Landon Donovan
Personal information
Full name	Landon Timothy Donovan
Date of birth	March 4, 1982 (1982-03-04) (age 26)
Place of birth	Ontario, California, United States
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Forward / Attacking midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current club	Los Angeles Galaxy
Number	10
Youth clubs
1995-1998 1998-1999 1999–2001	Redlands East Valley High School IMG Soccer Academy Bayer Leverkusen
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001–2005 2001–2004 2005– 2009–	Bayer Leverkusen → San Jose Earthquakes (loan) Los Angeles Galaxy → Bayern Munich (loan)	007 00(0) 087 0(32) 096 0(52) 000 00(0)
National team2
2000–	United States	105 0(37)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 October 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 9 June 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982 in Ontario, California), is an American professional soccer player on the Los Angeles Galaxy and is the all-time leading scorer for the United States men's national soccer team.¹² Donovan is the only five-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year award.³

Early life/Career

Landon, the son of Timothy Donovan and Donna Kenney-Cash, grew up in Redlands, California, and attended Redlands East Valley High School. Landon signed a professional contract with Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 16, but not before playing in the U.S. Soccer Residency program at Bradenton with many current international teammates including Oguchi Onyewu, DaMarcus Beasley, and Bobby Convey.

San Jose Earthquakes

He was unhappy with his situation in Germany, so he was loaned to the San Jose Earthquakes, playing in 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.⁴ 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 2003.⁵

Bayer Leverkusen

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,⁵ taking the award for that year. After playing seven games with Leverkusen, only two of which were starts, Landon stated his intentions to return to MLS. Despite a late offer from English club Portsmouth, Leverkusen officials respected his wishes. However, because San Jose GM Alexi Lalas had traded away Donovan's rights, the Galaxy were able to trade leading scorer Carlos Ruiz, a striker, to FC Dallas to get on top of the allocation pecking order one week before the season started.⁶

Los Angeles Galaxy

In his first season with the Galaxy, Donovan scored 12 league goals and 10 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.⁷ In his second season with the Galaxy, Donovan scored 12 league goals and 8 assists. Donovan also scored 3 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' 2nd all-time leading scorer in the playoffs with 14, behind Carlos Ruiz with 15.⁸ 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 84 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 20 goals and 9 assists in 25 games, forming a strong offensive partnership with David Beckham and Edson Buddle.⁸

Since the summer of 2008, Donovan has been linked with a move back to Europe during the January 2009 transfer window. He has personally referenced a move to German side Bayern Munich⁹ or the English Premier League¹⁰. 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."¹⁰ From November 11-21, 2008 he was on trial at Bayern Munich.[1] With his trial coming to an end, early reports are that Bayern Munich is interested in a loan arrangement with the Galaxy, which would allow Donovan to play in the Bundesliga at least until the start of the next MLS season in mid-March, if not longer.[2]

International career

Donovan (left) playing against Fabian Dawkins during an international game in 2006

Donovan was a member of the inaugural class at the IMG Soccer Academy, the USSF's full-time residency academy in Bradenton, Florida. He won the Golden Ball at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championships as best player.

After starring for the US team that nearly medaled in the 2000 Summer Olympics, he earned his first cap for the senior U.S. National Team on October 25, 2000 against Mexico, scoring in his debut. He was a crucial asset to the United States' run to the quarterfinals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan, scoring two goals along the way to being named Best Young Player at the tournament. Through the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he has amassed 88 caps for the U.S., scoring 35 goals, including a four-goal game against Cuba in 2003. On April 11, 2006, Landon became the United States' all-time assist leader with 23 when he set up Ben Olsen; the previous all-time assist leader was Cobi Jones.¹¹

After his performances in Asia, Landon had high expectations going into the 2006 World Cup, but was the subject of much criticism for his play as the US failed to advance out of the group stage.

Donovan reached 100 caps at the age of 26 on June 8, 2008 in a friendly against Argentina that ended in a 0-0 draw.

Donovan has worn both numbers 21 and 10 on the national team, the latter when Claudio Reyna was unavailable. As a result of Reyna's retirement from the national team, Donovan now wears the number 10 full-time. He is currently the all time leading goalscorer of the US national team with 37 goals.

