Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American professional football player who plays as a frontman and attacking midfielder for the MX League club, Club LeÃÆ'³n. He holds many individual records in Major League Soccer (MLS) and for the US national team and is considered one of the greatest US men's football players of all time.
Originally from Southern California, Donovan was a member of the premier class of the US Football youth residency program in Bradenton, Florida. He was named Player of the Tournament for his role in the U-17 United States squad who finished fourth in the 1999 U-17 World Championships before signing with German club Bayer Leverkusen later that year. In 2005, after six years with Leverkusen, most of which was spent on loans with the San Jose Earthquake of MLS, Donovan returned to the United States permanently to sign a contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He then returned to Germany for a loan with Bayern Munich, and twice went on short loans to English Premier League club Everton in 2010 and 2012. He retired as a player in 2014 but made a brief comeback with LA Galaxy at the end of the 2016 season and then in 2018 to play for Club LeÃÆ'³n.
In MLS, Donovan won a record of six MLS Cups and was the league's all-time leading scorer with 145 goals and an all-time league relief leader with 136 players. Major League Soccer MVP Award has been renamed Landon Donovan MVP Award in his book. honor.
For the United States men's national team, Donovan is the all-time leader in assists and tied up with Clint Dempsey as the all-time leader in scoring, and is the second most-featured player in the country. Donovan is the only American player to score 50 goals/50 assists. He is a four-time winner of the Best US Athletic Football award (the only person who did it and the first to win in a few consecutive years), and the only seven-time winner of this year's Best Player of the Year award. Donovan starred in a US team that reached the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals where he received the Best Young Player Award. His three goals in the 2010 World Cup made Donovan the highest-scoring American player in World Cup history and one of three American male players who scored in more than one World Cup, along with Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey.
In March 2017, Donovan joined a private ownership group that seeks to bring the next MLS expansion team to San Diego, California.
Video Landon Donovan
Early life and education
Donovan was born (together with Tristan's twin brother) on March 4, 1982, in Ontario, California, to Donna Kenney-Cash, a special education teacher, and Tim Donovan, a semi-professional ice hockey player from Canada, who made Donovan a Canadian citizen by heredity. His mother grew up Landon and his brothers in Redlands, California, and he attended Redlands East Valley High School when not involved in football activities elsewhere.
Donovan first played soccer with his older brother and when Donovan was six, his mother allowed him to join an organized league, where he scored seven goals in his first game. Donovan is a member of Cal HeatÃ, - a club based near Rancho Cucamonga, California. In 1997, she was accepted into the US Youth Olympic Development Program. In 1999 Donovan attended the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, with other members of the U-17 national team as part of the U.S. soccer youth development program.
Maps Landon Donovan
Club career
Bayer Leverkusen and San Jose EarthquakesBayer Leverkusen and San Jose Earthquakes
Then in 1999, Donovan signed a six-year deal for German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, whose sporting director Michael Reschke saw him at a youth tournament in Europe. Despite being a regular starter for the club's reserve team on arrival, Donovan has difficulty adapting to life abroad and was allowed to extend the training period with the United States youth national team. Unhappy with his situation with Leverkusen, Donovan was loaned to San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer (MLS) for the 2001 season. In MLS, Donovan was a direct success, leading the Earthquake to the MLS Cup championship in 2001 and 2003 and being one of the only face of football that is known in America. In four years in the league, he scored 32 goals and 29 assists in the league, and ten goals and six assists in the playoffs. The two goals were in the 2003 MLS Cup, a 4-2 Earthquake victory over the Chicago Fire. Donovan gets Man of the Match for his actions. He was appointed as a US Football Athlete of the Year 2003.
In 2004, Donovan became the first person to be named the US Soccer Athlete of the Year for three consecutive years before returning to Bayer Leverkusen's first team in January 2005. After playing seven matches with Leverkusen in the spring, only two of them started, Donovan asked to leave the club. Despite a late offer from Premier League club Portsmouth, Donovan expressed a desire to return to the United States. After re-entry into MLS, San Jose was denied the opportunity to sign back Donovan because general manager of the Earthquake Alexi Lalas has traded his rights. Los Angeles Galaxy, his home team, was able to trade leading scorer Carlos Ruiz to FC Dallas to earn an MLS allocation order as Donovan prepared to leave Germany.
