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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Eddie Lewis & Chris Klein take a bow

As I always say when one of my favorite athlete retires: I am getting old.

The latest to bid adieu to their playing days in the beautiful game are LA Galaxy midfielders Eddie Lewis and Chris Klein (not the American Pie actor), who are done at the end of the MLS season.

Los Angeles is atop the league standings with 17 victories and 56 points. The Galaxy will finish their regular season Sunday against FC Dallas before attempting to win their first MLS Cup since 2005.

The 36-year-old Lewis played for the United States at the World Cup in 2002 and 2006. After starting his MLS career with San Jose from 1996-99, the former UCLA star and Cerritos, Calif., native spent nearly nine years with four different English clubs before joining the Galaxy in August 2008.

"Eddie Lewis is arguably the finest left-sided midfielder in the history of U.S. soccer," said Bruce Arena, Lewis' coach with the Galaxy and on both World Cup teams. "We will miss having him here with us every day, and we thank him for his outstanding contributions to our organization."

Lewis hasn't scored for the Galaxy this season in 12 games, including one start.

This name probably doesn't register with casual fans (but let's be honest if you're reading this, you're a die-hard like us) however Lewis was one of their most underrated players when the U.S. team began to be respected worldwide. He also was a groundbreaker in terms of being an American playing overseas (England).

Klein's 332 regular-season appearances are the fifth-most in MLS history, and he played in a league-record 141 consecutive games. He has scored 49 goals and 69 assists over 13 seasons with Kansas City, Salt Lake and Los Angeles, which acquired him in June 2007.

The 34-year-old Klein has made 22 appearances with the USA, scoring five goals. He has two assists while playing in 10 games for the Galaxy this season, including three starts.

"Chris has established an outstanding legacy in MLS as an All-Star performer, an MLS Cup champion and a key figure in a historical collective bargaining agreement," Arena said. "Through these endeavors, Chris has always exhibited the character and professionalism that he has become synonymous with."

I don't have such distinct memories of Klein with the U.S. team, I associate him more with his MLS career and he's had a fine one in that.

I promise this won't become like a Brett Favre watch

It doesn't take a genius to realize that Landon Donovan is coming back to the LA Galaxy next month when his very successful 10-week loan with Everton is over.

So join the Facebook group, bitch on Everton message boards and bombard Twitter but it looks certain that Landy Cakes is coming back to the MLS (for the Galaxy's March 27 season opener) before he goes to training camp with the U.S. men's national team.

It's not hyperbole to say Donovan's run so far with Everton has been an unblemished success. He was named Everton's player of the month for January and he has helped them move from twelth to eighth place in the EPL. They've been one of the hottest teams lately, knocking off Chelsea and Manchester United in consecutive weekends.

The silver lining in all of this is that Donovan is openly hoping for another stint in England in the near future.

"I'm enjoying it and enjoying every day that I'm here," Donovan said. "Every day that goes by makes me think that I want to stay here.

"I would definitely imagine that I will be back here at some point in my life."

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/story?id=4940784

Remember when you hated Landon Donovan?

I am no different than you (if you like the US men's national soccer team), I have bitched about Landon Donovan-the face of the team-for much of the last decade. I finally realized something though after watching him score his first goal with Everton on Wednesday vs. Sutherland: it's time to love Landycakes.

He came onto the scene with the national team in 2002 and what a run as they advanced out of the group stage and beat bitter rival Mexico in the round of 16, to make it to the final eight before losing a classic to Germany.

Donovan had two disastrous stints playing on loan in Germany and each time he came slinking back to the US where he dominated the MLS like LeBron in the NBDL. Meanwhile, the turd sandwich submitted by the entire US team in the 2006 World Cup didn't help to build Donovan's national profile shall we say.

Oh well, he's a nice player who will never do anything outside of the US and except for a few World Cup games and qualifiers against the assorted garbage in CONCACAF.

As Lee Corso would see (assuming he knows what soccer is), "not so fast my friend." Donovan still plays for the LA Galaxy but his most recent loan to Everton-a middling team in the English Premier League-and performance last summer in the Confederations Cup is proof that Landon is a new man.

No longer does he crumble on the big stage against the quality opponents. He was the US' best player last summer vs. superpowers Spain and Brazil (ever heard of them?). And when the US plays at Mexico, who do the Mexican fans hate the most? Landon Donovan. They wouldn't hate a scrub so our neighbors to the South might be onto something.

So while players like Clint Mathis, DeMarcus Beasley and Eddie Johnson have caught our eyes for a fleeting moment, its time to give it up for a guy that has kept working and is proof that there are good American soccer players scattered around the world.