Tim Groothuis/USA TODAY Sports

United States soccer legend Landon Donovan played 90 minutes for the L.A. Galaxy Saturday night in a 1-0 win over San Jose, his first game since the World Cup began in Brazil. U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann shocked the world by leaving the 32-year-old forward off the final 23-man roster for the World Cup, and many called Klinsmann’s decision a mistake after striker Jozy Altidore was injured against Ghana.

Donovan worked as an analyst for ESPN during the group stage, meaning it was impossible to escape the subject for weeks after Klinsmann’s decision. Donovan admitted Friday in an interview with Bill Plaschke of the L.A. Times that after he was cut, he rooted against the team.

Via the L.A. Times:

“I’ll be completely honest, watching them play Azerbaijan, inside, part of me was thinking, I hope the game doesn’t go very well today. In my heart of hearts, I thought, if we get a 1-0 win and the team doesn’t perform well, that would feel good.”

The U.S. won that game 2-0 in San Francisco, but the performance was anything but inspiring. Donovan says he had a change of heart the next day.

“Then the next day I woke up and said to myself, that’s a really crappy way to feel. That’s a bad way to live your life, it doesn’t help me, it doesn’t help the team, it doesn’t help the energy that the team needs.”

Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

You can read Donovan’s entire interview here.

[sigallery id=”50146a883b69d21cf5f7090b5d7ab474″ title=”Landon Donovan at the World Cup” type=’sigallery’]