U.S. Men’s National Team v. Honduras, Arlington, Texas, 7.24.13

Landon Donovan continues building the case that he is the best ever U.S. soccer player. He scored twice and had an assist in the U.S.’s 3-1 Gold Cup semi-final victory over Honduras in Cowboys stadium. Through five 2013 Gold Cup matches, Donovan has seven assists and five goals. Those figures extend his U.S. goal and assist records to 56 apiece, remarkable numbers.

Given the perception among many that Donovan is a selfish brat, it’s worth reminding people of his talent and willingness to put goals on a platter for his teammates. I’ve noted the following fact at least twice before on this blog, but I’ll note it again: the second all-time U.S. assist man is Cobi Jones, who has 22. That’s less than 40% of Donovan’s current total, and it took Jones more games to achieve that number. And Jones is of course long retired, so he can’t add to it. The closest active players on the U.S. assist list are DaMarcus Beasley, with 13, and Clint Dempsey, with 12. In the hugely unlikely event that Beasley and Dempsey double their current respective totals before they retire, they’ll still have less than half of Donovan’s current total.

Donovan’s 56 international assists and 56 international goals speak to his high soccer IQ—to his knowledge of when to shoot and when to pass, when to dribble and when to play a one-touch pass, where and when to make runs, how to read the runs of his teammates and the likely actions of defenders, where and to whom to play passes, and much else. Basically, he knows what it takes to win soccer games. All of that has been on display in this Gold Cup, and much of it was there to see against Honduras.

The first U.S. goal against Honduras came in the 11^th minute, amidst complete U.S. domination of the run of play. With Clarence Goodson holding the ball on the U.S. side of the field, Donovan showed to the ball about 45 yards from the Honduras goal. Goodson wisely played it to him. Eddie Johnson, reading Donovan perfectly, feinted toward Goodson’s pass but let it run by him, then turned and ran to goal. Meanwhile, Donovan read Johnson’s mind and played a flawless one-time ball into space for him. Johnson took a couple of appropriately heavy touches and shot over the flatfooted Honduras keeper and high into the middle of the net.

Johnson looked strong in this game, as he did coming on for Chris Wondolowski in the quarterfinal against El Salvador. In that game, Johnson’s flicked-on header from a ball played from the back set up Donovan’s goal. Against Honduras, Johnson proved that flicked-on header against El Salvador was no fluke. He had two such passes in Texas. Both were to Alejandro Bedoya, one in the 27^th minute that ended in a Bedoya assist (and a Donovan goal), and one in the 50^th minute that led to a good shot by Bedoya.

Johnson played the full 90 minutes against Honduras, and given his performance I’d be surprised if Chris Wondolowski—let alone Alan Gordon or Will Bruin—sees the field in Sunday’s final against Panama. Then again, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has continued to baffle, delight, and succeed with his starting lineups in this tournament, and I wouldn’t rule anything out. I doubt I was the only U.S. fan to raise an eyebrow when he started Bedoya over Joe Corona against Honduras. Corona has played well lately, especially when linking up with Donovan. But Klinsmann’s decision to start Bedoya was prescient. Bedoya did lose his mark on Honduras’s only goal—a free kick from Marvin Chavez to Nery Media—but he assisted on both Donovan goals. I won’t describe those goals, since probably everyone but Donovan’s mother is now tired of reading about him. And I, too, would prefer to watch him play, so I’ve included highlights of the game below.

Before closing, let me quote the following, from the U.S. Soccer website: “Nick Rimando became the fifth U.S. goalkeeper in the modern era to post five victories during a calendar year, improving to 5-0-0 in 2013.” Those of us who follow MLS know just how good Rimando is. And it’s testimony to the play of guys like Tim Howard and Kasey Keller that the 34-year-old Rimando hasn’t seen much international action. That’s too bad, because not only is he an excellent keeper, he is, for me at least, one of those rare athletes whom you just have to like, even when you’re rooting against them and their teams. God knows a lot of athletes—and perhaps in particular a lot of goalkeepers—can seem like dicks from afar. For whatever reasons, though, Rimando just exudes the air of someone who is what I can only call a good guy. And it’s great for me (a New England Revolution fan) to watch him play for the national team and have the luxury of rooting for him wholeheartedly. As the above U.S. Soccer quote attests, he has not disappointed.