Major Respect to Landon Donovan for Going Out on His Own Terms

I was never a huge Landon Donovan fan but I have to admit that you'd have a hard time coming up with an American men's soccer player that has put together a more impressive professional career. At the ripe old age (yeah right) of 32, Donovan made the surprise announcement this afternoon that he's stepping away from the game that has given him so much (and vice versa) after this MLS season with the LA Galaxy is completed.

You realize how rare this is to see an athlete basically in his prime (although not according to Jurgen Klinsmann) retire before he becomes old and washed up? It's refreshing and it makes me find a whole new level of respect for Donovan. His whole life has been centered around soccer and who are we to tell him when he has to retire or not?

The midfielder/forward is the top goal-scorer in MLS history (138 regular season; 22 postseason, also a record) and U.S. national team history (57 goals, 58 assists in 156 caps) that played in three World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010) where he scored five total goals. He won five MLS Cups between the San Jose Earthquakes and LA Galaxy along with the Golden Boot in 2008 and MLS MVP in 2009.

Not content to simply tear it up in the JV MLS and with the U.S., he stuck with it and tested himself overseas with some of the top teams in Germany (Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich) and England (Everton). Much like life itself, not every stop along the way was smooth or enjoyable but he continued to plug away and eventually left a lasting mark in the EPL with Everton in 2010 and 2012 loan spells.

Getting left off the 23-man roster for this summer's World Cup in Brazil caused plenty of controversy and I have to hand it to him that he didn't let it become too much of a distraction when everyone tried to make it one. He agreed to work as an analyst on ESPN during World Cup coverage, which had to be extremely awkward, but he didn't resort to low-rent tactics of sniping at Klinsmann or others when the U.S. struggled at times and eventually bowed out to Belgium. Clearly he would have helped the team and he should have been there but that's a moot point by now.

When I think of Donovan's illustrious career, two main things will come to mind first in a world of rich memories: 1) the way that Mexican fans absolutely despised him which in a weird way was the ultimate sign of respect; 2) his top moment for my money was the group-clincher vs. Algeria in 2010. That is on the short list of best moments in USMNT history.

In summation, thanks for the memories Landon and enjoy your retirement. You certainly earned it!


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Take a number: Bayern Munich hates the French too

No professional sport in the world has quite the same dynamic as soccer in the sense that club teams hate seeing their players compete for their home country and vice versa. Players are investments and only bad things can happen (in the clubs' minds) when the players leave them.

Along those lines came news today that Bayern Munich won't release its star Franck Ribery for an upcoming hearing by the French soccer federation on the national team's disaster at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The club complained Monday that it "had to learn from the media" of plans by the federation to summon Ribery and others to Paris for a hearing Aug. 17.

The German champion said that FIFA rules oblige it only to release players for competitive matches on the international soccer calendar.

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge informed French federation president Fernand Duchaussoy of the decision in writing, Bayern said in a statement.

"It cannot be the case that the French federation arbitrarily hauls Franck Ribery out of his commitments at Bayern Munich," Rummenigge said. "The club's preparations for the new Bundesliga season now have priority over the French federation's processing of the World Cup."

The club said Ribery would be playing a German Cup match against Germania Windeck on Aug. 16 and would start preparing the following day for the season's first Bundesliga match, against 2009 champion Wolfsburg on Aug. 20.

The French federation opened a disciplinary case last Friday against Ribery and four others who went on strike at the World Cup -- Nicolas Anelka, Eric Abidal, Jeremy Toulalan and captain Patrice Evra.

Don't ask me why this hearing is happening so long after the World Cup, when clubs are clearly gearing up for their long campaigns. Then again, who else would this whole situation happen to but the French?

Robben to miss two months for Bayern Munich

Arjen Robben has always been one of my favorite players since he was on Chelsea and now that he's at Bayern Munich, Shimer has grown to love the injury-prone but incredibly skilled Dutchman.

Coming off a superb 2010 World Cup (minus two breakaways he couldn't bury against Spain in the final) comes the terrible news that Robben will miss the next two months for Bayern.

This story gets messy since the German club claims that Robben was injured in a Netherlands warm-up match before the World Cup and his recovery was sped up, causing a misdiagnosis. Yikes.

The cost of that is now being paid as tests conducted on Tuesday found a tear in the hamstring that was not properly diagnosed earlier.

"It is a clear tear," Bayern club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt said. "I find it irresponsible that this was not diagnosed accurately and that Arjen has played with it. I offered several times to help with the diagnosis but was not called."

The injury will rule Robben out of the start of the Bundesliga campaign and the opening Champions League matches.

"This diagnosis after my return to Bayern is a shock," Robben said. "I am very disappointed. The enforced break is bitter for me and the team."

Bayern will now seek compensation from the Dutch federation (KNVB) and have asked FIFA to step in as a mediator if necessary.

"Of course, Bayern Munich are very angry," chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "Once again we must pay the bill as a club after a player is seriously injured playing for a national team."

If this is true, Robben should be lauded for playing through pain while the Dutch training staff deserves some form of punishment for looking the other way while one of their stars risked serious injury.

Ribery officially out for Champions League final

Bayern Munich and star midfielder Franck Ribery did everything in their power to try and overturn his three-game suspension but it didn't work.

He'll miss the Champions League final this Saturday, the second game of the three he has to miss for receiving a red card against Lyon in the Champions League semifinals.

It's a predictable but still disappointing ruling.

