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THREE QUESTIONS FOR ... Landon Donovan
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http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562136893
 1/31/2006
3:48:00 PM
After a 0-0 tie with Canada in the U.S. 2006 opener, Landon Donovan
sharply criticized the performance of many players, including his
own. He has much better reviews of the 5-0 thumping of Norway last
Sunday at Home Depot Center.
Interview by Ridge Mahoney in Carson, Calif.
SOCCER AMERICA: Was this result as good as it looked or as the
scoreline would indicate?
LANDON DONOVAN: You win 5-0, and you play extremely well, and it's
like, 'OK.' But to win 5-0 and dominate everywhere, [we] kept the
ball, moved the ball well, got dangerous chances, defended well,
got the ball back right away when it turned over. Everywhere, we
played well and that's a nice feeling. ... I was extremely impressed
with how everyone came back this week.
SA: How severely did that tension about a pending World Cup affect
the team against Canada?
LD: There were a lot of guys who were too excited, too nervous because
you know what's at stake. This week we got a lot better in training
on the ball, a lot more comfortable on the ball. We got over that
hump of being out of it for so long, so guys played relaxed. And
that's how you have to play, you have to play happy and relaxed
and have fun. You saw that [against Norway].
SA: The U.S. played with three in midfield and three forwards against
Canada, with you ostensibly on the right side. Against Norway in
a 4-4-2 with you supporting the two forwards and Kerry Zavagnin
behind you, everything clicked right way. Why such a drastic difference?
LD: This [Home Depot Center] is a big field, so the key is keeping
the ball and being patient. We have a tendency when we get anywhere
near the goal, we try to find that path all the time. We still make
mistakes, but the more patient we were, the more patient we were
building up, that's where we got our best chances.
I think Bruce [Arena] likes me behind two forwards so I can get
the ball to them, get service to them, help build the game when
we need it. Last week [against Canada] I was getting the ball too
deep. [Against Norway] I tried to stay out of there and let Kerry
make the game more. I need to be closer to the forwards so I can
do what I'm good at. Instead of me going back and being in an easy
position, I was a lot higher and it made it harder for them [Norway]
to make decisions.
The back line could play through [Zavagnin]. He was available,
he could turn and go the other way, get it back again. We need someone
like that. We don't need someone hitting a 30-yard ball forward
every time.
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