Jilted U.S. soccer player Landon Donovan has been diplomatic about his comments toward the U.S. men's national team and coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who left Donovan off the team roster for the 2014 World Cup.
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The gloves came off Thursday.
Reuters.com reported that Landon questioned several of Klinsmann's tactics during the national team's run in the World Cup that ended with Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Belgium.
"I think the most disappointing is we didn't seem like we gave it a real effort, from a tactical standpoint," Reuters.com quoted him as saying on the Major League Soccer official website.
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"I thought the guys did everything they could, they did everything that was asked of them, but I don't think (tactically) we were set up to succeed... and that was tough to watch."
Donovan said Klinsmann approached his job as U.S. coach when he arrived in 2011 with a positive disposition. That disposition was not evident during Cup play.
"They were set up in a way that was opposite from what they've been the past couple of years, which is opening up, passing, attacking - trying to do that," Donovan said, according to Reuters. "And the team has been successful that way.
"Why they decided to switch that in the World Cup, none of us will know. From a playing standpoint, I think the guys will probably be disappointed in the way things went," he said.
One of the specific problems Donovan had was Klinsmann's decision to use Clint Dempsey as a lone striker after Jozy Altidore went down with a hamstring injury against Ghana.
"My feeling as a player, if I'm in that locker room before that game - before the Germany game, before the Belgium game - and the coach walked in and said we're playing a 4-5-1 and Clint is up top by himself, I would have been disappointed," Donovan said. Because I would have said let's go for it. I want a chance to go for it and try to win the game."
Donovan was far less definitive when asked whether he would rejoin the national team before next year's Gold Cup.
"We'll see. That depends on a lot of conversations that would have to be held," he said.
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