Landon Donovan Quotes (57 Quotes)

Would I bet that nine times out of 10 we're going to beat Brazil Probably not. Could we beat Brazil Absolutely. So you have to be a little bit realistic, but we want to put ourselves in that situation. And if we're in that situation, I would still be confident.

Those four games were just awful, ... I remember going to practice every day, thinking, 'What is it' I was always on the losing team in training, I wasn't playing well, and the guys I were playing with weren't playing well. It bummed me out. It really did. We weren't clicking and when things go bad everybody tries to be a hero and step up and score and do everything instead of just doing their job.

I think that's what angers them about us. We have lives beyond soccer. For a lot of them they don't, players, coaches, people in Mexico, that's what they have. It's almost what makes it sweeter to beat them.

All of us who play here for less money than we could make and less fame than other players get around the world, we have the same goal in mind, ... We want soccer to develop and become a major sport in this country.

It seems like we gave up a goal every time we were late in a game here at home. Realistically though, the half should be 45 minutes. Six, seven, or eight minutes were taken away from us, so it was fair.

I didn't have to step up into a leadership role, ... I just had to be there and help out where I could. But this year I had to be more of the man.

Ten years ago, the level was nowhere near what it is today. We have an obligation to do that and most people take that seriously.

It's difficult mentally, physically to always be at 100. There are times in the year when you have injuries that may barely allow you to play, ... There may be things at home. When I have one thing to focus on, I feel like I play my best.

We came out and we were playing at home, we had a strong crowd and we were getting our rings. I don't know if because of that we thought we were just going to come out and win the game - but it doesn't happen that way. Not against a team like that. We better learn fast, or we are going to struggle. Teams come here and they want to win, especially New England. Our attitude wasn't urgent enough and it comes down to people making plays and we didn't make plays. Everybody needs to do that, and tonight they made the play to change the game.

I would not say it is greatest moment. I would say it is the most gratifying, ... It's been strange. I am used to everyone telling me how great I am and how wonderful things are. This year has been the complete opposite. It's validating and gratifying at the same time.

It's just a number, but it's special. There's not a lot of people in this country or in the world that have hit 100, so he's been around a long time. He deserves it.

They do a lot of talking. They haven't beat us in a long time here. I'm kind of sick of it. There's no better scenario than to beat them easily.

Crucial, ... You don't want to worry about other results, you don't want to worry about getting a result in the sixth game. If you can finish it ... you finish it.

I got to a point where I was really pissed off that we might not qualify for the World Cup because two sides couldn't come to an agreement, ... It was kind of like a now-or-never point, so I finally just decided to call Dr. Bob Contiguglia , the U. S. Soccer president. It must have been 3 in the morning. It was pretty brief and had nothing to do with numbers. It was just, 'What can we do to get us back in camp and playing What's a compromise And then we can talk about the other stuff later.' He was clearly on board, and he wanted this thing to happen.

We are deeper from one through 23 and a better team. The thing we don't have that we had four years ago was not as many clear leaders on the team.

Bruce made a good comment. He said 'We've qualified, and that's great. But let's get better over the next seven months. It doesn't mean you relax. Let's get better as a coaching staff, as a team. And guys that get a chance to play now should prove that they belong.' That makes the depth of our team better. It's a great opportunity for some guys.

My decision to return to the MLS is one that I have made with thoughtful consideration,

Literally from the first minute, they went down, ... They wanted to make a big drama out of the game.

New England has two factors to get them ready to play. They've consistently been, if not the best, the second best team all year and they're playing confidently. And a lot of those guys were on field when they lost to LA. They'll take motivation in that.

Obviously, we know them pretty well now and we are excited to play them at home. We have to be careful and not look ahead to (Wednesday).

Most of us are in this more than just for playing soccer. We're in it for the bigger goal to move it along for the next generation.

Talent-wise, looking at our roster, we are deeper. But the thing we don't have that we did in 2002, is there are not as many clear leaders.

He's been our most consistent player that's played in Europe and has played at the highest level for a long time. He doesn't yell at people. He doesn't say much, but he's just calming. Our team constantly wants to go, go, go, and he's the guy that knows when to settle it down. But he also knows when to go. You always want him on the ball. He's going to make things happen. It's invaluable.