LA Galaxy
Donovan signed a multi-year contract with Los Angeles that made him the highest-paid American player in the league. In his first season with the Galaxy, Donovan scored 12 league goals with 10 assists and added four goals and one assists in the playoffs when the Galaxy won the MLS Cup (MLS championship of the three to date). He was named to MLS All-Time Best XI after the season. In his second season with the Galaxy, Donovan scored 12 league goals and 8 assists. He also scored three goals in the Open Cup. However, Donovan and Galaxy failed to make the playoffs and lost in the Open Cup to Chicago Fire. Donovan's playoff goal made him the second all-time MLS goalscorer in the playoffs with 14, behind 15 Carlos Ruiz.
Donovan had a diverse year with the Galaxy in 2007. Following the signing and arrival of David Beckham, Donovan relinquished his captaincy to the English superstar. In the 2007 SuperLiga tournament, Donovan was the top scorer. He scored in every game except for the final. At this point in his career, Donovan has 84 regular season goals all the time which put him seventh on the league scorers list. Although the 2008 season was a disappointment for the Galaxy, it was a banner year for Donovan as he scored 20 goals and 9 assists in 25 games, forming a strong offensive partnership with David Beckham and Edson Buddle.
After former national team manager Bruce Arena was named head coach of the Galaxy and Beckham joined Milan on loan in early 2009, Donovan was once again given the club captain on a permanent basis. In July 2009, Donovan received praise and criticism for his critical comments about Beckham in Sports Illustrated journalist Grant Wahl's The Beckham Experiment, calling Beckham a bad captain and team mate. He later apologized to Beckham for discussing his concerns with a reporter rather than directly to him. The two reconciled mid-season Beckham to Los Angeles and Donovan enjoyed an incredible 2009 campaign, winning the Most Valuable Player in the league and the MLS Goal of the Year 2009 award and leading the Galaxy to the 2009 MLS Cup, which they lost on penalties. After the season, Donovan agreed to a four-year extension for his contract with the Galaxy, with a clause that allowed him to seek a loan during the MLS offseason. On August 1, 2010, Donovan scored his 100th career MLS goal. On September 18, 2010, he became the all time top scorer for LA Galaxy.
The Galaxy has another successful campaign in 2010 winning the Shield Suporter for the first time since 2003. In the campaign, Donovan scored 7 goals and 16 assists high. In the playoffs, the Galaxy will eventually surrender to FC Dallas in the semifinals.
In 2011, Galaxy again won the MLS Supporters Shield. In the 2011 MLS Cup, Donovan scored the decisive title in the 72nd minute over Houston Dynamo, securing his fourth MLS Cup title. Donovan was named the MLS Cup MVP.
In October 2012, Donovan expressed his desire to take a break from his professional soccer career, citing physical and mental exhaustion as the main reason. In the next Galaxy match, the 2012 MLS Cup, a rematch with Houston, Donovan converted a penalty kick in the 65th minute to give LA a 2-1 lead. The goal is Donovan's fifth in the MLS Cup Final. The Galaxy went on to win their second straight MLS Cup, 3-1.
Donovan returned to training with the Galaxy on March 25, 2013, and made his season debut five days later against Toronto FC, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute. However, on his return, it was announced he would be forced to release his captain to Robbie Keane for the 2013 season. He scored twice against Chivas USA, tying him with Jeff Cunningham together as top MLS scorer with 134 goals. On May 25, 2014, Donovan scored twice against Philadelphia Union to break Cunningham's record 134, making top scorer Donovan MLS with 136 goals. On 6 August 2014, he scored the winning goal in the 2014 MLS All-Star Game, placing the ball past Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the 70th minute, he was subsequently replaced for Sporting Kansas City striker Dom Dwyer and provided the captain's captain's armband to the Canadian international Will Johnson. On August 7, 2014, Donovan announced he would retire at the end of the 2014 Major League Soccer season; the season ended with the Galaxy winning their fourth MLS Cup in the Donovan era on December 7, 2014.
