USA 1-1 Ecuador
Reactions on Landon Donovan’s final match and the draw versus Ecuador
U.S. Men’s National Team forward JOZY ALTIDORE
On playing with Landon Donovan for his last National Team game:
“The whole day will stick with me. What he represents for this team – I remember watching him as a little kid – and to share this moment with him is unbelievable. He built a lot of what you see today and we all know how special today was, how special he’s been to the program. We wanted to go out there and play as well as possible.
“The whole day will stick with me. What he represents for this team – I remember watching him as a little kid – and to share this moment with him is unbelievable. He built a lot of what you see today and we all know how special today was, how special he’s been to the program. We wanted to go out there and play as well as possible.
“I tried to set him up a few times and do what he’s always done for me. He’s such a good player, you can still see that right away, and he has a smell for the game that other Americans don’t have. We’re going to miss that.”
U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper BRAD GUZAN
Thoughts on the match:
“Overall in the first half we were ok. In the second half sat off and probably defended for too long a stretch. In the end we were punished for it. I couldn’t see it come off his foot and as soon as it came over Tim Ream I had taken a step to my right and it was going the other way. Nine times out of 10 that probably gets blocked or you can make a save but unfortunately tonight it wasn’t to be.”
“Overall in the first half we were ok. In the second half sat off and probably defended for too long a stretch. In the end we were punished for it. I couldn’t see it come off his foot and as soon as it came over Tim Ream I had taken a step to my right and it was going the other way. Nine times out of 10 that probably gets blocked or you can make a save but unfortunately tonight it wasn’t to be.”
U.S. Men’s National Team defender OMAR GONZALEZ
Thoughts on the match:
“Tonight we wanted to win and we had the chances but it ended up as a tie. Seeing Landon out there playing was awesome. I wish he had been able to score or get an assist. and he definitely got close. The emotional part for me was at the end watching the video, seeing him tear up and just cheering for him. It was a great night.
“Tonight we wanted to win and we had the chances but it ended up as a tie. Seeing Landon out there playing was awesome. I wish he had been able to score or get an assist. and he definitely got close. The emotional part for me was at the end watching the video, seeing him tear up and just cheering for him. It was a great night.
On playing with Landon Donovan:
“I’ve been teammates with Landon for six years now [with the Galaxy]. I’ve seen what kind of a professional he is. I’ve been luck to be able to play with him and watch him. He’s always trying to help out young guys and obviously he’s leaving some big shoes to fill on the National Team.”
On being a part of a team with new faces:
“It’s a bunch of young guys looking to impress and that’s what you want when you’re looking to build a team. There’s competition, nobody is relaxed, everybody is fighting for their spots and so they have to be great every single training session, every single game. That’s the way Jurgen is building this team.”
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