Landon Donovan biography
Landon Donovan, (born March 4, 1982, Ontario, California, U.S.), American skilled soccer (soccer) participant, broadly thought to be the best American male participant within the historical past of the game.
Donovan was a star participant in highschool in Redlands, California, and in 1998 he joined the U.S. nationwide under-17 (U-17) crew. His success in U-17 play drew the eye of German membership Bayer Leverkusen, which signed the teenage Donovan in 1999. He performed on the Bayer reserve crew for one season and was referred to as as much as the primary crew in 2000, however he didn't seem in a sport earlier than being loaned to the San Jose (California) Earthquakes of Major League Soccer (MLS) in March 2001.
Donovan was a direct success in his return to the United States, main the Earthquakes to an MLS Cup title in his first 12 months with the crew. The Earthquakes gained a second MLS Cup title in 2003, with Donovan incomes U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year honours as properly. He gained the award a second time in 2004. In early 2005 he returned to Bayer Leverkusen for 2 and half months earlier than being acquired by the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS. He then led the Galaxy to an MLS Cup championship in his first season in Los Angeles, giving Donovan his third league title in 5 years. In 2008 he was loaned to the German powerhouse crew Bayern Munich for the MLS low season, enjoying principally instead. After guiding the Galaxy to an look within the 2009 MLS Cup remaining (a loss to Real Salt Lake [Utah]), Donovan gained the league’s Most Valuable Player award and was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year a record-tying third time. In 2010 he made his greatest splash thus far as a participant on mortgage when he grew to become one of many featured gamers with Everton throughout a brief keep within the English Premier League, and the next 12 months he scored the championship-clinching purpose to safe one other MLS Cup title for the Galaxy. Donovan gained his fifth profession MLS title in 2012, when he scored the game-winning penalty kick within the MLS Cup remaining. Two years later he captured a sixth MLS Cup, because the Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution 2–1 in Donovan’s remaining skilled soccer sport.
While arguably the largest star within the MLS throughout his home profession, Donovan additionally made his lasting mark on the game on the worldwide degree. In addition to his exploits as a member of the U.S. U-17 crew—which included profitable the Golden Ball award as Most Valuable Player of the 1999 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-17 World Championship—Donovan starred on the American under-20 and under-23 groups and performed for his nation within the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He made his debut with the senior nationwide squad in 2000, scoring a purpose in his first match. Donovan led the United States to a shocking run to the quarterfinals on the 2002 World Cup, however the crew failed to duplicate its success on the 2006 World Cup, recording simply two targets (one in every of them an opposition personal purpose) en path to a gap round-robin group stage elimination. He scored three targets through the U.S. run on the 2010 World Cup, most notably a dramatic rating in added time in opposition to Algeria through the crew’s remaining group-stage sport that superior the U.S. into the single-elimination knockout spherical. Despite his continued sturdy play, the 32-year-old Donovan was left off of the U.S. roster for the 2014 World Cup. He was additionally a member of 4 Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Gold Cup-winning groups (2002, 2005, 2007, and 2013).
Donovan retired from each membership and worldwide soccer in 2014 because the all-time main purpose scorer in each MLS (169 mixed regular-season and postseason targets) and U.S. males’s nationwide crew (57 targets) historical past. He got here out of retirement in 2018 to play with Club León of Liga MX in Mexico. The following 12 months he signed with the San Diego Sockers of the Major Arena Soccer League.