Landon Donovan, the best American footballer, will play his final game for Everton this weekend as his loan deal to the Merseysiders expires on Sunday. Donovan will return to the L.A. Galaxy in preparation for their season opener against the New England Revolution on March 27th.
Donovan has endured two unsuccessful loan spells at Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga. He has been criticized for his immaturity and lack of leadership. He has been vilified as a major culprit for the 2006 World Cup disaster. He has been labeled an underachiever by soccer media worldwide for failing to succeed in any league but the MLS.
All of these skeptics both home and abroad have been put to rest over the last ten weeks. Since his arrival at Goodison Park, Donovan has been embraced by the coaches, players, and fans. He has started or played major minutes in all nine of Everton’s Premier League fixtures. He has scored two goals and garnered three assists. He was instrumental in helping Everton beat three of the top teams in the Premier League: Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United. Donovan also helped Everton beat Sporting Lisbon in the Europa Cup. He was named Player of the Month by the Everton fans and was deemed star of the game three times. Everton has climbed from 14th to 8th in the league table and can realistically challenge for a place in the Europa league next season.
Landon Donovan can compete with the world’s best players in the world’s best league. Landon can be a major influence on a top class team. He just needed the right situation, with the right coaches, who gave him a real opportunity to succeed. Any futbol fan knows that it is unrealistic for a Yankee to go to a big club like Bayern Munich on loan and expect to get playing time in meaningful games.
Obviously, I would love to see Donovan stay at Everton until the Premier League season ends in May. However, there is a bigger picture here that I want to address.
It is ironic that only a year ago Donovan was criticizing Galaxy teammate David Beckham for wanting to extend his loan stay at AC Milan beyond the start of the MLS season. Things have come full circle, and now Donovan would love to extend his loan abroad in similar fashion to Beckham.
This situation which has been the exception, should now become the norm. MLS club owners should standardize a policy that would enable its players to play the following schedule:
European club team from January 1st until May (end of European league season).
MLS club team from May until October (end of the MLS season).
This would give the players close to two months of rest between leagues, and would force the players to miss only a handful of MLS games.
Raul, Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg, David Beckham, Pablo Angel, and a number of other
marquee footballers either play in the MLS or have been rumored to want to play in the MLS. If more MLS teams would adopt this philosophy, I guarantee you would see a number of stars come into the MLS for the opportunity to live in LA, NYC, and other desirable U.S. cities. These players, who may be past their prime, still have tremendous marketing sizzle and would do great things to promote the MLS brand.
This is a win-win for everyone involved:
The MLS teams would get paid $$millions$$ from the bigger European clubs who foster the loan deals; and, the European leagues would provide a tremendous forum for young Americans who need to experience competition beyond the MLS.
The European clubs would benefit by bolstering their roster with solid players, at a reasonable price, who could help them endure the attrition of a long season
I should be the Roger Goodell of the MLS.
Woodman – Landon Donovan fanatic
Filed under: Soccer | Tagged: david beckham, english premier league, everton, la galaxy, Landon Donovan
Has there been any backlash for Donovan? It seems he was so loud about Beckham that this cant go unnoticed.
He was loud about Beckham though because he had every right to be…Donovan was here to play soccer. Beckham was here to live in L.A. and better his profile to become more recognizable to American fans. $50 Million didn’t hurt either.
Donovan has developed into the type of player fans have hoped he would be for the better part of the past decade.
I can’t remember which game but, I saw an Everton game about a month ago in which he not only seemed more confident than I had ever seen him but, actually looked like a European soccer player while he was out there.
With all due respect to guys like Brian McBride and John Harkes, etc…it’s been very rare that the U.S. has had a guy who actually looks like an international level player (beyond the goalie position). The way Landon is playing right now is above and beyond what I thought he was capable of about 1.5 years ago.
Gary is coach of the year and Greivis is player of the year.
Great stuff Woodman. On point as always.
Here’s the bottom line: Donovan HAS to return to MLS on time, otherwise this whole business of MLS lending players to European clubs will cease and desist. How does it help MLS clubs for their players to play in European leagues? Answer: ONLY if the players return on time to play in MLS. Otherwise it becomes a risk-free extended tryout for the Euro clubs, with nothing in it for MLS. Think about it:
MLS player goes to Euro club. If MLS player doesn’t work out, he returns at the end of the loan, and the Euro club loses nothing — the MLS club squares with the fact their own players still can’t produce on the big stage. If MLS player goes to Euro club and it works, then the Euro club gets to keep said player, and MLS loses someone that’s otherwise a marketable item. How does this loan arrangement help MLS grow in the long-term?
How come I havent gotten any JAS updates on a possible MLS strike?
Agreed…Gordon’s two passions are Radford Bball and D.C. United.