The little step and big gulf

• Slate, Saturday, May 24, 2014 4:37 PM

Just what was it about Landon Donovan's game that Jurgen Klinsmann did not like? At Friday's press conference, Klinsmann said that other players were “just a little step ahead of Landon in certain areas.” But was it really technical deficiencies or something else?

Stefan Fatsis at Slate suggests it was about a big gulf in thinking, and others agreed. “I don’t think that Jurgen Klinsmann understands who Landon Donovan is as a player or as a person,” Alexi Lalas said on ESPN. “I think he can’t fathom some of the decisions he’s made because he puts them up against how he would go about things in his career and in his life.”

Fatsis goes on to write that Klinsmann created controversy out of thin air by dropping Donovan, who would not have been a problem in Brazil if he was used as a sub or sat on the bench. He suggests Klinsmann’s "big ego" was behind the decision.

Read the whole story at Slate »