Photo by ISIphotos.com
U.S. national team star Landon Donovan has tested positive for the H1N1 flu virus, Donovan told Sports Illustrated on Thursday.
Donovan first felt ill and was tested on Sunday in Miami, three days before the U.S. team's World Cup qualifying loss to Mexico, and learned of the positive result for the virus on Thursday. He played a full 90 minutes on Wednesday unaware that he was carrying the virus.
"I haven't felt that way in a game in a long time," Donovan told SI.com about Wednesday's loss to Mexico. "During the game and even after the game I thought maybe it was the altitude, the heat, whatever. But even so I've never felt that bad. The last time I was there [at Estadio Azteca] I didn't feel that bad. I just felt lethargic, slow. I didn't feel normal."
The flu confirmation does provide some context for what was a surprisingly disappointing performance for Donovan, who had been on a tear with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Donovan is the latest high-profile figure to have a confirmed case of what has become commonly known as Swine Flu. Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica, has also contracted the H1N1 flu virus.
What do you think of this shocking news? Share your thoughts below.
As for RM07, Mexico hasn’t been great at the World Cup but we have also never finished last like you guys did in 98.
32 out of 32.
Thump your chest to that.
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Yeah well, that’s because we don’t get ‘help’ by Fifa in having an easy group stage…
And we don’t get banned from participating in the World Cup for dirty tricks either…
Look it up.
And then thump your chest to that…
Go USA-
This is funny, I mean REALLY FUNNY!!!
Do you recall posting this the day SBI reported Marquez had picked up an injury and would miss the game?
‘…Are you sure he didn’t get this injury the other day when Barcelona played the Galaxy and Donovan juked the hell out of him? Just sayin…
WOW!
KARMA INDEED!!!
@christian, what suks is that we can’t see what a little twit you are. hiding behind that keyboard all full of wind, spouting nonsense. what’s us/mex head to head record over the past ten years, you know it, now suk on it. face the facts, la tri, are second fiddle. been to harlem?
Posted by: harrybalsac
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oohhh the head to head record argument, a record that was built on home games. That streak is now over my friend.
You still have never won in Mexico or Costa Rica.
Most of you are just a bunch of keyboard soldiers whose emotional well being depends on how the US plays.
The lot of you creamed your pants when the US bunkered its way past Spain and were talking about smashing Mexico at Azteca.
Then reality hit and now we get the usual “fire bob bradley” crap.
Whatever, I actually think the US is a good team and have no problems admitting it, I was one of the first people on here after the Spain game and extended my congratulations to the team and fans after a great game agaisnt Spain.
Karma is a bitch ain’t it?
As for RM07, Mexico hasn’t been great at the World Cup but we have also never finished last like you guys did in 98.
32 out of 32.
Thump your chest to that.
yeah he’ll flop again like at Spurs and Barca.
The USA is too great of a country to take these people seriously and view them as “rivals”.
FACT: They’ve only won one knockout stage game (at home…thats it…once!!) in the eighty year history of the sport.Say what you want (or insult) but that’s pathetic.
Didn’t he have contact with Mexican children at the beginning of the National Anthem ceremony???
KARMA!
RM07-
You must be an arrogant French, an arrogant Brit, or an clueless Twat!
I visit Germany (Dresden, Stuttgart, and Konstanz), Switzerland, Italy, and The Netherlands regularly, and they have A VERY HEALTHY RESPECT for MEXICO’S STORIED SOCCER HISTORY, for the Mexican soccer player, and for Mexico in general!
Leave the Mexican/US rivalry alone and go mingle with your weird group of Eurosnobs!
Oh and watch Giovani Dos Santos go to Inter!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1206088/Spurs-outcast-Giovani-dos-Santos-Inter-Milan-boss-Jose-Mourinhos-radar.html
” soccer of their storied history in the Confederations in Germany”
here we go again with you Americans and your bizarre obsession with the pathetic Mexico team.
“Storied”?
those scrubs known as the Mexican national team have never even won one knockout stage game at the world cup and that dates back to the first one eighty years ago (1930).
Why do you respect these losers nobody here in Europe does!
@christian, what suks is that we can’t see what a little twit you are. hiding behind that keyboard all full of wind, spouting nonsense. what’s us/mex head to head record over the past ten years, you know it, now suk on it. face the facts, la tri, are second fiddle. been to harlem?
For what is worth-:
The US may, and I’m just saying, may have a stronger team than Mexico at the moment, because of one reason, and one reason only; they have a real A+ team! Mexico does not!
The MNT defense that played against the US was once again unproven! I don’t think, and correct me if I’m wrong, that Mexico has fielded a consistent team for more than two games, since the WC 2006! However, Davis goal aside, Ochoa could’ve brought a hammock with him, lie down and sip pina coladas for most of the match! Without Howard, it would’ve been 3-1, 4-1, easy!
For the MNT no doubt, Giovani, Vela, Israel Castro and Sabah graduated with honors to the first team, and if Aguirre can figure out between Pachuca, Toluca, Morelia and the rest of the top teams what the missing pieces are (and there are!) I honestly think Mexico will be formidable!
