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Former U.S. men's national team forward Eddie Johnson shifted his fire from Landon Donovan to Alexi Lalas in a blistering new outburst, accusing his fellow American of hiding "behind a mic" and "talking s---."
Donovan—perhaps unwittingly—ignited a war of words following the September-October international break when he urged fans not to get carried away with the exciting young talent emerging in the U.S. men's national team. The iconic forward then name-dropped several players he felt never fulfilled their potential, Johnson among them.
Johnson fired back hard, blasting Donovan for undermining the current generation before dissecting Donovan's underwhelming European career. He also declared: "I did everything you did with fewer opportunities."
Lalas soon entered the fray, defending Donovan on his State of the Union podcast. "Just because you're Eddie Johnson and you stayed longer over in Europe doesn't make you better [than Donovan]."
Johnson was swift to hit back with another fierce social media tirade. "Now I only speak when these s--- talkers mention my name. Earlier today I saw a post where Alexi Lalas was saying I'm comparing my career to Landon Timothy Donovan and that was never the case."
The 42-year-old then went after Donovan once more, rehashing the key points from his previous attack.
Johnson Calls Out Donovan's Ultimate 'Failure'
Johnson was careful to clarify that his original message was meant to "stop criticizing everyone else that were young and promising during their careers for not reaching their potential." He then used it as a springboard to mercilessly tear into Donovan's career once again.
"Why don't we talk about you not living up to the hype in Germany after receiving the Golden Ball in the U-17 World Cup. Where he went to Leverkusen and struggled and ran back to MLS where it was easy and less pressure," Johnson wrote.
Indeed, a 16-year-old Donovan joined Bayer Leverkusen in February 1999, yet never made a single senior appearance for the German club before being sent on loan for nearly four years to the San Jose Earthquakes, where he began forging his MLS legacy.
That disappointing spell at Leverkusen was part of a broader pattern for Donovan in Europe; he also failed to make an impact at Bayern Munich and Everton. Yet the former USMNT star ultimately cemented his legend in MLS with the LA Galaxy.
"To me that's a failure, got tested against the big dogs and folded. Why don't he speak about that or why don't we speak about that?" Johnson continued. "No one took away from the work he did in the MLS or with the national team until he took that sabbatical."
Johnson is referring to the 144-day hiatus Donovan took in December 2012, which stretched through to March 2013. Donovan previously stated he "needed" the time away. "I was a little overwhelmed at the time, and I knew if I did not stop it would not be good for anybody," he said upon his return to the sport.
Johnson saw the prolonged absence in a very different light. "I worked my ass off scoring goals for Jurgen [Klinsmann] when he took that break during the most important time for our country during World Cup qualifiers lol but he kills Pulisic in the World Cup bc he thought he was faking a injury in the Belgium game when he came off talking about you wrap that up you try to get back out there for your country you do what you have to and he took a sabbatical lol make it make sense. If the shirt meant so much play through it you hypocrite." [sic]
Johnson Turns His Attention to Lalas
Almost as if Johnson suddenly recalled the real purpose of his new post was to target Lalas, he redirected his focus toward the former defender.
"Lalas who struggled in Europe as well why do we talk about that? This guy sits behind a mic talks s--- as well, played in a World Cup and most successful years were in MLS and he's considered a great and a Hall Of Famer? What did he do that I didn't do?"
Johnson appeared not to have learned his lesson from placing himself alongside Donovan. The former forward only ever claimed two Gold Cups with the USMNT and never lifted any club silverware throughout his time in MLS and Europe.
Lalas collected four honors with the LA Galaxy, including the 2002 MLS Cup and the 2000 Concacaf Champions' Cup. He also claimed the 1995 U.S. Cup and a gold medal at the 1991 Pan American Games with the national side. The commanding defender earned 96 caps for the USMNT and was a standout performer at the 1994 World Cup.
Lalas also has nine USMNT goals to his name, just 10 fewer than the 19 Johnson netted across his 63 international appearances.