"A couple of weeks ago a mid-table Italian Serie A team, rumored to be Parma, stepped in attempting to broker a deal between Leverkusen, MLS and Donovan. Landon was very interested in the move feeling the club was a perfect fit, almost guaranteeing a place in the first team. Sources confirmed the deal was very close to getting done before unraveling." http://www.foxsportsworld.com/world/soccer/s020823_allen.htm
well that makes it official. landon has now been linked to EVERY team in Europe. I'm glad he's stay in San Jose, right where I can keep on an eye on his progress.
Re: Re: Donovan nearly went to Parma? uhhh just the crap ones like parma, red star belgrade, FC Jerusalem etc despite this he still belongs to bayer where he is NOT guaranteed a starting place
Parma's a fairly big club that just had one bad season in 2001-02. If Donovan had gone to Parma, he would have had, among his teammates, Hidetoshi Nakata, Hakan Sukur, Alex (formerly of Palmeiras, not the Japanese Alex), Johan Micoud, and Sabri Lamouchi.
Donovan will go back to Leverkusen at the end of the MLS season. Leverkusen have full ownership of his contract and there is nothing Donovan can do to get out of it. MLS can't afford him and Leverkusen are not going to loan him out again. They want to see what they have in Donovan and that means playing with Leverkusen for a season before they entertain any offers for him.
Sarcasm right? We all know that on the surface, it doesnt appear MLS has enough money to keep him... Think about it...does St Phil have enough money to keep him? Does Phil Knight (Nike) have the money to keep him? Whyn would they want to see him go to Leverkusen, when theyre trying to promote MLS..and have the power to keep him here. I dont know if Donovan will go back. Im kind of split...but dont think for one minute that money is a barrier here. This may not be true in other leagues around the world, but here we have "hidden funds" from those who want to see soccer succeed here. Where theres a will, theres a way. If Donovan asks Nike and MLS to find a way to keep him here, gets Leverkusen to lower the sum a tad, I know they will find the money to keep him at home. On the other hand, Leverkusen could probably turn back around and sell him to somewhere he wants to go, or could just keep him in town as a utility player (who get A LOT of minutes a season, practically) until he totally matures into a withdrawn forward/attacking mid. BTW, Parma is a large club with lots of funds due to the ownership (Parmalat?). I dont believe they suffer from the money crunch a lot of other Italian teams do. Parma generally finishes in the top 5 or 8 in the Serie most seasons. Fair move for Donovan....but Id much rather see him in the Chievo Gold and Blue=)
We shouldn't repeat the old topic. Fact is: MLS and Bayer were negotiating about a further loan to MLS (1 or 2 seasons); these negotiations failed so far. Another fact is: Bayer doesn't intend and never intended to sell him somewhere else; means that all Parma (or put in what team ever comes to your mind) close to completion rumors are wrong. And sure is that every lost point after Leverkusen's bad start into the season increases the probability that they demand Donovan back already in November.
Well, Olaf doesn't want to reopen this topic but insists upon providing an unbalanced view of the facts. No one knows here knows what is in the contract with Leverkusen. A person who does know says that there is a buyout clause, though some here think he cannot be trusted. Nevertheless, until proven false, I will accept the first-hand knowledge over speculation. In that case, every lost point for Leverkusen hurts the probablity of Donovan going back because I doubt he wants to be ignored by a crap team, being ignored by a great team is bad enough.
Wrong, Martin. What I've written is no speculation, this are facts proved by journalists and confessed by all parties. The only thing being speculated is the buy-out option only claimed by Landon's dad while Landon himself once said (in some of the US articles) that Bayer has the final word on the whole matter. Your last sentence only survives if the buy-out option exists, otherwise Landon has no influence at all. And I didn't want to reopen the topic as we had the same in about three or four other threads with always the same comments and always without result.
Of course, Olaf, everything turns on the buy-out clause. If it exists, then all of your facts, whatever they are, mean nothing. If you don't want to repoen this then simply point out the possibility that Donovan may be the one deciding. Or say nothing.
I think you got a little wrong imagination of a buy-out clause. There are two ways it might be implied here: a) it's a general contractual clause - means that anyone who agrees with the player can come and sign him. But it's not working (like you sound) that the player can come one morning and say "Hey boss, Nike pays the sum. Was nice to be here, bye". In European soccer contracts this option can only be used for the end of the season, which is June 30th. In this case Bayer could force Landon back in November even if Nike wants to pay the sum (then he'd leave on July 1st, 2003). b) it's a loan contract with transfer option - this is usually implied if the possessing team wants to get rid off a player, but the other team either can't afford the sum at the moment or isn't sure about signing him permanently. It's extremely improbable that Bayer and MLS worked out such a clause two years ago.
General rules like these are nice, as long as one is aware that anyone can write more specific clauses for a particular situtation. My belief, though it is just that, is that Donovan's contract with Bayer is complicated and negotiated with clauses that vary from the standard norms in German contracts. I think your assessment of probability is highly speculative based on very little fact.
Yes, sure - clever 18 year old Landon and his US agent, who has no experience in Germany, are fooling Bayer in a German contract by establishing clauses no team on earth would sign. Speculation is everything not being under normal circumstances, so you are the one speculating here. Do you honestly think to find one pro-soccer club anywhere in the whole wide world that would sign a clause allowing a player to leave the next day if someone comes and pays a certain sum??? How should they react from today until tomorrow? Have one player less in the roster?
Look, I don't know what is in the contract but I don't claim to assume either. The fact is that Bayer wanted an extension to the Donovan contract and Donovan was willing to give it to them if he was loaned to MLS. Already, this is not "normal" so it is quite possible that the deal is customized. As for the American fooling the German, a couple of points. First, I am sure that Donovan could have got competent German legal help on the side when it comes to writing the contract. Second, it is not really a question of fooling. When you put a buyout clause in a contract you are making a bet. Bayer obviously, if such a clause exists, bet that Donovan wouldn't play well enough to get someone to pay the money to exercise the clause. He played better than Bayer expected and Bayer lost the bet. Maybe, we shall see.
I think they are close. Just need to iron out a few last details. He should be there to start the 03-04 season for sure.