U.S. soccer legend Landon Donovan has revealed a behind-the-scenes conversation with then U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who did not take him to his fourth World Cup.

Donovan was the second guest on the new program "Kicking It," which premiered on CBS Sports and OTT service Paramount+ in the U.S. on Sept. 7 (KST).

Donovan was cut from the final roster after clashing with Klinsmann over his departure ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

"I was really embarrassed, I was really embarrassed of my team (that Klinsmann put together)," Donovan recalled on the program, "because I was like, 'No (Klinsmann), you don't even have a team?

"I was really embarrassed. My family had to make so many sacrifices for the national team, and it was like he was undermining that. He didn't even have a team. It was a really hard feeling."

When the moderator asked, "Do you think Klinsmann knew who Donovan was?" he said, "I don't know," but added, "I thought I could help the team. At that point in my career, if I had been 21, I would have thought, 'Does he know who I am?' But I was 32, and I was like, 'I can help that team,'" he said.

"I swear, I remember what I said to Klinsmann," Donovan says. "I swear I remember saying to Klinsmann, 'I respect your decision. You've got a bunch of guys sitting in the national team locker room who played three or four games for the U.S., who will never play for the U.S. again, who will hardly ever come to the U.S., who don't give a shit what happens to U.S. soccer after the World Cup.'" 온라인카지노

Donovan is an American soccer legend.

Born in 1982, he rose through the ranks of the IMG Bradenton Academy before moving to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga in 1999, becoming the first American star to make it to Europe. He first came to prominence at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he won the Golden Ball.

After breaking into Leverkusen's first team in 2000, Donovan failed to adapt to the Bundesliga and returned to the United States in 2005 with a move to the LA Galaxy.

In January 2009, he continued his European adventure with loan spells at Bayern Munich (Germany) and Everton (England) before returning to Los Angeles to continue his career. In January 2018, he moved to Liga MX León in Mexico before returning to the San Diego Earthquakes in January 2019 to finish his career.

Donovan made his mark on U.S. World Cup history with back-to-back appearances at the 2002 World Cup in Korea, 2006 World Cup in Germany, and 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He led the team to the quarterfinals in Korea and the round of 16 in South Africa.

Donovan had hoped to make it to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but was left off the roster by Klinsmann, the U.S. national team coach at the time. This was especially frustrating as he had just won the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup the year before, with five goals and seven assists in six games.

At the time, Klinsmann cited age-related decline and the comparative advantage of other players. Klinsmann chose a number of international players at the time. There were veteran American goalkeepers in the Premier League like Tim Howard (Everton) and Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), but also John Brooks (Hertha Berlin) and Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), who had played for Ulsan Hyundai.

The most controversial selection was that of 18-year-old midfielder Julian Green (Bayern Munich). While he was a promising youngster, many felt that it made no sense to select a player who hadn't even made his Bundesliga debut and was playing in the Bayern Munich second team, while Donovan, a three-time World Cup veteran, was not included.

Of course, Klinsmann's choice made sense. The U.S. finished second in Group G (1W, 1D, 1L, 4G, 0G), ahead of third-place Portugal (1W, 1D, 1L, 4G, -3G), and advanced to the round of 16. At the time, Group G was also referred to as the "Group of Death. However, in the round of 16, the U.S. was eliminated by Belgium 1-2.

Donovan announced his retirement after the 2014 season, and the U.S. Soccer Federation honored him with a national retirement game after the World Cup to end his national team career.

Klinsmann, meanwhile, went downhill with the U.S. national team after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, finishing fourth at the 2015 Gold Cup, and was fired in November 2016 after friction with the U.S. Soccer Federation and a poor showing in North and Central American and Caribbean qualifying for the 2018 Russia World Cup. The U.S. ultimately failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia and became a spectator at the tournament for the first time in 32 years since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Klinsmann was later named head coach of the South Korean men's national soccer team in March after a rare social media resignation from Hertha Berlin (Germany), where he was hired in November 2019.