10.20.14
ASN Morning Read: Injuries and Retirement for All
One United States soccer star gets one step closer to walking into the sun set while another hurts her ankle and a rising talent does so as well. Gareth Berry says some weird things about Major League Soccer.
BY
Noah Davis
Posted
October 20, 2014
8:39 AM
Bobby Warshaw on Landon Donovan: "Imagine a society of people brave enough to articulate their emotions, even in the face of backlash. Imagine how much better we might be. Landon wasn’t just better at soccer than the rest of us, he was a braver man, too. When you ask me what I remember about Landon Donovan, it's not the goals record or the assists record, or Algeria or Portugal or Jurgen Klinsmann. It’s that Landon Donovan, a man with everything to lose, put his vulnerabilities on the table and said he was hopeful a few people could relate. The goal against Algeria was awesome. Being honest as a man and an athlete was way cooler."
I still don't think this Gareth Berry quote makes much sense: “America was an option and there was a conversation about it but when I spoke to the coaches here they said, ‘If you are going there, you are retiring.' That was in my head. Obviously I did not agree it was retiring but I sort of agreed it would have been going to a league that is up and coming and not as big as the Premier League, so I could see their point. There was a massive case for going there and experiencing it, and I spoke about it with my family—the idea of adapting to a different culture and going through another learning curve was appealing. I am sure I would have enjoyed it and there was a strong argument to go, but with the season we had at Everton last year I decided I was not ready to move and the club offered me a three-year contract which showed the faith they had in me. There was interest from three or four Premier League teams and a couple from abroad but I was happy here. While I could still play in the Premier League I really did not want to go abroad. I was not thinking about winding down my career.”
Joe Corona will miss the rest of 2014 with a broken foot.
Speaking of injuries, Frank Lampard was stretchered off during Manchester City's 4-1 win over Tottenham. "Frank has a muscle injury," Manuel Pellegrini told Sky Sports. "We will see on Sunday after the scan but, for the moment, he will not travel to Russia."
And oh hey, Alex Morgan will miss four to six week with a sprained ankle. “It’s unfortunate timing, but I know my teammates will take care of business and qualify for the World Cup and I’ll be watching from my couch,” Morgan said. “I have plenty of time to get healthy with a longer break coming up for the team so my job is to focus on the rehab and get back healthy as soon as I can.” The women did just that, crushing Guatemala 5-0.
