This past week was MLS Heineken Rivalry Week, as teams from around the league squared off against their most hated foes … or whoever the league marketing office decided was their rival that week.

In a phone interview, MLS legend and American soccer hero Landon Donovan talked about Heineken Rivalry Week, how the USMNT has changed under Jurgen Klinsmann, and his cautious optimism around the young hyped American soccer stars.

FTW: Happy MLS Rivalry Week.

Landon Donovan: Is that a thing? Saying ‘Happy Rivalry Week?’

FTW: Sure. You can say Happy anything.

LD: OK then. Happy Rivalry Week.

FTW: Red Bulls went and smacked NYCFC 7-0 this weekend. Is that good or bad for the rivalry?

LD: I think it’s good actually. If I’m in that NYCFC locker room, next time I’m gonna remember.

I didn’t watch the game because I was traveling, but I watched the highlights. I don’t know how flattering the scoreline was or not, but giving up five set piece goals is pretty embarrassing. But at least that’s something they can look at and try to correct.

FTW: I watched the game. It wasn’t good.

LD: [Laughs.]

FTW: Did you see the fist fights beforehand?

LD: No. What happened?

https://twitter.com/garryhayes/status/734091451089494020/

FTW: Some morons outside the stadium thought they were hooligans, a couple punches were thrown.

LD: Jesus.

FTW: I know.

LD: The thing is: You want it to be real and passionate. I remember where we were 15 years ago when these rivalries were contrived. I mean, they really were. You want the fans to feel it in a real way, so on one hand, that’s good. You don’t want it to get to the point where people are throwing punches, of course, but it makes you realize that we’ve finally reached a point where people actually care about these things. In the past, it wasn’t that way. So part of me says that’s not the worst thing if that happens.

FTW: Some of the knocks even now are that these rivalries are totally contrived.

LD: Well, listen. How do rivalries come about? They take time. One of [MLS Commissioner Don] Garber’s big things when he came in the league was helping to build rivalries. It’s not going to be Real Madrid-Barcelona tomorrow, because they’ve been playing for 100 years. It’s hard to mimic that.

However, when you watch the games, you can tell there’s a little bit of a different feel. Especially with games like Colorado-Real Salt Lake, Galaxy-San Jose to a lesser extent, certainly Portland-Seattle, the New York rivalry, I think you can tell there’s a little something extra and different. Everybody of course wants it to be that way, and be genuine, but we’re getting there. Obviously it isn’t Boca Juniors and River Plate right? But it’s getting there and most certainly will get better.

FTW: You’re OK with LAFC coming to town and immediately becoming Galaxy’s rival? You don’t think that undermines the history with San Jose?

LD: No not at all. We’re still so far in the infancy stages of Major League Soccer. Hopefully, people will look back in 100 years and say ‘Wow, LAFC came in at that point and now look at what the rivalry is.’ You have to look at it in the macro. The big picture.

Still, I can put it all into very good context. I saw when it was absolutely nothing. And it’s already improved by leaps and bounds and it’s going to get better.

FTW: Plus you had that experience being a part of Everton-Liverpool.

LD: Again, that takes 100+ years. You have people who are 80 years old at the Merseyside Derby who have watched that game 140 times, twice a year for 70 years. That makes it a little bit different than people who was seen it for twenty years.

FTW: Where are you at with soccer right now? Are you watching a lot of games?

LD: When I first retired, I was understandably ready to take a break. I really consciously made an effort to get away for a while. About six months after that, I started to find myself getting back into it. So now this year I’m really a full blown fan and someone who cares about the league and the national team games. It’s been nice to get back into it, from a healthy place now.

FTW: What’s an MLS team this year you’ve enjoyed watching this year that you weren’t expecting to enjoy?

LD: Colorado is the relatively obvious choice. I’ve known Pablo [Mastroeni] for a really long time, and I’m really happy for him. I’ve known Chris Albright and Earnie Stewart for a long time, too, so I’m really happy to see them do well in Philadelphia. You end up rooting for the people you know and like, and you end up rooting for them to succeed. So I’ve been really happy to see that.

FTW: Are you happy that Pablo got rid of the mustache?

LD: [Laughs] Yeah I think that was the turning point.

FTW: I miss it.

LD: I don’t think he knew how distracting that was when you saw it on the sideline all the time.

FTW: Have you read the new [Jurgen] Klinsmann biography?

LD: No. What is it?

FTW: Soccer Without Borders. It is, uh, fawning.

LD: [Laughs] Nope. Haven’t read it.

FTW: In it there’s discussion of how much the national team has changed under Klinsmann. If only from a tactical standpoint, is this team really playing any differently than it did under Bob Bradley?

LD: Yes. I mean, well, I think what happened over time is that when Jurgen first came in there was real energy and excitement, and the team was very proactive in the way they played. I was still there, and I was part of that.

I think what’s happened over time is what happens to a lot of coaches, in that in pressure situations you have to get results. So for a while that new style wasn’t getting the results that Jurgen had wanted, so you get into games when real pressure is on the line. And I think when that happens you default to what you’re comfortable with.

There’s no question that Jurgen took the team out of its comfort zone to start, which I think is good. It was more progressive, more attacking and offensive minded. Eventually when you have to get results, you revert back to what you’re comfortable with. And that’s where we’re at now, something American fans are more comfortable with: We’re defending hard, working together, trying to get goals on set pieces and on counter attacks.

FTW: Are you OK with that, with the U.S. playing more results-oriented soccer?

LD: That’s the reality of the business. I lived it too. I played a lot of games that were ugly games. I knew they were ugly. But we got a result and we moved on. There’s two ways to look at it. From the micro picture, you have to go and get results. Looking at it as someone who wants the U.S. to win a World Cup one day, then I look at it from the macro picture and really want us to develop players and develop that style of play that pushes us to succeed.

FTW: Speaking of that development, are you impressed with these young guys coming up, the guys like Emerson Hyndman, Christian Pulisic, Gedion Zelalem?

LD: I’m cautiously optimistic. We’re always — or I hope we’re always — gonna have young guys coming up that are exciting and starting to produce. I think the good thing now is that these kids have seen enough iterations of these young kids coming up who are overhyped that were never heard from again that they can make really smart decisions and put this all in context, slow down a little bit and not get caught up in it. It seems, from afar, Jordan [Morris], Emerson, Christian Pulisic, the way they talk, the way they handle themselves on the field, they’re miles ahead of where the guys who might have come before them were.

FTW: Is that just a result of family, upbringing? Or is U.S. Soccer doing a better job protecting these kids.

LD: It’s a mix of things. Family life of course has a lot to do with it. I think they’ve watched enough, watched players around the world that they admire and now they understand how to carry themselves the right way. I think the media is so prevalent now that these guys take it with a grain of salt.

When I was coming up, if someone wrote an article about you, you’d read about it for hours or days. It was exciting. Now these kids have 100 people tweeting at them every time they score, so I think they can take it all with a grain of salt and can understand that it can be fickle and can be short-lived. I think that all contributes.

FTW: Have any of the young guys reached out to you?

LD: I spoke to Emerson a little bit at the World Cup. I emailed with Jordan a little bit about his decision to stay here or go to Europe. I haven’t spoken with Christian. It is nice to talk to those guys, though, and let them know what to expect, and maybe to help them make that transition a little easier.

FTW: How’s dad life?

LD: It’s … interesting.

FTW: [Laughs] Are you sleeping?

LD: Uh, we’re getting there. I thought running around a soccer field was hard. And it’s getting better, like everyone says. Every month it gets a little better. The first few months it was pretty rough, I’ll be honest. But we’re doing better now.