Personal life

Donovan wed actress Bianca Kajlich on December 31, 2006. The couple currently reside in Manhattan Beach, California.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2000-10-25	Los Angeles, California	Mexico	1-0	2-0	Friendly match
2	2002-01-19	Pasadena, California	Korea Republic	1-0	2-1	2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
3	2002-03-02	Seattle, Washington	Honduras	2-0	4-0	Friendly match
4	2002-03-02	Seattle, Washington	Honduras	4-0	4-0	Friendly match
5	2002-05-16	East Rutherford, New Jersey	Jamaica	4-0	5-0	Friendly match
6	2002-06-14	Daejeon, South Korea	Poland	1-3	1-3	2002 FIFA World Cup
7	2002-06-17	Jeonju, South Korea	Mexico	2-0	2-0	2002 FIFA World Cup
8	2003-03-29	Seattle, Washington	Venezuela	2-0	2-0	Friendly match
9	2003-05-26	San Jose, California	Wales	1-0	2-0	Friendly match
10	2003-07-06	Columbus, Ohio	Paraguay	1-0	2-0	Friendly match
11	2003-07-19	Foxboro, Massachusetts	Cuba	1-0	5-0	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
12	2003-07-19	Foxboro, Massachusetts	Cuba	2-0	5-0	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
13	2003-07-19	Foxboro, Massachusetts	Cuba	4-0	5-0	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
14	2003-07-19	Foxboro, Massachusetts	Cuba	5-0	5-0	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
15	2004-01-18	Carson, California	Denmark	1-1	1-1	Friendly match
16	2004-06-20	St. George's, Grenada	Grenada	1-0	3-2	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
17	2004-09-04	Foxboro, Massachusetts	El Salvador	2-0	2-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
18	2004-10-13	Washington, D.C.	Panama	1-0	6-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
19	2004-10-13	Washington, D.C.	Panama	2-0	6-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
20	2005-06-04	Salt Lake City, Utah	Costa Rica	1-0	3-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
21	2005-06-04	Salt Lake City, Utah	Costa Rica	2-0	3-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
22	2005-06-08	Panama City, Panama	Panama	2-0	3-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
23	2005-07-07	Seattle, Washington	Cuba	2-1	4-1	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
24	2005-07-07	Seattle, Washington	Cuba	4-1	4-1	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
25	2005-07-09	Seattle, Washington	Canada	2-0	2-0	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
26	2007-01-20	Carson, California	Denmark	1-1	3-1	Friendly match
27	2007-02-07	Glendale, Arizona	Mexico	2-0	2-0	Friendly match
28	2007-03-25	Tampa, Florida	Ecuador	1-0	3-1	Friendly match
29	2007-03-25	Tampa, Florida	Ecuador	2-1	3-1	Friendly match
30	2007-03-25	Tampa, Florida	Ecuador	3-1	3-1	Friendly match
31	2007-06-12	Foxboro, Massachusetts	El Salvador	4-0	4-0	2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
32	2007-06-16	Foxboro, Massachusetts	Panama	1-0	2-1	2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
33	2007-06-21	Chicago, Illinois	Canada	2-0	2-1	2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
34	2007-06-24	Chicago, Illinois	Mexico	1-1	2-1	2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
35	2008-01-19	Carson, California	Sweden	2-0	2-0	Friendly match
36	2008-06-15	Carson, California	Barbados	4-0	8-0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
37	2008-10-11	Washington, D.C.	Cuba	3-1	6-1	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying

Honors

San Jose Earthquakes

• MLS Cup: 2001, 2003

Los Angeles Galaxy

• MLS Cup: 2005
• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: 2005

International

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2002, 2005, 2007

Individual

• FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden Ball: 1999
• MLS All-Star MVP: 2001
• MLS Best XI: 2003
• MLS Cup MVP: 2003
• U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 2003, 2004
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2002, 2003, 2005
• MLS All-Time Best XI
• Honda Player of the Year: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
• Los Angeles Galaxy Golden Boot: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• MLS Golden Boot: 2008
• United States All-time Goalscorer
• United States All time Assists Leader

Major League Soccer

• Career regular seasons goals list: 7th place
• Career playoff goals list: 2nd place
• Career playoff assists list: 7th place

References

External links

• Official website
• Landon Donovan Profile at MLSNet.com

• MLS Player Stats
• Landon Donovan's U.S. Olympic Team profile
• Leverkusen Who's who
• Landon Donovan on Yanks Abroad
• RSSSF Archive
• Football Database Profile and Statistics for Landon Donovan

Landon Donovan - Navigation boxes and awards v • d • e United States squad – 2000 Summer Olympics 1 Friedel • 2 Dunseth • 3 McCarty • 4 Agoos • 5 O'Brien • 6 Hejduk • 7 DiGiamarino • 8 Califf • 9 Olsen • 10 Vagenas • 11 Albright • 12 Corrales • 13 Donovan • 14 Victorine • 15 Whitfield • 16 Wolff • 17 Casey • 18 Howard • Coach: Charles v • d • e United States squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Friedel • 2 Hejduk • 3 Berhalter • 4 Mastroeni • 5 O'Brien • 6 Regis • 7 Lewis • 8 Stewart • 9 Moore • 10 Reyna • 11 Mathis • 12 Agoos • 13 Jones • 14 Cherundolo • 15 Wolff • 16 Llamosa • 17 Beasley • 18 Keller • 19 Meola • 20 McBride • 21 Donovan • 22 Sanneh • 23 Pope • Coach: Arena v • d • e United States squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Cannon • 2 Hejduk • 3 Berhalter • 4 Mastroeni • 5 Vanney • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Lewis • 8 Stewart • 9 Kirovski • 10 Donovan • 11 Mathis • 12 Bocanegra • 13 Martino • 14 Armas • 15 Convey • 16 Califf • 17 Beasley • 18 Howard • 19 Hahnemann • 20 Twellman • 21 Cunningham • 22 Klein • 23 Gibbs • Coach: Arena v • d • e United States squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Howard • 2 Albright • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Mastroeni • 5 O'Brien • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Lewis • 8 Dempsey • 9 Johnson • 10 Reyna • 11 Ching • 12 Berhalter • 13 Conrad • 14 Olsen • 15 Convey • 16 Wolff • 17 Beasley • 18 Keller • 19 Hahnemann • 20 McBride • 21 Donovan • 22 Onyewu • 23 Pope • Coach: Arena v • d • e