Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official [result]yeah, but i got cocky. it's tied up now and real is looking pretty scary. never think you're out of the woods against this real team. they may leak goals, but man they can score them fast. zidane to figo to raul. not bad.[/result]
Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official Good one. And Real Genius, Top Gun, Heat, The Doors and True Romance were hardly stinkers.
Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official [result]Its OK, since Real came back after Beckham went off the pitch (check out the ticker... In Beckham minutes, its 4-0 Leverkusen (or 5-0 if you count the away goal rule [/result]
Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official Amen. Besides, the guy is young and is leaving his country, family, woman, and culture behind for a foreign pressure cooker type atmosphere. I can't say that I would not be a little nervous as well.
Actually maybe not. Leverkusen could easily come in 3rd in group (comes down to last match against Kiev, and Madrid vs. Roma). However, Leverkusen would get thrown into UEFA Cup for the New Year. Based on their current league form, Landon will have to improve them several games just to get them to UEFA for next season (assuming they don't win UEFA or the German Cup*) * If they are still in it...I don't know
Landon has the speed/quickness/skills and will be a success at Leverkusen. When he was German Nat. team coach, after a Brazil game, Bertie Vogts said: "we are a bunch of refrigerators playing against violins".... Landon could be the "first" violin in the Bayer L team. Wish him all the best....and then come back to the US Nat's in even better shape/more experienced for the 2006/10 WC's.....
Just a note, if you misssed the teleconference, the archived MLS audio feed begins at 00:35:21 and not at the start. I don't know why the 'tards didn't edit it before linking it, but that's our MLS. EDIT: It's been corrected now.
Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official . . . and when he scores his first Champions League goal, there will be a 7 page thread on how is first touch really wasn't that great.
Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official Only to counter-balance those who page after page pronounce him the second coming of christ, for example Robben. People are entirely too polar, quick to dis and quick to praise. That being said I am a huge Donovan fan and I think he will do well in Germany... if his attitude isn't a problem. No matter what he is feeling to say those things in public is simply unprofessional.
Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official Once again, not to ruin the party witth facts, but it was Bayer who told him it's not a prison there. It was a figure of speech, but hey carry on.... and for those of you who constantly rehash the first Germany go around, well, you're the ones carrying the girl over the river. Donovan let go of her a long time ago.
I don't understand this. Leverkusen signed LD when he was 16, now he's 24 and still under contract? Did he sign a lifetime contract at 16 or has he signed a new deal? If he is still under his original deal did he ever have a lawyer look at this deal and try to get him out? If anyone knows details of Landons contract status please reply.
I have canvassed this thread and my perception of the YA board is one that says "let them go to Europe if they want to, tell them to quit whining if they don't." Classy.
Re: It's Official: Our Newest YA is LD When can he start playing for them? Does he have to wait for the window to open or since it is a loan he can start ASAP?
My understanding is that years have been added to the back end of the contract to offset the loan to MLS.
Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official What's the reaction there to the move? BTW, missed you at the QBA draft.......La Velle
Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official It's possible that a player like Landon - one that lives to play - might consider the bench a sort of prison, and fears, due to his previous experience there, that he would be stuck in what to him is a gulag situation where BL won't play him and won't sell him. He sat in limbo for half a year when he was 17 because MLS didn't want to set a negative loan precedent and BL wouldn't sell him except for a huge price. They also wouldn't loan him out to another team. He was miserable. Donovan loved MLS and the Quakes because they let him play, they gave him a leadership role and boy did he run with it. All he wanted was the opportunity. Funny thing, this is the guy who once shunned MLS, signing with Bayer at 16. Now he's giving BL the second chance he gave MLS. Here's hoping it works out as well as his first change of heart. The real whiners, IMHO, are those on these boards who won't stop complaining about Donovan and how he should live the life that they envision. It's not enough that he's going to Europe - they're still whining about the statements he's made about going back.
Re: Donovan decides, will go to Germany. It's official Well, his nickname is Baby Jesus While I don't think DaMarcus Beasley's in the same league as Robben, LD is not too far off from him, although their positions and roles are slightly different. A couple of years ago people might have slammed anyone who tried to compare LD to Frannie Jeffords. LD has been a consistently good player for a very long time, and it's frightening to think what he could do on the field w/ a 1st string Leverkusen team. I'm not an LD apololgist. He was horrible vs. Jamaica. But he's a very nice player, and could succeed in any league. The bigger the stage, the better he seems to play. I'm looking forward to this.
Anybody else see the Real/Bayer match. The first 30 minutes were as bad of soccer as I have seen. Bayer had nobody on the field with any flair whatsoever -- maybe it was just a tactical decision playing in Madrid, but neither side was impressive. BTW, Landon is 22, not 24.