Loan to another club
In November 2008, Donovan trained with Bayern Munich before joining the German club on loan until the start of the 2009 MLS season in mid-March. During his stay with Bayern, Donovan appeared in five friendly matches, where he scored four goals, five league games and one DFB-Pokal game. At the end of the loan period, Bayern refused to extend the loan.
After the 2009 MLS season was over, Donovan joined English Premier League club Everton on loan in January 2010, despite strong advice that he could join his American teammate at Fulham. During this period, he played 13 games in all competitions, scored twice and was named Player of the Month for January. Everton were keen to extend the loan deal, but the Galaxy refused, and Donovan returned to the US at the start of the 2010 MLS season.
A deal was reached in December 2011 for Donovan to spend another two months at Everton starting January 2012. He made his debut back on January 4, 2012, against Bolton Wanderers, a 2-1 defeat. In his third game on loan, he helped Everton's only goal in a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on 14 January. On January 27, he helped two goals in a 2-1 victory over Fulham in the fourth round of the FA Cup. On January 31, he helped Darron Gibson's winning goal over Manchester City. Donovan recorded his asset recovery to seven when he helped Denis Stracqualursi's goal in a 2-0 win over Chelsea on 11 February.
Back to LA Galaxy
On September 8, 2016, Donovan announced his comeback from retirement and was officially signed with the Galaxy for the rest of the 2016 season (six regular season games and each consecutive play-off game).
Donovan explained that the injury he suffered by the club at the end of the season led to his decision to return:
Two weeks ago, I worked as an analyst at LA Galaxy vs. Vancouver Whitecaps and during that game, the Galaxy suffered injuries to three players: Jelle Van Damme, Steven Gerrard and Gyasi Zardes. Over the next few days, Nigel De Jong was transferred to Galatasaray and news broke that Gyasi will be out for the rest of the season.
Since retiring, I have remained in close contact with many staff and players in the Galaxy. I spoke to some of them that week and they jokingly asked me if I was ready to return to the field to help fill the void left by injury and departure. I reminded them that I have not played a meaningful soccer game in nearly two years and I certainly can not fill the holes left by the players. Over the next few days, I started thinking about their questions and I realized that maybe this was something I should consider. I am very concerned about the Galaxy organization, and I believe I can help in a small way to help the team in its quest for the sixth MLS championship.
On September 11, 2016, Donovan entered the game against Orlando City as a substitute in the 83rd minute. Since his traditional number was worn by Giovani dos Santos, Donovan picked the number 26, which he wore at Bayer Leverkusen when he started his career in 1999.
Donovan scored in his second game after returning to Galaxy. On September 18, 2016, he entered as a substitute in the 74th minute in a game against Sporting Kansas City and scored two minutes later to tie the match 2-2.
Overall, Donovan plays in all six games the rest of the 2016 regular season, as well as in all three play-offs. He started in five of them and scored one goal. At the end of the play-offs, Donovan retires for the second time.
Club club Club Levin Club LeÃÆ'³n
On January 12, 2018, Donovan signed with Club LeÃÆ'³n League MX team, having returned from retirement for the second time. He made his MX League debut on 10 February 2018, coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute of LeÃÆ'³n's 2-1 victory over Puebla Club. He scored his first goal for the club on March 24, 2018, in a friendly against his former team, San Jose Earthquakes
International career
Donovan is a member of his maiden class in the US Soccer's full-time residency program for the under-17 national team at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. In his two years of playing for the Under-17 team, he scored 35 goals in 41 games and won the Golden Ball at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championships as the tournament's best player. He also represented the United States at the 1999 Pan American Games. In 2000, he moved on to the U-23 United States men's national football team as well as his senior team. Nevertheless he played for the United States men's U-20 national football team in 2001. On March 20, 2001, he was involved in a collision with Marvin Lee, captain of the Trinidad and Tobago U-20 team during the 2001 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament in Trinidad. Lee collided with Donovan one head cause Lee crippled after suffering a neck and spine injury, while Donovan suffered a broken rib. Lee died in 2003 due to complications caused by his condition, the stadium now carrying his name.
