BIOGRAPHY OF LANDON DONOVAN:Landon Donovan (born March 4, 1982, in Ontario, California) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer. He plays as a withdrawn forward, usually on the left wing.
Donovan was a member of the inaugural class of the U.S. Soccer residency program in Bradenton, Florida. The U-17 team that was formed from that class competed at the 1999 U-17 World Championship, finishing in fourth-place with Donovan receiving the Golden Ball as the tournament's outstanding player. Shortly after the tournament, Donovan signed a professional contract with German club Bayer Leverkusen, becoming the youngest American to sign with a foreign club.
Unhappy with his situation in Germany, he was loaned to the San Jose Earthquakes of 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. 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.
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, taking the award for that year.
After playing seven games with Bayer Leverkusen, only two of which were starts, Landon stated his intentions to return to MLS. Despite a late offer from English club Portsmouth, Bayer Leverkusen officials respected his wishes. However, because San Jose GM Alexi Lalas had traded away Donovan's rights, the Los Angeles Galaxy, his hometown team, were able to trade leading scorer Carlos Ruiz to FC Dallas to get on top of the MLS allocation order one week before the season started.
In his first season with the Galaxy, Donovan scored twelve league goals and ten 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. In his second season with the Galaxy, Donovan scored twelve league goals and eight assists. Donovan also scored three 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' second all-time leading scorer in the playoffs with fourteen, behind Carlos Ruiz with fifteen. In the 2007 Superliga tournament, Donovan was the top scorer. Donovan scored a goal in every game except for the Final, where he missed the game winning penalty kick. Donovan now has eighty-four all-time regular season goals putting him in seventh place on the league's all time scoring list. Although the 2008 season was a disappointment for the Galaxy, it was a banner year for Donovan as he scored twenty goals and nine assists in twenty-five games, forming a strong offensive partnership with David Beckham and Edson Buddle.
Since the summer of 2008, Donovan had been linked with a move back to Europe during the January 2009 transfer window. Landon himself mentioned German side Bayern Munich as a potential destination. Concerning a possible move to Europe he has said, "If the Galaxy is OK with me going, if the league is willing to accept an offer, if an offer comes. In my situation, I can't be super picky but if it's the right offer and makes sense with the right team ... there's a lot of ifs. But from my standpoint, I'm ready to take that step and I want to." From November 11-21, 2008 he trained with Bayern Munich, and at the end of his training period, Bayern Munich entered into negotiations to acquire him on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, allowing Donovan to play for the German club until at least the start of the next MLS season in mid-March. The loan, which Bayern Munich says is the only move it will make during the January transfer window, is scheduled to end on March 15. Donovan made his friendly debut on January 10 against Al-Jazira Club, playing the full ninety minutes and assisting on a goal by Bastian Schweinsteiger, and scored his first goal for the club in his second game, in a friendly against Al-Wehda.[
He won the Golden Ball at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championships as the tournament's best player. In his two years playing for the U-17 team, he scored thirty-five goals in forty-one games. In 2000, he moved up to both the United States U-23 men's national soccer team as well as the senior team.
After starring for the U.S. team that nearly won a medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics, he earned his first cap for the United States senior team on October 25, 2000 against Mexico.
On April 11, 2006, Landon became the United States' all-time assist leader with twenty-three when he set up Ben Olsen.Donovan scored his 41st goal for the United States against Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final.
LANDON DONOVAN PICTURES:
Esteemed French magazine France Football have released their annual list of 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or - the European Player of the Year award.
