Clarence Goodson: I deserved to be on World Cup team, Klinsmann wouldn't give reason

The fallout from Jurgen Klinsmann's roster cuts continues. First, it was Landon Donovan insisting he deserved a spot on the United States team based on his play at training camp and now it's Clarence Goodson who thinks he was wronged.

"When Jurgen needed a result, he called on me," Goodson said. "You look at the games that were played last year. Gold Cup final, snow game, 2-0 against Mexico. Were there any games bigger than that? I played in all three of those. So it’s certainly surprising and something I think Jurgen got wrong."

It's easy to see why Goodson is frustrated. After all, he did play a huge part in the U.S. qualifying for the World Cup and was good in big matches, but qualifying is not the World Cup. Eddie Johnson learned that the hard way as well, but, like Donovan, Goodson insisted he played well in camp.

When Donovan was left off despite playing well -- admittedly, only Donovan said he played well -- some thought it was possible that Klinsmann knew which 23 he was taking to the World Cup before camp. Now, with the same happening to Goodson, there is more reason to believe that is true and Goodson said as much.

But knowing your 23 or leaving off guys who played well in qualifying is not wrong. Klinsmann's job is to pick the 23 players that five the U.S. the best chance to succeed at the World Cup, not to make everything an open competition or reward players for what they did a year ago. What is a little bit more concerning is the communication, or lack thereof, between the manager and the players when they ask him a fairly straightforward and fair question.

"I asked Jurgen for an explanation," Goodson said. "It was something that he was unwilling to give me. He said that he would speak with me after the World Cup about it, and I said that I thought I certainly deserved an explanation. And it was something that he was unwilling to give."

It's possible that Klinsmann has a good reason for not telling Goodson why he was left off the team, but it is odd and, if you're Goodson, a good reason to be pissed off. After all he's given to the team, an explanation isn't unreasonable.

One day, Klinsmann will probably say why he refused to give Goodson -- and maybe other players -- an answer, explaining his reasoning and how it helped the team to remain mum on the subject, but for now it's somewhere between strange and downright cold.