Donovan made his 2002 World Cup debut at the 2002 World Cup which started with a shocking surprise from pre-tournament favorites Portugal, a 3-2 win. Donovan cross in the 29th minute deflected from Jorge Costa, giving the US a 2-0 lead. Later, Donovan would count the first World Cup final goal in the 83rd minute from a 3-1 defeat to Poland in the third group stage match. He then scored his second goal of the tournament in a header that won a 2-0 16 victory for America over rivals Mexico. Although the US will lose 1-0 to Germany in the quarter-finals, Donovan will then be crowned as Best Young Player in the tournament.
Donovan was a member of the US squad at the 2006 World Cup, where United were eliminated in the group stage. Failing to give a goal or assist throughout the three games, he was widely criticized by American audiences for his performances. The following year, he led the US to the 2007 Gold Cup title with four goals, including a crucial penalty in a 2-1 win over Mexico in the final. On January 19, 2008, Donovan scored his 35th international goal, a penalty against Sweden, and defeated Eric Wynalda as the all-time leading scorer of the United States. Donovan reached 100 caps at the age of 26 on June 8, 2008, in a friendly against Argentina which ended in a 0-0 draw, becoming the fourth youngest person to do so. Donovan captained the US in the group stage of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in absence of Carlos Bocanegra's injury. Donovan scored on a penalty kick against Italy, shortly after his team had been reduced to ten men, and scored for the US in a 3-2 defeat of Brazil in the final. On October 10, 2009, Donovan scored with a free kick, giving United a 3-2 win over Honduras in San Pedro Sula who won World Cup qualifying.
Donovan plays every minute of the US campaign at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He scored a goal against Slovenia with a strong close-range finish to start his US comeback for a 2-2 draw, and the only goal in the last seconds of a 1-0 defeat of Algeria with the final result of a Clint Dempsey rebound attempt, leading the US for first place in their World Cup group for the first time since 1930. Donovan scored a penalty in the round of 16 against Ghana as the US lost 2-1 after extra time and was knocked out of the competition. His goals in South Africa made Donovan the highest-scoring American in World Cup history, and only third Americans scored in more than one World Cup, after Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey. His total five goals in the World Cup is the most for everyone who represents the team from CONCACAF.
After missing the first two World Cup qualifiers in 2013 due to his long sabbatical off-season, Donovan was abandoned by JÃÆ'¼rgen Klinsmann's squad for the June qualifying match, despite having returned full-time in March. However, Donovan was called back to the national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2013 to be played in July. On 5 July 2013, he became the first US player to reach 50 international marks and fourth man at CONCACAF to score 50 international goals after two goals against Guatemala in a warm-up game before the Gold Cup. Four days later, Donovan became the first player to reach 50 goals and 50 assists for the United States during a 6-1 group phase win against Belize where he has one goal and two assists. After the US won the Gold Cup title with a victory over Panama, Donovan was awarded the Player of the Tournament trophy after tying to lead the tournament with five goals scored. Donovan was recalled to the full national squad for the first time in more than a year for the September US World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico. Donovan started and played 90 minutes in both games. With the US needing a win over Mexico to gain qualification, Donovan's corner kick helped Eddie Johnson's goal in the 57th minute. Then, in the 78th minute, Donovan scored from a low cross from Mix Diskerud to score 2-0, effectively sealing victory and World Cup tickets.
In May 2014, Donovan was mentioned in the preliminary squad for the 2014 World Cup and joined the team at the training camp. However, on May 22, 2014, he was controversially removed from the last squad by manager JÃÆ'¼rgen Klinsmann. Klinsmann called it "one of the toughest decisions of his coaching career", but said, "I just think the other guy is now a bit ahead of him." Klinsmann's decision, described by media staff, was suddenly set after Klinsmann had promised to wait until after the team's friendly match announced the cuts, seeing additional controversy when Klinsmann's son Jonathan published and then deleted a Twitter post that seemed to mock Donovan following the announcement.
