You can take the USMNT out of the World Cup, but you can’t take the World Cup out of the USMNT ... or something. We might not be creating any new memories in Russia, but at least we’ve got some historical moments that're always worth revisiting. I’m talking about the 2002 World Cup team.
The team’s run to the quarterfinals of that competition was no fluke — they didn’t Portugal Euro 2016 themselves into the history books.
Bruce Arena (with the help of Jurgen Klinsmann and some uninspired performances from the players) failed to qualify the U.S. for the 2018 World Cup. Now he wants to monetize that failure with a new autobiography. The Bruce Arena book is titled “What's Wrong with US?: A Coach’s Blunt Take on the State of American Soccer After a Lifetime on the Touchline,” a clear and obvious money grab revolving around a fiasco of his own creation.
Andrija Novakovich is a 21-year-old forward for Dutch club Telstar. He’s not exactly a household name among U.S. fans, but his debut for the USMNT on Tuesday was one of the best moments for U.S. soccer in months.
Nobody expected a 36-year-old Landon Donovan (who’d really been out of the game for a few years) to tear it up with Club Leon following his shock return to soccer, but we certainly expected more than just four league appearances totaling 37 minutes after joining back on Jan. 12.
Minutes have been hard to come by for Donovan as manager Gustavo Diaz monitors his progress. However, with a match against Tigres looming next Saturday, Donovan might’ve forced himself into the conversation with this instinctive finish against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Age 21, standing at 6-4 and hailing from Muskego, Wisconsin, you probably think you know the USMNT’s latest salvation at the forward position, Andrija Novakovich. You’ve probably sketched a mental outline of a big, blundering center forward with an affinity for Milwaukee’s Best, but we mustn’t forget that Harry Kane was similarly written off for being a chubby, traveling salesman-looking version of Butt-head.
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ana Ivanovic have welcomed their first child, reportedly a boy alleged to be named Luka, into the world in Chicago this weekend.
Welcome to the world our little boy! We are so happy. @AnaIvanovic pic.twitter.com/j5Kp6u0CiJ
— Basti Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) March 19, 2018
Landon Donovan receives a lot of abuse for his playing career, and if you forget World Cups, the fact that he signed for Bayer Leverkusen as a teenager, the well-deserved accolade of having the MLS MVP award named after him, his successful loan moves with Everton, his hugely influential 14-year spell with the national team and his joyfully direct play, then he totally deserves all the criticism that comes his way.
Hey, this all turned out well for American soccer. Thanks to FC Dallas’ shitshow performance against Tauro FC, the MLS side got to avoid getting spanked by Club America in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals, and look who’s now doing the spanking — it’s Angeleno Joe Corona!
According to the latest rumors from Sky Sports, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is interested in signing Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund this summer for around $100 million as he “sees the value in having the poster boy for football in America at his disposal.”
Is the move all that far-fetched? No.