Why some people say Mexico will lose at Saprissa after the roll they’ve been on, especially against a team that Mexico’s B team already beat in neutral soil (Gold Cup) is incomprehensible to me! Mexico always does very well against Los Ticos in CR and I am 100% positive they’ll beat them again!
On a side note-
It is very difficult to maintain the level of play the US showed against Spain, albeit an “innocent” Spain, and Brazil (first half), at the Confederations!
An almost identical situation happened to Mexico in 2005 when having played the best soccer of their storied history in the Confederations in Germany, disappointed enormously a year later (except vs. Argentina) in the WC!
I have to say it should have been reported to CONCACAF before the match. If Donovan had been tested for H1N1, the team obviously knew it was a possibility. I also read that he got it from an assistant, so the team probably already knew it was going around.
I don’t blame Donovan for wanting to play. Actually, I have a huge amount of respect for how well he played now. If it comes back that any Mexican players got infected, it could be a very ugly situation for US soccer.
‘keep living off moral victories yanks, it’s all you’ve got.’
Moral victories?
You mean like the 2-0 victory that KNOCKED YOUR TEAM OUT OF THE WORLD CUP in South Korea in 2002? Or the 4-1 penalties victory that KNOCKED YOUR TEAM OUT OF THE COPA AMERICA in Uruguay in 1995?
Or the 2-1 victory in the 2007 Gold Cup Final? The tourney that actually had some real stake in it?
But yeah, in the AZTECA, or playing some MLS kids, your teams definitely look good. Can’t sugar coat that one. For sure.
Come on Man…
Come on.
There’s nothing worse than a sore loser—except for a sore winner perhaps…
But you know, I’m getting so bored of this USA Mex stuff. I really want to start focusing on something else now. Any other Ajax fans out there?
We’re 2-0 this season!!!
I hope the sensitive don’t take offense, but sometimes Mexicans can have a wicked sense of humor!
Today I read a comment from a guy on a Mexican website posting that it would have been funny if the US team knew about Landon’s flu, and how supposing he would have scored a winning goal for the US, how for his celebration he’s going crazy chasing his teammates trying to hug them, while they’re just running away from him as fast as they can, while he’s like,”but I scored the winning goal!”, and they’re all yelling,”we don’t care just get away!”
Can you imagine the faces on the crowd like WTF!!!
I thought that was funny!
*grinding, grinding your teeth.
Keep living off moral victories yanks, it’s all you’ve got.
You know your team sucks when their best defense is their fans and home environment, i.e. air pollution, 1-1/2 mile altitude, and bodily fluid bombs.
Posted by: DC Josh
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You know you’re a sore loser when you spend three weeks gringing your teeth, telling yourself that getting beat 5-0 at home doesn’t count and proceed to talk about winning and smashing Mexico at Azteca only to have your team bunker the whole game and lose.
You are one sad, pathetic little man.
You know, I try to be fair and dignified and just say ‘Mexico won the game fair and square…. and ‘they simply wanted it more… and even ‘ They’re unbeatable at the Azteca… for the most part.’ And I think that, on a basic level is true…
But then I gotta read all this nonsense from some Mexico fans. Actually some El Tri fans have been pretty cool about it. After all this is a rivalry. Mexico dominated us from 1934 troughout the mid nineties, but from then on we’ve dominated them, not just in Concacaf, but in International tournaments. Now they have a new generation of players, like Dos Santos, Vela, Guardado etc. So who knows how it’ll go for the next ten years?
Certain realities:
They (Mexico) have a stronger league. A league that pays better—even for Mexico!
They have more players playing at a high level (I LOVE MLS, but I’m not going to say its a better league overall…)
They have more depth—not that much more, but still more.
That being said, We’ve pretty much owned you guys over the last decade, and I’ll respond to Rj’s post concerning me…
Uh Rj,
So what happened to Mexico when they met the US in the 1995 Copa America? THEY GOT KNOCKED OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT. You know, 1995 was BEFORE 2002 right? Seems like you became an el Tri fan in what, this summer?
2009 Gold Cup final perhaps?
And yeah, ya’ll got BLAZED by a all swined-flued up Donovan for that first goal…
some one needs to figure out this virus before it kills the world
Yeah Christian, I do.
And you left out how we beat your team earlier this year.
2-0 this summer, don’t make me laugh! In games that matter:
AT USA: USA 2-0 Mexico
At Mexico: Mexico 2-1 Usa
Agg. Mexico2-USA 3!
You want to cherish that victory over the MLS Kids + 3 C team? Please be my guest…
And be grateful for you rigged WC group spots!
They need to quarenteen the rest of the USMNT so that they don’t infect their other team’s players or the players that they play this weekend. Each USMNT should be banned and quaranteened for at least 1 week.
MLS will drop the ball and USMNT members will infect their own club teams and those teams they play.
You know your team sucks when their best defense is their fans and home environment, i.e. air pollution, 1-1/2 mile altitude, and bodily fluid bombs.
Is this really “shocking news”? He got the flu and didn’t play well. Big deal.