Landon Donovan
[edit] BiographyLandon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982 in Ontario, California), is an American professional soccer player, who is the co-all-time leading scorer for the U.S. National Team (along with Eric Wynalda).[1] He also serves as captain of the Los Angeles Galaxy. [edit] BiographyLandon is the son of Timothy Donovan, a former semi-pro hockey player, from Nova Scotia, and Donna Kenney Cash. Donovan grew up in Redlands, California, and attended Redlands East Valley High School. Landon signed a professional contract with Bayer Leverkusen in February 1999 at the age of 17, shortly before playing in the FIFA U-17 World Championship, where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.[2] Landon could not break into the first team and, unhappy with his situation in Germany, was loaned to the San Jose Earthquakes, playing in Major League Soccer, for the 2001 season. In MLS, Donovan had immediate success, leading the Earthquakes to MLS Cup championships in 2001 and 2003 and becoming one of the most recognizable faces of soccer in America.[3] In four years in the league, he scored 32 goals and 29 assists in league play, and 10 goals and six assists in the playoffs. Donovan was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2003.[4] After starring in the 2000 Summer Olympics, he earned his first cap for the U.S. National Team on October 25, 2000 against Mexico, scoring on his debut. He was an asset to the United States' run to the quarterfinals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan, scoring two goals. Through the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he has amassed 88 caps for the US, scoring 30 goals, including a rare four-goal game against Cuba in 2003. On April 11, 2006, Landon became the United States' all-time assist leader with 23 when he set up Ben Olsen. The previous all-time assist leader was Cobi Jones.[5] Landon wore both numbers 21 and 10 on the national team, the latter when Claudio Reyna was unavailable, Since Reyna's retirement from the national team, Donovan now wears the number 10 full-time. On June 3, 2004, Bayer Leverkusen announced that Donovan would return to the club in 2005, and Landon followed suit, announcing his return to Germany on November 23, 2004. He then became the first man to be named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year two years in a row,[4] taking the award for that year. After several games at Leverkusen, with Donovan only garnering two starts, Landon stated his intentions to come back to MLS, and club officials respected his wishes. However, because the Galaxy had traded leading scorer Carlos Ruiz, a striker, to FC Dallas to get on top of the allocation pecking order one week before the season started, a return to San Jose was not possible.[6] In his first season with the Galaxy, Donovan scored 12 league goals and 10 assists and added four goals and an assist in the playoffs as the Galaxy won the MLS Cup (his third MLS championship to date). He was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI after the season.[7] In his second season with the Galaxy, Donovan scored 12 league goals and 8 assists. Donovan also scored 3 goals in the Open Cup. Despite this, Landon and the Galaxy failed to make the playoffs and lost in the Open Cup to Chicago Fire. Donovan's playoff goals make him MLS' 2nd all-time leading scorer in the playoffs with 14, behind Carlos Ruiz with 15.[8] Many soccer critics have criticized Donovan for returning to MLS, as he is perceived to be not up to the rigors of European soccer.[9] He has claimed he does not plan to return to Europe as he wants to be close to his family.[10] Many also criticized Landon for his poor performance on the US national team at the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany.[11] [edit] Post World Cup 2006Blame for the early exit of the US National Team in World Cup 2006 fell hardest on Donovan. US fans had hoped that Donovan would lead the US team to good fortunes in World Cup 2006. Though his play in the USA's 1-1 tie against Italy, particularly when the Americans were reduced to 9 men due to red cards, was lauded by many, his overall performance in the World Cup failed to meet expectations. When Donovan returned to the Galaxy after the 2006 World Cup, new head coach Frank Yallop named him captain of the team, taking over for Peter Vagenas, who is still active with the Galaxy. Since the 2006 World Cup he has been outstanding with the national team. So far in 2007, Donovan has scored nine goals, including the United States' second goal in their 2-0 victory over Mexico, a hat trick in a 3-1 win over Ecuador, and a penalty kick goal against Mexico in the 2-1 win in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, tying Eric Wynalda for the national team's all-time goal scoring record with 34 goals. After much deliberation, Donovan was not selected for the 2007 Copa America roster for undisclosed reasons, though Galaxy coach Frank Yallop and General Manager Alexi Lalas had expressed the mutual desire for Donovan to be with the struggling Galaxy for the arrival of David Beckham. [edit] Personal lifeLandon married Bianca Kajlich on December 31, 2006. [edit] International Goals
[edit] Honors[edit] Major League Soccer
[edit] San Jose Earthquakes
[edit] Los Angeles Galaxy
[edit] United States
[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] Statistics[edit] Honors[edit] References
[edit] Related Articles[edit] Recent Landon Donovan ArmchairGM Stories
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