We had a good team game plan. I wanted to put on a show, though, and I did.

I don't know if we care about the result. At the end of the day it doesn't matter. It's not like we're battling to get a 0-0 draw. We're going to go play and make the game fun.

When he comes into camp now, he's more vocal, he's more of a leader, he's more demanding, he's more aggressive. He's turned into what Bruce has called a real soccer player.

We (had) been in a rut for the past 12-13 games. Now we don't have any excuses. Everyone's here. Everyone is available, ... We have all the training time. We have only two more road games. We've got to show that we belong.

He's just a good soccer player, ... He's been around for a long time. He knows where the ball should go, and he makes it happen. And I know that if I make a good run and get in the right position, he's going to find me.

We give teams too much respect sometimes, ... We wanted to come out and put them under pressure. If they were good enough to beat it and get out of it, fine, but I didn't think they would be and sure enough getting the ball behind them, getting fouls and putting them in uncomfortable positions and next you know you're in control of the game.

No matter how many time you beat them its always 'whose the best team in CONCACAF',

The teams we're playing against are in the middle of the season. We're behind the 8-ball to start with. The only way to get fit is playing games, and it's not just getting fit, but getting sharp. We need to find a way to make the scheduling better. I don't know how you fix that but it is disappointing. Our league expects more and I think we expect more.

It's soccer, so you never know. Maybe the game Sunday will be a little slower and wide open. I think people will expect a lot of goals.

It was the greatest game I've ever been part of. Things don't happen like that. Years down the road people are going to say that's the best game they've ever seen in the league.

Have fun. It's an incredible experience. It was one of the most fun times of my life and I would just enjoy it,

He makes everyone better, but he's especially good for me. He's been our most consistent player. ... You always want him on the ball. He's going to make things happen.

We still need to get points and make sure that we at least finish third in the West. But it is a good game to put Wednesday behind us and hopefully move forward.

I hope we can do it. It would be the best possible ending to our qualifying.

No chance. I've got to find it somehow. It'll be more exciting when I get there. I'm not excited about the travel and trying to recover, but I think stepping out on the field there is going to be really cool.

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to play for the national team but if I had the chance to be here and focus here then I'd prefer to do that, ... The only way is if (Bruce Arena) absolutely needs me. It's hard to imagine a scenario where that would be the case. If he says 'Look, for this reason or that I need you there,' I'll go. I'd be happy to go. If he really doesn't need me to be there, I'd like to stay.

You can't go into a World Cup timid, and you can't go into it shy thinking, well, it's just I'm happy to be there and let's get out and play. You're there for a reason, and we're there to win.

Having Claudio and John makes it easy on me because they do all the work. I don't have to worry about getting the ball and moving it from side to side or finding people. They do that. I just get in front of the goal and try to score, so it's going to be fun for me.

I didn't really believe we could do it, ... I thought the season was over. We went from being a team that had absolutely no confidence and was playing as poorly as any team in the league to a team that in one game switched everything around and turned into the best team in the league.

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I know in our region everyone is gunning to beat us. We have a new challenge.

To imagine being in Germany having a home crowd is kind of silly, but we'll take it.

I don't like how they treat us, how they conduct themselves with us. They intend to humiliate us and want to do that at whatever cost. But the people who will be doing the humiliating is us. We'll do that in the most painful way of being humiliated, on the field.

I love winning and any team I'm on, I expect to win. I don't think we could have said that 10 years ago.

(It's been) tiring, ... but two wins (in a short time frame) is always good. Hopefully we can make it three on Tuesday in Madrid ... I'm not excited about the travel and trying to recover, but I think stepping out on the field there will be really cool.

Talent-wise, we are much deeper. We are deeper, one through 23, and that's a better thing. The thing we don't have that we had four years ago is as many clear leaders. This time, we have only four or five leaders. That's one issue that will sort itself out.

I expected more from them. At least for the next three or four years, they'll shut up. They can't say anything.

I think the Mexicans feel a lot of pressure to come at us and score and beat us. For us, we want to win the game, but we don't have to go out and attack them and impose ourselves on them. We can be patient. . . . If they get some possession and come at us, we're going to wait and then, going the other way, they'll have a lot to deal with in the U. S. attack, so they've got to be careful.