Lance Donovan, who has been viewed by Americans as their national soccer hero and star of its US Men's National Team, admitted he had hoped that the US would falter slightly in their warm-up game against Azerbaijan ahead of the 2014 World Cup, according to the Los Angeles Times. It was natural of Donovan to do so despite being largely identified to US soccer, as it was obvious that he is not in any of the main lineup or reserves head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has picked to represent the US at the tournament in Brazil. As a former national captain, Donovan was emotional at the time that Klinsmann had overlooked him in spite of an impressive resume, the Bleacher Report noted.
Donovan is the only player in US history to have made 50 goals and 70 assists in international football. Since 2000, Donovan scored 57 international goals, with five of them during the World Cup. At the age of 20, he has also won the Best Young Player Award.
On the other hand, Donovan said he quickly changed his feelings about the situation and said, "Then the next day I woke up and said to myself, that's a really crappy way to feel. That's a bad way to live your life, it doesn't help me, it doesn't help the team, it doesn't help the energy that the team needs."
So far, Klinsmann's judgement about not having Donovan in the USMNT had been correct, as the US has advance to the Round of 16 stage. The team, who has been considered among the underdogs in the tournament, would be competing its match against Belgium. The match would reportedly mark the comeback of Jozy Altidore, who had been injured during a group match in the tournament, Bleacher report said. Should all go right, the Americans would be marking this year as the first time to reach World Cup quarterfinals since 2002. Meanwhile, Donovan will no doubt cheering from the anchor seat, as he currently provides analysis as part of the tournament coverage team by ESPN.
