Friday night was Landon Donovan’s international swansong as the USA met Ecuador at East Hartford. And it was an emotional one as the nation’s top scorer was given a standing ovation on his way back to the sidelines just before the first half. An acknowledgment of his many achievements as arguably the USA’s finest player. A tearful Donovan bade goodbye. In terms of longevity only Cobi Jones has represented the US in more matches. In 157 appearances for the USMNT, Donovan scored a record 57 goals and also provided an unmatched 51 assists which underscores his completeness as an attacking force by a considerable margin over the next best.
Statistics aside, the greatest achievement in this writer’s opinion was Donovan’s stylistic impact on US soccer. With Donovan as a catalyst, the US transformed into a potent counterattacking threat. With a quick release and great acceleration, Donovan excelled getting behind defenses and finishing instinctively. The California native was equally adept releasing other strike partners like Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies, Jozy Altidore, and Eddie Johnson running into scoring positions. He was versatile switching from the flanks to the hole, an elusiveness that attracted David Moyes who brought him to Everton on loan. The conventional wisdom of goalkeepers being USA’s best import was upended as the likes of Brian McBride, Dempsey, and Donovan found their way into the top European leagues. In just two months of a second Everton stint, Donovan had assisted in 7 goals, whetting Moyes’s appetite for more as the club lined up to sign the LA Galaxy star on a permanent transfer. That did not come to fruition as the MLS refused to sell.
From the 3-2 shock win over Portugal in the 2002 World Cup to his last gasp winner against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup, those two defining bookends made him the country’s most famous no 10 as well as its most talented. In between, the USA with Donovan leading the way embellished a growing reputation as opportunists making good on a few scoring chances amidst a sea of domination by opposing sides. It can be fairly said Spain’s present vulnerability now de rigueur was first exposed in the 2009 Confederations Cup by their failure to match the USA’s blistering counterattacks as Dempsey, Davies, Altidore, and Donovan bullied the 2008 Euro winners off the ball rendering their tiki taka for nought. In the final, Donovan scored against Brazil as the USA pounced on a ball deep in their half and two rapid fire passes later the no 10 with his trademark sprint was in position to receive Davies cross, cut back, control the ball and send it swerving into the far corner for a two goal margin. However, the USA just fell short in their first final of a major international competition as Brazil fought back building up waves upon waves of attack to pull out 3-2 victors. But the message was clear, the USA was knocking on the door.
Donovan was controversially left out by Juergen Klinsmann in this World Cup despite being instrumental in qualifying partly because his counterattacking imprimatur clashed with the long term transformation into an all round game. Indeed, one of the criticisms leveled at the USA was despite all the pace and off ball movement, there were no pivots creative enough to consistently build and mount attacking threats while maintaining possession. A shortcoming exemplified by a now familiar wall when it comes to going beyond the World Cup quarterfinals, the 2009 Confederations Cup final loss, or two years later in a horrific meltdown against Mexico in the 2011 Gold Cup. Donovan’s undeniable impact consigned that development to the shelf for a decade or more despite Bob Bradley’s experiment with three holding midfielder sets and Jose Francisco Torres as playmaker, also on Klinsmann’s radar before the Pachuca player fell out of favour. In the World Cup we did see glimpses of a more patient USA with its Euro and Bundesliga emigres notching up their first win against nemesis Ghana and then thrillingly leave Portugal hanging on a knife’s edge. In the continuous evolution that is US soccer, Donovan gets to write a chapter all on his own. So long and thanks for all the fish!
Here is the US legend through the years:
This was a great article. Landon Donovan was a great player and had a huge impact on the growth of soccer in the United States with his big game performances in World Cups. Do you think he should have been on the 2014 squad? Yes, it may have been controversial because of how big of a name he is to the game of soccer in the USA, but the men Klinsmann ended up picking ended up playing pretty well in the Group of Death. Do you think the US could have made it further with Donovan on the roster?
Thanks SimpleSoccer101,
Hard to say if Donovan could have taken the US further. My feeling is that he probably would not have.
The US seem to do well against sides who like attacking but are susceptible defensively to the counterattack. They don’t as yet have answers against more methodical, possession teams. Michael Bradley did not have a great World Cup till that very fine assist to Julian Green giving Belgium a scare. Till then it was Belgium keeping the ball. Likewise, Germany wore them down playing deep and keeping very compact with their passes.