2002 - Talented, blazing fast, still very raw but so much potential. Got 2 goals in his first WC at age 20, and arguably should've had twice as many (had one called back against Poland for no reason, and I think you could've given him credit for Portugal's own goal). Put the final nail in Mexico's coffin and then terrorized Germany, forcing one of the world's best keepers to stand on his head. 2006 - Awful. No confidence, no balls, no goals. The low point of his career so far. A performance best summarized by the open look he had on the Ghanian goal, with the US needing a win, and instead of taking the shot he lays it off to Ben Olsen. 2010 - Finally what we've all been waiting for. Plays well against England then starts the US comeback by blasting the ball past the Slovenian keeper's head, initiates the scoring play on the tying goal, and serves up a beautiful ball to Edu for the winning goal. Then...today. Finally shows the poise and cojones to go with the talent and quickness he's had all along. And he's not done yet.
Re: From Wunderkid to Lannycakes to Landon FXCKING Donovan: An Odyssey I said it before and I'll say it now, this team goes as Landon Donovan goes. He's playing well right now, and as a result the team as a whole is too.
Re: From Wunderkid to Lannycakes to Landon FXCKING Donovan: An Odyssey He'll always be Baby Jesus. He's our savior.
Re: From Wunderkid to Lannycakes to Landon FXCKING Donovan: An Odyssey Not to infringe upon the general premise of this thread, but in 2006, Donovan was not put in a position to succeed in the Czech game. Although he didn't play well, he was hardly the worst player for us. In the Italy game, he was simply stunning. The best player on the pitch by a mile and got better as the game progressed. This is the main reason why the Italians still fawn over Donovan. Ghana I will grant. He was very poor. The whole team was poor except for Dempsey who I think had a decent game.
Re: From Wunderkid to Lannycakes to Landon FXCKING Donovan: An Odyssey Landon been great since the Confederations Cup, he's always had the talent, glad he's finally playing up to par.