Landon Donovan and the Search for the Next Team USA Torchbearer

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: October 25, 2012

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For the U.S. to fully emerge as a world footballing nation—and fellow Americans, we need to make some effort to call the game what the rest of the world does—requires monastic patience and a whole lot of ibuprofen for the growing pains.

This week, Roger Bennett of ESPN produced a candid Q&A with Landon Donovan—food for thought for Sam's Army and all overzealous sports idolaters alike.

Rather than rehash Bennett's excellent piece, we've chosen to look ahead to life without Landon, the oft-reluctant face of a once painfully-unpopular sport in the U.S.A.

As "soccer" moves into a new era of acceptance and near-religious fervor in the States, will a new talisman surface and propel the US Men's National Team to greater heights?

Is it even fair to expect a solitary hero to take on this burden all by himself?

Our own John D. Halloran took on this subject last winter, but this was prior to Donovan's telling interview. Also, here we're more concerned with investigating the need for Donovan's heir apparent than actually discovering the best candidate to fill his shoes.

A scan of Jürgen Klinsmann's selections for the most-recent 2014 World Cup Qualifiers reveals many tried-and-true performers, including: Clint Dempsey (29, Tottenham), Michael Bradley (25, AS Roma) and veteran keeper, Tim Howard (33, Everton).

These players are part of the generation that accomplished mixed results at the last two World Cups.

There is also a measure of quality on the U.S.'s U23 roster—the disappointing team that failed to qualify for the Olympics. Players like Juan Agudelo (19, Chivas USA), Brek Shea (22, FC Dallas) and Terrence Boyd (21, Rapid Wien) have made contributions to their club sides and the senior national squad.



There are others that have been anointed as the next Donovan. Freddy Adu (23, Philadelphia Union) surely, Jozy Altidore (22. AZ Alkm...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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