Dude the guy is almost 30 already. He has a fake birth certificate from Ghana, but everyone from Ghana is good at the youth level, because they are all older than they say they are. As soon as it's time to play in the senior team, they show how worthless and common they are. Sort of like what happen to Adu.
LD in the EPL - what a joke. The guy can't even hack the MLS at the best of times. He ran away from the Bundesliga - in a CL game vs Liverpool, he put in what is quite possibly the worst individual performance by any player in the history of the competition in its current format. He is Coca Cola championship level at best...actually, as a Rangers fan, i'd love to see him play week in, week out for Celtic. The guy had a good 2002 World Cup - had that not happened, he would be no different than any other MLS player. Dempsey is twice the player Donovan is, was or ever will be.
"In reality Adu was able to compete with grown men, because he himself was already in his 20's when he claimed to be 14. In Ghana, the county where he was born, kids are not registered when they are born. Parents usually wait until they are older, by which time they forget the exact age of the kids. Thus, when Adu came to this country and claimed to be 13 he was much larger than other kids his age. Today, is nearing the age of 30. Now that he plays with people his own age, he is a mediocre player, but he is still good for marketing." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddy_Adu
My take on Donovan........ the guy needs to be challenged. He was young when he went to Germany but I think mentally he's come a long way since then. The question is his ambition really. To see a guy dominate at the international level (excluding WC 2006 of course) and be so luke warm in the MLS has to tell you something. My other worry would be the physicality of the EPL. Although, you see what a Wright-Phillips or Aaron Lennon can do at wing and it makes you wonder. I agree, La Liga would be a good move. He speaks spanish afterall. With regards to Adu, unlimited talent, I believe his age is true, but he'd get tossed around in the EPL. He's a finesse player and needs more weight
I'm sorry, did you say that Donovan has dominated at the international level? What exactly has he done? I mean I know he is an idol in the mls, but aside from that? Has he won anything outside of the mls? Please tell me, because i'm kind of lost here.
bit rich of you to tell people to not say stupid things hauler, you do your bit in the tottenham forum.
As you should well know, due to it's format, Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information for any subject.
well, he has scored goals that knock teams like Mexico out of the World Cup, or help US beat Mexico in the Gold Cup final, you know? US or furriners, there's some clueless posts here, I hope you're having a joke. He's good enough, he plays an appropriate style, but he acted like a pu**y in the face of adversity during his time at Leverkusen and there's the question of whether, mentally, he would do that shit again.
Donovan like Clint Dempsey has no defined position in the EPL. The difference is that Clint Dempsey has the size and technical ability to be a withdrawn striker in the EPL, Donovan doesn't. He might be better off playing in La Liga. Donovan is a good player but with his size he's better off playing in a less physical league.
Unless Middlesbrough moves to, and plays all of their games in, southern California, I think it's pretty much a moot point. He's a good player. I watched him score a hat-trick against Ecuador here in Tampa. I've also watched him disappear in games.
In my uneducated opinion, I think there are only a handful of players that cold cut it in the EPL. Donovan is way down the list. He doesn't like there anyway, he prefers sunny California. My choices for good EPL transfers are really only Twellman, De Rosario and Altidore...any of these three would fit in fine. As most of you know (with the exception of Fulham) there's an anti-American MLS bias that is ever present among Englanders and the EPL. With the recent demise and implosion of the English national team, they may come to realise that the MLS ain't so bad afterall.
That might have been a joke Billy. Much like LD himself. His career is pretty much defined now, In a year or so he'll be a minor coach for the US Nat team.
The fact that England can't win shit internationally puts a damper on the EPL in my opinion. At least Liverpool and Man U have won the Champions League in the past decade. As for Donovan...I think he'd do well when surrounded by talented players (he's playing with Alan Gordon and Peter Vagenas...'nuff said).
Even German players will tell you how much harder life is in the Prem. and Donovan couldn't hack it in the Bund. Despite being given 2 chances he still went home whining back to Mom, his apple pie and ice cream and MLS, telling people that he didn't learn a thing in Europe...Which was painfully obvious. Some American players respond well and raise their game in the company of better more experienced team mates and gain the respect due to them........and then there's Donovan.
Also his game hasn't improved since this time. The next time he plays the rev's away will be the closest he gets to England.
Technical ability aside, I don't think he has the heart or passion to play in one of the top leagues. He sometimes is able to motivate himself for national matches and sometimes imposes himself on Galaxy games. Mentally, he is not consistent though. I think the whole Leverkusen thing was a wash for no other reason than he just wanted to be a major player on the team without having to actually earn it. I personally hope he doesn't attempt to play overseas b/c he will undoubtedly underperform and sulk about non-football related matters. Brian McBride is not technically as skilled as LD, but the only way LD could ever survive in a top league is if he were able to tap in to the desire and determination of someone like McBride.
That's true and more to the point if his name EVER came up for a decent team, he has a proven track record as one to stay away from. There's so much more, younger and better tallent coming through these days. McBride earned his respect the hard way, work and working with others. He has a decent fan base of his own in England because of it, as do several other US players. Donovan thought all he had to do was show up.
What utter crap. That quote is not even in the Wikipedia nor is it in any of the revised past versions of it on the Wikipedia. You liar. You made that quote up. His age is what he insist it is. I heard his voice when it first came out that he was scouted. It was definitely that of a young Ghana boy and listened to him when he was interviewed during the WC 2006 having trained with the US NT but not in the WC with them, his voice has definitely broken into a young man then and he was not as thin. He came over when he was eight and was first interviewed at 13/14 so don't start saying he was a starving kid that fleshed out in US.