Today’s big winner: Jurgen Klinsmann

Agree with the decision to leave Landon Donovan off the World Cup team or not, U.S. men’s national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann made one thing clear: This is his team now.

Klinsmann has made brash moves since becoming the U.S. manager in 2011, revamping the youth system, asking his players to move to Europe to play in top leagues, experimenting with lineups. It’s all but forgotten now, but when he first came on Klinsmann briefly cast Michael Bradley out of the U.S. lineup, making the son of the former manager earn his way back into the team.

He’s an unpredictable guy, and no matter what else happens in his career, this will go down as his most controversial decision.

I don’t happen to agree with the decision. Landon Donovan was for many years America’s greatest soccer player, and issues of age have nothing to do with it — Donovan is 32, which isn’t decrepit by any means. Donovan can still move, he’s still fit, he’s still got the creative flair for the game that so few Americans have. Even if Graham Zusi started over him, Donovan would have been an asset in Brazil.

I also understand why Klinsmann left him off the team. Klinsmann demands that his players are constantly pushing themselves, getting their bodies right, setting personal goals. It’s a capitalistic way of looking at building a soccer team — he believes if everyone is doing the most for themselves individually, it will create a better team.

In a recent interview, Clint Dempsey talked about Klinsmann naming him team captain. He said the two didn’t really discuss leadership style or what Klinsmann wanted out of him as a captain; all Klinsmann wanted to talk to Clint about was pushing himself to go on loan in Europe this MLS offseason and get fitter, faster, individually better.

Compare Klinsmann’s wishes for Dempsey to what Donovan said in a recent interview with For the Win when asked what his personal goals were for the World Cup:

“I’m not real big on personal goals anymore. I want the team to do well. Of course every player wants to play, that’s why we do this. But more than that, I want us to be successful and I’m in a place now that I’m willing to do whatever is needed of me to help us be successful.”

It was a bizarre thing to hear. Donovan wrapped it up in cliches about being a good teammate, but Donovan was saying the last thing you want to hear from a goalscorer — he didn’t care much about personal glory any more. Klinsmann, who was himself a brilliant goalscorer, knows that this doesn’t work. Imagine asking Cristiano Ronaldo (or if basketball is more your speed, Michael Jordan) if he had personal goals. I think Michael Jordan had nothing BUT personal goals.

Klinsmann wanted a team full of hungry, determined guys who were desperate to shock the world. That’s not Donovan, not at this point in his career. He already took a self-imposed sabbatical from the game in 2013 because he felt burned out. He’s accomplished more than anyone has in American soccer, and he has a lot of other interests at this point in his life.

That didn’t work for Klinsmann, and he needed to send a message to the other players and to U.S. soccer in general. By cutting America’s greatest international player at the tail end of his prime, he did just that.

*****

Today’s other big winners:

Brad Evans — Another snubbed U.S. player had the perfect response to being left off the team

Caroline Wozniacki — The tennis star spoke out about her breakup with Rory McIlroy

V. Stiviano — She told all on Dr. Phil because of course she did

Brandon Prust — The Canadiens player got away with a dirty, late hit in Game 3