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Donovan on the German influence in the UMSNT

Landon Donovan Practice (ISIPhotos.com)

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

To say there's a German influence on the current U.S. national team is a bit of an understatement these days.

Along with Bundesliga veterans Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan, the national team has also welcomed German-born players Jermaine Jones, Timmy Chandler and David Yelldell into the fray in recent months. The result has been a current U.S. camp where German can be heard being spoken on the field on a regular basis.

"It's like being on the German national team," Donovan joked before Monday's training session in Nashville. Having honed his mastery of the German language during stints with Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, Donovan said it was good to get practice speaking the language with his new teammates.

Apparently he was getting too much practice speaking German, which led Jermaine Jones to complain recently.

"Why don't you speak English anymore," Jones told Donovan at a recent practice. "I'm trying to learn."

Comments

  1. Eurostar kids get wined and dined – ok their parents do – and play free of charge/parents on payroll practically pekaing, subsidized by kid with richer daddies and not as much skill…I belive that’s the way the clubs work in general. Pay to play…unless you’re a phenom with pro potential.

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  2. Maybe it’s me, but crapping out of Germany three times and doing a decent loan for a month or so doesn’t seem to qualify as a Bundesliga veteran. Steve Cherundolo, no THAT is a Bundesliga veteran.

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  3. Guys,

    My soccer-fanatic 14 year-old has a Brazilian (and US) passport thanks to his Brazilian mom – does he qualify for Bradenton? Ok, he’s not that good. Passes better than Onyewu, though, which ain’t saying much : )

    Seriously guys, I advise you start planning repeat scouting trips to Brazil to help you prepare for World Cup 2014…and then Olympics 2016. You got five years of excuses to do your part for your country!!!

    Plus the economy is booming; getting a work visa is hard but not impossible. Via agora!

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  4. He was with Bayer Leverkusen for five or six years. Whether or not he played in that many games, he still had to train with them day in and day out.

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  5. The one to watch out for is Hurzeler.

    Btw, during the thread about midwestern German heritage: I’m from Milwaukee, and up until world war 2, the main newspaper was still in German language. Up until world war 2, we had something like 70% Germans in the city, lol. Wisconsin had/has the highest concentration of Germans per capita because the land, soil, climate, and main times of migration all lined up with their needs. (Minnesota is a close second.)

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  6. I am just frustrated that our in-country system continues to fail at producing enough quality players. The number of players in the US system is immense and yet they can’t compete with the very small pool of players who qualify for the US pool who got their training outside the US. The US youth system is failing badly.

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  7. it’s only a matter of time before all of his kids are american citizens. read a british newspaper article a while ago where he said they all speak in american accents and the youngest one thinks it’s funny beckham has an english accent.

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  8. Germany is by far the most financially stable of the big leagues, and they also have the highest attendance ratings (better than the PL because their stadiums are bigger). If they keep it up and the PL continues with its financial woes, then I think the Bundesliga *could* surpass it.

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  9. My sister’s been a fan of Holden since he kept checking her out at some salon in Houston way back when. We joke that they are destined together, and I made sure to get her a Holden jersey for her birthday. However, she’s become pretty enamored with Benny as of late. This video helped:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfrwNMR871U

    She might get a chance to meet him this summer, too, so that helps. That lucky jerk.

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  10. If you like seeing that kind of stuff, look up the ussoccer videos on youtube. There is a lot of candid stuff. In one video, Maurice Edu beats Gooch in FIFA with a last minute free kick… by Maurice Edu.

    Reply

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