Ribery appealed to both UEFA and CAS after receiving the red card against Lyon for an over-the-ball tackle on Lisandro Lopez and was looking to turn the three-match ban into the standard one-match suspension (which he has already served).

However, after UEFA rejected their first appeal, CAS followed suit and Ribery will now miss out on the game against Inter Milan at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

A CAS statement read: ''The Court of Arbitration for Sport has rendered its final decision in the appeal filed by FC Bayern Munich and Franck Ribery against the decision taken by the UEFA Appeals Body on May 5, 2010.

''This expedited procedure was referred to a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Panel composed of Mr Bernhard Welten (Switzerland) President, Dr Stephan Netzle (Switzerland) and Dr Andras Gurovits (Switzerland).

''A hearing was held at the CAS headquarters today, during which the parties and their legal representatives were heard. The CAS Panel has dismissed the appeal and confirmed the three-game suspension imposed by the UEFA appeals body on the Bayern Munich player Franck Ribery.

''Accordingly, the player will not be eligible to play in the final of the 2010 Champions League. The reasons for the decision will be published by the CAS in a few days.''

It seems like rather than second-guess their offical's shaky call, CAS would like to try and sweep this under the rug.

Bayern appealing Ribery's suspension

It's been a busy couple weeks for Bayern Munich and French star Franck Ribery. He was red carded out of the first leg of Bayern's Champions League semifinal vs. Lyon last week and caught in the middle of a French prostitute scandal (as Shimer reported).

For the red card, he's supposed to be banned for three games. He sat out yesterday's 3-0 win over Lyon and by the letter of the law he'd have to miss the Final against Inter Milan and the first game of next season's European campaign.

Understandably, Bayern is appealing this and they hope to have him back for the Final. It was a bogus red card to begin with so to take away one of the game's biggest draws is silly.

Let the man play, just keep him away from those skanky French whores.

Somewhere Oliver Kahn is smiling (and looking like a psycho)

It's official, for the eighth time in their history Bayern Munich is headed to the Champions League Final on May 22 against either Inter Milan or Barcelona.

This one was never really in doubt and Olic was clearly the man of the match as he scored all three goals for Bayern.

If they can get Ribery back for the Final, Shimer correctly pointed out that they'll give Inter or Barce a great match.

Bayern has really taken their game to another level as the stakes have gotten higher. With Robben, Schweinsteiger, Olic, Hahm, Van Bommel et. al Bayern is a team full of stars that can match the all-star teams from Inter and Barce.

Lyon was a great story: the underdog from France that outlasted all the English clubs and had a storybook run. They were simply beaten by a better team and their magic ran out. They didn't have the horses to match Bayern and once Olic got his first goal today, you knew it might get away from them quickly.

Altintop is not a striker for a reason

I already gave props to Altintop, the Turkish international, but he just walked into the Lyon box and had all day before he shot it over.

Doesn't matter and I'm sure he'll forget about it in a few minutes.

With a bloody head, Olic finishes off his hat trick

What a performance by Olic. He just finished off his hat trick with a header in the 78th minute.

Lahm hit a perfect cross from the right side and Olic just had to push it past Lyon's goalie. Miroslav Klose, who just came on for Robben, was next to Olic and he could have just have easily finished it off.

Olic has a goal with his left foot, his right foot and his head. Not sure when it happened but after the last goal, his head was bleeding. Haha, the guy is an animal. I don't know if nobody on Bayern notices or what.

3-0 Bayern in the 81st minute.

Drive home safely Lyon

I'd love to be in a beer hall in Munich right about now, shit must be going off.

Olic just gave Bayern a 2-0 lead in the 67th minute with his second goal of the game. Altintop, who's played a whale of game, fed his left foot and then Olic just put it by the Lyon keeper who was caught in no man's land.

That should just about do it, Bayern is going to Spain for the Champions League Final since they're up 3-0 on aggregate and Lyon needs four goals to pull it off.

Schweinsteiger almost ends it

Lyon mishit their one chance so far in the second half while Schweinsteiger almost put a thunderstrike of a volley into the net in the 52nd minute.

A few moments later, Robben cut to his left foot at the top of the box and forced a diving save and corner from Lyon.

58th minute and Bayern is still up 1-0.

Gotta be feeling good if you're a Bayern fan

Bayern is up 1-0 at halftime and it could be an even bigger lead.

Still with a 2-0 aggregate lead and the fact that Lyon has been pretty lifeless, means that Bayern is in great position to get to the final.

Lyon has been undefeated in Champions League play at home so far but they hardly resemble that defensive minded team that capitalizes on its usually limited opportunites. They've been weak on the ball today and they'll need to become much more aggressive if they want to find three goals in the second half.

Olic puts Bayern one step closer to the final

Bayern just went ahead 1-0 in the 26th minute after some great counterattacking from Robben, Mueller and finally Olic.

Robben had the ball at the top of the box and found Mueller to the left of the box. He turned and under pressure delivered to his striker partner Olic. He fought off a defender and slotted it past Lyon's goalkeeper, who dove the wrong way.

1-0 Bayern today and 2-0 on aggregate. Lyon is on the brink of elimination as they'll need three goals to take it now.

Mueller just misses out on early chance

We're in the 19th minute in France and Bayern Munich and Lyon are knotted 0-0.

The best chance so far was by Bayern's Thomas Mueller in the third minute, who was wide open in front after a pass by Olic. He pushed it just wide for what would have been a huge away goal.

Bayern is up 1-0 after the first leg so Lyon needs a goal at some point.