Landon Donovan
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| Landon Donovan | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Landon Timothy Donovan | |
| Date of birth | March 4, 1982 | |
| Place of birth | Redlands, California, USA | |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |
| Playing position | Forward / Attacking midfielder / Winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Los Angeles Galaxy | |
| Number | 10 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1999-2001 | Bayer Leverkusen | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1999-2005 2001-2004 2005- |
Bayer Leverkusen → San Jose Earthquakes (loan) Los Angeles Galaxy |
7 (0) 87 (32) 81 (41) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2000- | United States | 100 (35) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982 in Redlands, California), is an American professional soccer player on the Los Angeles Galaxy, who is the all-time leading scorer for the United States men's national soccer team.[1][2] Donovan has also been recognized as one of the finest American soccer players of this century and is the only four-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year award.[3]
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[edit] Early Life/Career
Landon, the son of Timothy Donovan and Donna Kenney Cash, grew up in Redlands, California, and attended Redlands East Valley High School. Landon signed a professional contract with Bayer Leverkusen, but not before playing in the U.S. Soccer Residency program at Bradenton with four of his current U.S teamates including Oguchi Onyewu, DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey.
[edit] San Jose Earthquakes
He was 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.[4] 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.[5]
[edit] Bayer Leverkusen
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,[5] taking the award for that year.
After several games at Leverkusen, with Donovan only garnering two starts, Donovan was put into the starting line-up in a Champions League encounter versus Liverpool. Many have claimed that Donovan was a failure in Europe as a result of this game. During the game, Donovan passed the ball to a Liverpool player leading to a counterattack goal in the 3-1 loss. Landon stated his intentions to come back to MLS, and despite a late offer from English club Portsmouth, club officials respected his wishes. However, because San Jose GM Alexi Lalas had traded away Donovan's rights, the Galaxy were able to trade leading scorer Carlos Ruiz, a striker, to FC Dallas to get on top of the allocation pecking order one week before the season started.[6]
[edit] Los Angeles Galaxy
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, Donovan 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] On April 26, 2008, Donovan scored his second career MLS hat trick, giving him 72 all time regular season goals. This put him tenth on the league's all time scoring list.
Donovan has been in excellent form in the opening weeks of the 2008 season with the Galaxy, scoring 9 goals in the first 9 games of the season, forming a deadly offensive partnership with David Beckham.
[edit] International career
Donovan was a member of the inaugural class at the national soccer academy in Bradenton, Florida and is, along with DaMarcus Beasley, considered the program's most successful graduate. He won the Golden Ball at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championships as best player.
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 a crucial asset to the United States' run to the quarterfinals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan, scoring two goals along the way to being named Best Young Player for the 2002 World Cup. Through the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he has amassed 88 caps for the U.S., scoring 35 goals, including a 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 the Cobi Jones.[9]
Despite his failings in Europe, Landon has been constantly put in the U.S. line-up as the attacking midfielder. Hailed to have incredible pace on the ball, Landon had high expectations going into the 2006 World Cup. In the U.S. three group stage games, Donovan disappeared for long spells during the match. Despite any criticisms, he has been constantly hailed as the best U.S. player and reached 100 caps at the age of 26 on June 8th, 2008 in a friendly against Argentina. Landon wore both numbers 21 and 10 on the national team, the latter when Claudio Reyna was unavailable. As a result of Reyna's retirement from the national team, Donovan now wears the number 10 full-time. He is currently the all time leading goalscorer of the US national team with 35 goals. On June 8, 2008 Donovan won his 100th cap for the US in a friendly against Argentina.
[edit] Personal life
Landon Donovan wed actress Bianca Kajlich on December 31, 2006. Landon speaks fluent Spanish. The couple currently reside in Manhattan Beach, California.
[edit] International goals
[edit] Honors
[edit] Major League Soccer
- MLS All-Time Best XI: 2005
[edit] San Jose Earthquakes
- MLS Cup (2): 2001, 2003
[edit] Los Angeles Galaxy
- MLS Cup (1): 2005
- Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1): 2005
[edit] United States
- CONCACAF Gold Cup (3): 2002, 2005, 2007
- U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year (2): 2003, 2004
- Honda Player of the Year (4): 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007
[edit] International
- 2002 World Cup Best Young Player
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ USA Continues Domination with 2-1 Victory Over Mexico to Lift Fourth Overall CONCACAF Gold Cup\ Trophy. United States Soccer Federation (June 24, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
- ^ FIFA makes Donovan's U.S. record official, FOX Sports, 2008-02-29, <http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/7855944/FIFA-makes-Donovan's-U.S.-record-official>. Retrieved on 1 March 2008
- ^ Donovan becomes award's first four-time winner. Associated Press (October 5, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Los Angeles Galaxy mini bios (November 10, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ a b U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. National Soccer Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
- ^ "Galaxy trade Ruiz to Dallas, Donovan returning to L.A.?", USA Today, March 30, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
- ^ Nierman, Jonathan (November 11, 2005). MLS All-Time Best XI team unveiled. Major League Soccer. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ Landon Donovan. Los Angeles Galaxy. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Donovan becomes leader in career assists in 1-1 draw with Jamaica", Soccer Times, April 11, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
[edit] External links
- LA Galaxy Official Site Profile
- Landon Donovan's U.S. Olympic Team profile
- Leverkusen Who's who
- Landon Donovan on Yanks Abroad
- RSSSF Archive
- Landon Donovan on lagalaxy.tv
- Football Database Profile and Statistics for Landon Donovan
| Preceded by Brad Friedel |
U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year 2003, 2004 |
Succeeded by Kasey Keller |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Donovan, Landon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Professional soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 4, 1982 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ontario, California |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
