to get it.

FURTHER READING: 29 Reasons to Watch the Olympics, David Beckham's Esquire Photoshoot, and Chris Jones on Landon Donovan

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