On October 10, 2014, Donovan played his 157th and final game for the United States in a friendly against Ecuador in East Hartford, Connecticut. The match was arranged by the president of United States Football Federation Sunil Gulati to give Donovan a proper separation, despite disagreements between Donovan and Klinsmann. After retirement, he was named by The Guardian as the biggest US team player.
Play style
Donovan is a versatile attacker known for his speed and stamina and his technical intelligence and skills, allowing him to play in various front and midfield positions at various points of his career. International manager and his old club Bruce Arena was quoted as saying, "The problem with Landon is that he is your best player in many positions that you never know where to place him."
Particularly in the early part of his career, Donovan played as a striker withdrawn and most famous for his speed and goal-scoring ability. As his professional career develops, Donovan is increasingly exploited by managers as a vast attacking midfielder, where he can also benefit the team with his over-vision and defensive work levels. Donovan also provides capable shipments on set pieces (as well as occasional scoring from direct kicks) and served as the first-choice penalty for the club and country for much of his career.
Personal life
Donovan married actress Bianca Kajlich on December 31, 2006; the couple separated in July 2009, and Donovan filed for divorce in December 2010. In May 2015, he married Hannah Bartell. They welcome their first child, Talon's son, in January 2016. Donovan has spoken openly about dealing with depression throughout his life and career, and has criticized the professional sports world for his approach to mental health problems.
Since joining the Galaxy, Donovan has lived in Manhattan Beach, California. He speaks Spanish fluently, which he learned in school and through playing in Hispanic clubs and leagues while growing up in California. He also speaks German as a result of his time in Germany. After two short tasks playing for Everton where he became a fan favorite, Donovan declared himself as "Evertonian for life".
Train a career
In July 2015, it was announced Donovan has been appointed head coach for a team consisting of young MLS players for the 2015 MLS Homegrown Game. The match takes place on July 28, 2015, at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Donovan led an MLS academy graduate team, gathered just one day earlier, to a 1-1 regulation tie, followed by a 4-5 defeat, as reported online. Donovan selected and coached the team for the second time in the 2016 edition of the event.
Broadcasting career
After being left out of the 2014 World Cup list for the United States, Donovan joined the ESPN broadcasting team for the World Cup as studio analyst.
After his retirement, Donovan became a color commentator for FOX Sports, participating in the United States-Ecuador quarter-final network coverage of the Copa Amà © rica Centenario.
Career statistics
Club
- Starting March 13, 2018.
- 1. ^ Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, and CONCACAF Champions League
- 2. ^ Includes MLS Cup playoff and SuperLiga North America.
International
- Updated 2014.
Awards
Club
- San Jose Earthquake
- MLS Cup: 2001, 2003
- LA Galaxy
- MLS Cup: 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014
- Supporting Protector: 2010, 2011
- Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: 2005
International
- United States
- FIFA Confederations Cup: Runner-up 2009
- CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013
Individual
- US. Young athlete Football of the Year: 2000
- US. The Best Football Athletes of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010
- Best Players of the Year: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
- FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Ball: 1999
- FIFA World Player of the Year award: 2002
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2002 (Reserve)
- CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2013; Honorable Mention 2007
- CONCACAF Gold Cup MVP: 2013
- CONCACAF Gold Cup Top Goalscorer: 2003, 2005, 2013
- Everton Player of the Month: January 2010, January 2012
- MLS All-Time Best XI: Midfielder
- Major League Soccer MVP: 2009
- The Premier League Football Scorers of All Time
- MLS Best XI: 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
- MLS Cup MVP 2003, 2011
- MLS All-Star Game MVP: 2001, 2014
- MLS Golden Boot: 2008
- MLS Silver Boot: 2010
- MLS Goal of the Year: 2009
- IFFHS Legend
See also
- List of soccer players with 50 or more international goals
References
External links
- Official website
- Landon Donovan - FIFA competition record
- Landon Donovan - UEFA competition record
- Landon Donovan in Major League Soccer
- Landon Donovan at Everton FC
- Landon Donovan on ESPN FC
- Landon Donovan on SoccerSurfer.com
- Landon Donovan: USA Soccer Hero - a slideshow by Life magazine
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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