Landon Donovan

You still have to be a young, you have to be a teenager. Like, so, so it's important for the parents and the coaches to help balance that. But ultimately, um, The road to being a professional athlete is really difficult and filled with pressure.

You know what? It's interesting, Landon. I wasn't going to riff on this, but it's a huge part of it. I didn't have it. You didn't have it, right? And so when you played a bad game as an 18-year-old, and I had a few of those, my coach would tell me what he thought of me, maybe the fans. But that was it. That was it.

You know what? It's interesting, Landon. I wasn't going to riff on this, but it's a huge part of it. I didn't have it. You didn't have it, right? And so when you played a bad game as an 18-year-old, and I had a few of those, my coach would tell me what he thought of me, maybe the fans. But that was it. That was it.

You know what? It's interesting, Landon. I wasn't going to riff on this, but it's a huge part of it. I didn't have it. You didn't have it, right? And so when you played a bad game as an 18-year-old, and I had a few of those, my coach would tell me what he thought of me, maybe the fans. But that was it. That was it.

I didn't, it wasn't like I could, I got on the team bus and I was littered with outside noise and people telling me how terrible I was, right? And so you have to be able, that's not going away. So you have to try and help them manage that.

I didn't, it wasn't like I could, I got on the team bus and I was littered with outside noise and people telling me how terrible I was, right? And so you have to be able, that's not going away. So you have to try and help them manage that.

I didn't, it wasn't like I could, I got on the team bus and I was littered with outside noise and people telling me how terrible I was, right? And so you have to be able, that's not going away. So you have to try and help them manage that.

Oh, God. Oh, God. When people do this.

Oh, God. Oh, God. When people do this.

Oh, God. Oh, God. When people do this.

It was lucky, man. Okay.

It was lucky, man. Okay.

It was lucky, man. Okay.

Javier, I feel like we're friends. I want to call you Javi. So Javi, listen, don't go back and watch the games, as Landon suggested. You're just completely and utterly wrong. So we're not going to have that conversation for a team, any team, US, England, Spain, to get to a World Cup quarterfinal. You can't be lucky. It's impossible. It's impossible to be lucky.

Javier, I feel like we're friends. I want to call you Javi. So Javi, listen, don't go back and watch the games, as Landon suggested. You're just completely and utterly wrong. So we're not going to have that conversation for a team, any team, US, England, Spain, to get to a World Cup quarterfinal. You can't be lucky. It's impossible. It's impossible to be lucky.

Javier, I feel like we're friends. I want to call you Javi. So Javi, listen, don't go back and watch the games, as Landon suggested. You're just completely and utterly wrong. So we're not going to have that conversation for a team, any team, US, England, Spain, to get to a World Cup quarterfinal. You can't be lucky. It's impossible. It's impossible to be lucky.

That team was incredible, and they performed incredibly well. That's the end of that story. What Landon said about Bruce Arena coming on board, everything was 100% accurate. The chips were so far stacked against him once we lost as a team, once we lost those first two games in qualifying. I am not a decision maker at U.S. Soccer. I've never been.

That team was incredible, and they performed incredibly well. That's the end of that story. What Landon said about Bruce Arena coming on board, everything was 100% accurate. The chips were so far stacked against him once we lost as a team, once we lost those first two games in qualifying. I am not a decision maker at U.S. Soccer. I've never been.

That team was incredible, and they performed incredibly well. That's the end of that story. What Landon said about Bruce Arena coming on board, everything was 100% accurate. The chips were so far stacked against him once we lost as a team, once we lost those first two games in qualifying. I am not a decision maker at U.S. Soccer. I've never been.

But I was a part of, and this is, you earned the right as a senior player who's given everything for your country, that in these dire crisis moments, when a manager gets fired, you are part of big conversations. Right, Landon? So you're part of conversations with the heads of U.S. soccer. It doesn't mean you make the final decision, but they want to know what's going on on the inside.