This is going to be a long, hot summer for Landon Donovan. After the Gold Cup, Donovan plans to play in Copa America, then rejoin the circus that the Los Angeles Galaxy will become after David Beckham arrives in late July.
It will be a difficult juggling act for Donovan, and the expected demands of his schedule are among the reasons U.S. coach Bob Bradley is limiting his playing time in the Gold Cup.
“These are two heavy tournaments with a lot of travel,” Donovan said Monday.
“I’m old enough to understand and adjust. I believe the mental and physical conditions are closely related, and the more stress you feel, the greater it affects you.
“But I’m excited about this. In the past I would have been more worried, but I’ll be ready.”
The U.S., the defending Gold Cup champion and the favorite this year, is the only team to win its first two games in 2007 — against Guatemala (1-0) and Trinidad and Tobago (0-2) — and has clinched a quarterfinal berth. The U.S. needs at least a tie Tuesday night against El Salvador at Gillette Stadium to clinch first place in Group B, setting up a meeting with the third-place team in Group A or C on Saturday in Foxborough.
Donovan is a Californian, but he seems truly comfortable in Massachusetts, where the U.S. has never lost a game that mattered. The U.S. is 14-1-4 in all games and 10-0-2 in qualifiers and tournament matches in Foxborough. The U.S. has won a Gold Cup-record 30 games–six more than Mexico–and is 20-0-1 in group play since the event was revived in 1991.
“This is the only place where we know there are going to be a lot of Americans in the crowd,” Donovan said.
“It feels like home. L.A. does not feel like home. We knew what the crowd was going to look like [in a victory over] Guatemala.
“I understand it better than anybody. I grew up playing with Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Mexicans, Costa Ricans, and I know the passion they have.
“There are a lot of Latin Americans who were born here, grew up here or lived most of their life here, and they are proud of where they came from. But if we play well, they will take off the jersey of their country and cheer for us. They want to see good soccer. It never irritates me. As long as we keep playing and winning, the generations who grow up here and their kids will be there.”
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Donovan’s awareness of the mind-body connection prevents him from dwelling on the negatives. But as the frequent-flier miles add up, Donovan and Bradley will be monitoring the fatigue factor.
The Gold Cup final will be June 24 in Chicago. The Americans’ opening game in Copa America will be against Argentina June 28 in Venezuela.
Among the upsets in the Gold Cup was Honduras’s 2-1 victory over Mexico on Sunday, dropping the Tricolores to third place in Group C.
“I was happy they lost,” Donovan said of Mexico. “Then I thought, oh, my God, we could be playing them Saturday. That would be awesome. I would love it.
“Mexico is struggling, but they could win four in a row. You can’t count them out. But they need to sort something out. They’ve got to win.”