I admire the courage and he deserves some credit for trying. The problem is that he didn't make the smartest move. What this should do is humble all of us YA fans. As much as I want success abroad for the US in football, there simply isn't a field player currently in the American arsenal that can get consistent mintues in the top 4-5 teams of any top league. Donovan, pegged as our best striker, looks pedestrian up there. That's very telling if you ask me. Personally, I've already come to this conclusion and I think a lot of wiser players already know this and are doing it currently. A Euro career for an American simply takes time to work its way up the chain so you can get comfortable and build a reputation. We should be calling it the "McBride" formula.
Ah, just noted that, sorry. I would say that final 16 CL is a higher level than international play, IMO.
Lots of world class players look pedestrian during their first 100 or so minutes with a new club. On the other hand, there are folks like Clint Mathis who burst out of the gate, only to go bust shortly thereafter. Maybe what Donovan already showed was what he would have showed during his next 1,000 minutes with Bayern Munich. Maybe not. It looks like we'll never know.
Truth be told, he hasn't been given enough of a chance at least in terms of game time. What he has shown on the practice field is a different animal. Of course, there are plenty of players who do not even receive the minimal chance that Donovan has been given for clubs as big as Bayern. It was always going to take something really special to break into that lineup with such a short amount of time.
While Donovan hasn't shown enough in this loan to land a contract, does anyone doubt that if he had transferred to BM over the summer that he'd be making a positive contribution to the team at this stage (e.g. starts and goals in DFB cup, meaningful sub minutes and a few goals/assists in Bundesliga)? Circumstances matter a lot. It's not, to my mind, a question of talent or heart in this case.
True, which is why it wasn't a smart move. Late season loan deals are typically made for the sole purpose of immediate impact in a much needed area. Donovan's deal was just that, so his time was limited to prove his worth. Also, regardless of whether or not it's fair, American players have to prove themselves more than others. There's already skepticism of American players and the MLS for any yank coming across the pond. That's just the way it is. The best tactic in response is to put your head down and work hard somewhere below the top 4 horizon. Build up a European reputation, not a MLS one. That's the key in my mind. Whether or not Donovan can do that now is anyone's guess. I think he wants to, having seen everyone else do it, but he's made that prospect more difficult given his past choices.
IIRC,the new manager went with a completely different formation where there would have been no room for Donovan to be a #10,which was considered to be his position at the time.
You do RC. Donovan's competition, Robson Ponte, was hustled out soon afterwards. Of course, teams have used LD as a winger and forward in addition to ACM. So perhaps he could've evolved into one of those at Leverkusen.
It's hard for me to see him beating out Berbatov or Voronin up top for a spot in the lineup at the time, but I don't remember how their form was then. And I don't recall LD looking very comfortable on the wing at the time either.
I am an optimist and a Donovan fan. But I don't buy the argument above that he hasn't been given enough of a chance. Sub minutes at a club like BM are exactly the kind of chance you get. That is when you either prove yourself, or you don't. I still hold out hope that he will get more sub minutes in the remaining games under the loan agreement and can bag a goal or three that turns heads. Hey, it's possible.
I wish he could have gone to BM back in July, when Klinsmann first took over and wanted him. That way, he could have integrated with the team from the beginning, when they were all learning the Klinsmann "system." But it didn't work out that way. I, frankly, don't think he'll suit up again for them. The FO never really wanted him, have stated his price is too high, have told Klinsi to put Podolski back on the team (meaning out of the stands, onto the bench). Unless 2 of their 3 strikers get injured between now and the end of the loan, Landon is just filling out numbers in training and soaking up the experience, IMO.
Sorry but I have not read all the pages but I was thinking - Maybe donovan just isn't good enough. We can debate the merits of his technique ad nauseum, but it requires a combination of outstanding skill, mental toughness and physical prowess (ie speed,stamina) to make it to one of the G14 teams and coming from me, a huge MLS, US nats and even landon fan, I have come to the depressing realization that we will need to wait a while longer to find our hugo sanchez, or alexander hleb or (name your 1stbreakout star from a country)
They made the change not simply because of the new head man, but because of they weren't happy with what they'd been getting from the position. Donovan's comp wasn't Ponte, it was Donovan. If he's stepped up and played the way he'd shown he was capable of in his first BL games (sub role, true), he could have forced his way onto the field, and defined the role he would have played (that was the year of AM from the wing, after all). It was my contention at the time, and I still believe it, that if he'd settled down and had a summer to work his way into the team, he would have done it. It is a pointless assertion, I admit.
I don't think the new coach rated him,Matt. It would have been an Adu at Monaco preview... [shudders] I just had a vision into to an alternative past,and it scared me.
I think this is the key really -- he's not failing in Europe, or even the Bundesliga. He's quite obviously good enough for the Bundesliga. Is he good enough to be a key contributor for a CL knockout round club/one of the top teams in the world? That's a completely different matter, and with the grand benefit of hindsight that's unfortunately the roads to Europe that he has taken. How much of that is his technical and tactical limitations and how much is a potential mental/emotional unwillingness to be in a situation where he needs to fight for a spot and bring it every practice/game, we'll never know. The real disappointing thing about this trip though is that he had a lot of advantages that aren't always there for a potential January transfer-- weeks to work out with the club and play in exhibition games.