Donovan, 35, who was raised in Southern California and speaks fluent Spanish, has appeared in a series of television commercials and promotional images as part of a campaign by Wells Fargo in which he says "Vamos Mexico" and holds a scarf that reads "My other team is Mexico. Several former U. But Donovan, the U. If others disagree that is their prerogative; but similar to how the US Soccer Federation, the Canadian Soccer Association and the Federacion Mexicana de Futbol joined together in the United Bid to bring the World Cup to North America, I believe in supporting each other and building bridges, not barriers.
In a brief video first published on Wells Fargo's Twitter account on Friday, Donovan said that "not everyone's team is going -- and that's OK -- Wells Fargo and I are inviting anyone in need of a team to root for to join us in cheering for the Mexican national team.
Responding to a tweet from Bocanegra that asked "Really? I reflected on the tweet I made over the weekend and realize it was impulsive and inappropriate. I made a mistake and have removed the tweet. He came out of retirement earlier this year to sign with Leon of Mexico's Liga MX, making six appearances, but on Sunday the club terminated his contract , which had been set to run until the end of The U.
Mexico, which finished first, opened its tournament with a victory over Germany, the winners, on Sunday. Last week, a bid presented by the United States, Canada and Mexico was chosen to host the World Cup in , defeating a proposal from Morocco.
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January moves that could fix what's wrong at Europe's biggest clubs. Berhalter: U. PSG's Diallo released amid probe into attack. You can learn the tactical side of the game later. It's amazing to me that people put so much emphasis on trying to be tactical and worry about winning when it doesn't matter when you're 12 years old. SA: You see that in the younger age groups.
Players can run over people and win games, but a lot of them can't play soccer. LD: Exactly. It's sad. That's something that's going to have to change if we want soccer in this country to develop. We're going to have big, strong, fast players.
We're Americans, we're athletes. But if we never learn at an early age to be good on the ball, then it's just useless.
What did you pick up from them? LD: Mom would try to get me to go to sleep, but I would stay up and watch the games. For me the worst attribute you can have as a player is to be selfish. I'd watch someone like Magic, how he attacked a defense, and Gretzky more so because my dad is a huge hockey fan, and we'd always watch hockey.
Gretzky is phenomenal. Both of them were so dangerous and such good finishers, but at the same time could kill teams with a pass. I think that's so important.
Oftentimes you get attacking midfielders who can't score, but they can pass the ball well and they distribute well, or you get a forward who can't pass the ball to save his life.
If you can mix both, if you can be equally good at both, you're so much more dangerous. That's always the type of player I wanted to be. SA: Your parents divorced when you were 2 and you lived with your mother. How much contact did you have with your father? LD: I didn't see him as much as I would have liked, but we did spend time together.
He was old. He would be like 40 playing with year-olds and he couldn't skate with these guys, but he made passes and saw things. You know when you're watching a game from TV? You say, ''Give it there, give it there,'' but the guy on the field doesn't see it. He always made that pass, always. A lot of times you would see him make a pass and think, ''Where's the hell's that going? I think that's just a natural gift I get from him and his side of the family.
SA: Did seeing so many top players break down before the World Cup or struggle in the finals influence you to stay in America? LD: Just the number of games is ridiculous. The greatest part about soccer is being able to get up for a big game. I felt that some of those German guys at Leverkusen who had played so many big games this year, it was like, ''OK, whatever.
Every time I walk into the stadium I get goose bumps when I see 30, people an hour before kickoff in a 60,seat stadium. That's amazing. I don't ever, ever want to lose that.
LD: No, but you'll see it at national team games, and you'll see next year some sold-out stadiums, which is a great atmosphere. You'll see it in L. And in the qualifying you'll see it plenty. You don't want to see it every week necessarily. When I play at Spartan Stadium, every time they yell my name or say my name over the loudspeaker, it's awesome.
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You've reached your free article limit. Become a Pro member now. Your email address has been verified. Enjoy your free articles. In this exclusive interview he discusses his decision to stay in MLS, at least for now, and his upbringing in Southern California. Luckily, I have people around me who encourage me to just be happy. All I can vouch for is these are the two things I can choose from: Going to Germany for a year and a half, and for the most part being pretty miserable, not playing, being lonely at times and having homesickness at times; as compared to being here, playing in California under the sun every day with great teammates and a fantastic coach [Frank Yallop], starting almost every game this year for the national team, playing a World Cup, scoring two goals in a World Cup, coming back to a team in first place and hopefully winning another championship, and going on all these talk shows.
Which would you rather have? SA: Well, when you put it that way SA: It doesn't have to be Leverkusen. SA: That's a very mature, gracious attitude. LD: That's another good example. He's not even playing on that team. From the outset I would ask what a word meant. I must have been 8 or 9. Our teacher was very adamant about speaking constantly and she put a huge emphasis on it. SA: Your mother is a teacher. Did she help you? LD: Laughing. That would have been fun. I could have killed him. SA: Did all this experience with Latinos affect your development?
He was way ahead of his time. When I was younger we'd go down to Ontario Ice Rink and watch my dad play hockey. Comment Next story loading. More from Soccer America Site. Discover Our Publications.
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