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Jurgen Klinsmann has announced his twenty six man roster for an upcoming training camp in Cleveland preparing the United States national team for three World Cup Qualifiers and a centennial friendly celebrating 100 years of US soccer. LA Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez made the roster, while Landon Donovan has been left off as reported earlier this week.
There's nothing like being called up to represent your country... #humbled #USMNT
— Omar Gonzalez (@Omar4Gonzalez) May 16, 2013
The word weird in it's old English sense (wyrd) came from the Germanic, and meant literally that which comes or fate. It was Shakespeare who popularized the modern sense. The three fates became known as the weird sisters as the speakers of Middle English were rediscovering the ancient greek texts. Shakespeare portrayed the weird sisters as frightening in Macbeth, and thus weird took on the sense of odd and strange.
So keep both of those senses in mind as I say it's weird to see Omar Gonzalez called up to the USMNT while Landon Donovan stays with the Galaxy. It's odd and strange, as we're so used to seeing Donovan be an automatic call-up while Gonzalez was breaking into the national team scene.
At the same time, it's something that was always fated. Gonzalez has been a rising star since he started his MLS career, and Donovan is approaching the end of his time with the national team. Klinsmann has showed himself as non-sentimental.
Landon Donovan will be back with the national team soon, but at a certain point Gonzalez getting called up and Donovan not won't be weird. It'll just be the way things are. It'll be weird when Gonzalez isn't called up and Jose Villarreal is, but that's another day.
The system, as they say, marches on.