The United States is set to battle the best teams for the 2014 World Cup. So, over the week, the team featured its 23-man roster, without Landon Donovan, one of the greatest American soccer players in history.
According to Bleacher Report, a lot of fans did not anticipate Donovan to be stricken off the list completely.
Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of the United States, said, "This is certainly one of the toughest decisions -- the toughest decision in my coaching career -- to tell a player like him with everything he's done and what he represents, to tell him that you're not part of those 23 right now. I just see some other players slightly ahead of him."
Bruce Arena, former coach of team USA, also said, "From experience the decisions aren't easy. It's the coach's responsibility and he's done that."
Buzzfeed writes that Landon Donovan resorted to Facebook to address his fans about the recent cut. He posted, "To my fans, It has been an honor and privilege to have represented the U.S. National Team in three World Cups. I was looking forward to playing in Brazil and, as you can imagine, I am very disappointed with today's decision. Regardless, I will be cheering on my friends and teammates this summer, and I remain committed to helping grow soccer in the U.S. in the years to come. Thanks for all your support."
The official roster as reported by USA Today is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Nick Rimando and Tim Howard
Defenders: DaMarcus Beasley, John Brookes, DaMarcus Beasley, Geoff Cameron, Timmy Chandler, Fabian Johnson, DeAndre Yedlin and Omar Gonzalez
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman, Michael Bradley, Brad Davis, Alejandro Bedoya, Mix Diskerud, Graham Zusi, Julian Green and Jermain Jones
Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Aron Johannsson, Clint Dempsey and Chris Wondolowski
Klinsmann made the official announcement of his final selection on May 22, 2014. He said, "It's an exciting moment when you have narrowed the roster down as a coaching staff, and these 23 players that you've chosen can focus now purely on Brazil."
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