Landon Donovan Counts Down To Final USA Men’s National Team Curtain Call

Sep 10, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Los Angeles Galaxy forward Landon Donovan (10) plays the ball against the Montreal Impact during the second half at Stade Saputo. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

The sun is setting on Landon Donovan’s time with the USA Men’s National Team, and in a recent column by Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl, the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder is relieved that he is calling it quits on playing the game.

“There are so many things,” Donovan told Wahl on Thursday. “I want to travel, to see all these different places that I haven’t been able to see. I’ve been to a lot of places, but I haven’t seen a lot of things from places.

“I want to spend time with my family. I want to just sit and have weeks at a time where I do nothing, but I can wake up and do whatever I want.

“I want to golf. I want to go to college and take classes. I want to hopefully do some commentating stuff, although somebody told me if I’m going to do commentating I just need to be myself, but hopefully more entertaining. So I’m going to work on that.

“And I think coaching kids would be fun. I have all these things I’ve always sort of wanted to do, and now I have the opportunity to just try them and see what resonates.”

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Currently, Landon Donovan owns the MLS career record for goals in regular season play (144) and is tied with Steve Ralston for assists at 135. As a member of the USA Men’s National Team, his relationship with Jurgen Klinsmann has been a bit, well, complicated to say the least.

“I did not,” said Donovan, when asked if he talked with Klinsmann about the friendly with Ecuador on Oct. 10 or if Jurgen’s son Jonathan received an apology for his outrageous tweet prior to the selection of the USA Men’s National Team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

However, Donovan’s own personal well-being takes center stage as well as he reaches a crossroads to his own career and lifestyle this autumn. Most importantly, he leaves the game with no regrts.

“The biggest thing that we can all do is be compassionate,” said Donovan. “There are these phrases that go around in sports that are so prevalent, that ‘he’s soft’ or ‘he’s weak mentally,’ all these things. Of course sports is a macho, testosterone-driven activity.

“But we’re all human, and so just like there are gay athletes in sports, just like there are athletes from different races and ethnicities, of course there are athletes that have mental issues, just like everyone else can have mental issues in society.

“Sometimes sports fans think they know what’s best for the athletes,” he says. “I’ve never abided by that. I don’t try to do things to please other people who are not involved in my life that intimately. I certainly do things to please those who are close to me. But I’ve tried to live that way.

“So I understand why people haven’t agreed with some of the decisions that I’ve made. A lot of people probably wouldn’t have chosen the same decisions. But it was never malicious. I was never trying to do anything except make myself happy, so I could enjoy this game that I love to play.”

In the meantime, Donovan and Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy take on Michael Bradley and Greg Vanney’s Toronto FC tomorrow at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by MLS LIVE, TSN2 and RDS.