Was Landon Donovan's blocked PK a defining moment in his club career? In what many say is LD's last season at LA, he had the chance to win the Superliga title for LA, earn his team some much needed positive press that would have resonated internationally due to the Beckham spotlight, make for a story-book come-from-behind ending to the inaugural Superliga tournament thanks to Klein's last minute bicycle kick, redeem his former SJ and outgoing Galaxy coach Yallop's tenure at LA....However, Landon choked under the pressure, hitting a soft and poorly placed penalty. This seems like the official stamp on Landon's character as a good player, but not the game-breaker that we American soccer fans are so desperately seeking...The Larry Bird or Michael Jordan-esque character that can win a game by the power of his will. It's not so much that LD missed the penalty, everyone misses and LD was 7/7 on penalties running up to this big one, but it seems that he again was shaken by the pressure and hit a horrid spot kick.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK Or maybe he missed because he just played 120 grueling minutes and was cramping up. I know there are people who like to jump on Landon Donovan's every flaw or bad moment in an attempt to make some point about his character, but sometimes you just miss. We'll never know.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK If he hits the kick hard and low to the corner the Galaxy win. but instead he he hit it soft and high just for the goal keeper to get it if he guess correct and Calero did and the rest is history.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK It's not like he floated a grapefruit up there (Xavier's was the bad miss). It was high and a little toward the middle, but you're talking about a ball a foot inside the post...the margin for error in the other direction is not big. That ball is easily in if the GK doesn't guess right or get an immediate read on the location. After 120 minutes of play any attempt is gonna be a little shaky because you just don't have the muscle control after that much effort. to summarize...no
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK Can't say it's a defining moment, yet, but it's very close. How often has he gotten the chance to take a PK to win a tournament? But, yeah, LD did get caught up in the moment and choked. Perhaps we'll get a better idea the next game, or better yet, the next time he takes a PK. Still, his only redemption if he gets into the same situation again, and makes it, but who knows when a player gets such a rare chance...
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK Agreed. The reason this was so important was that it was a defining moment for HIM - whether he wanted it or not. As a Jazz fan, it was way too reminiscient of Karl Malone blowing 4 free throws against Jordan's Bulls in their second Championship showdown. In contrast, Jordan (a true "champion" and clutch player) single handedly saved his team in Game 4 (the previous game) by scoring 40 points WHILE SICK WITH THE FLU. That's a Champion. If LD is ever going to be great he has to demonstrate that when the pressure is on he can rise to the challenge. Truly great competitors actually become better under the pressure, others wilt... It wasn't that LD shot was saved, it was that he hit it so poorly. The only worse played PK of the night was Xavier and he's a defender (shooting #6 in the shootout, he should never have been up there).
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK What is this doing in "News and Analysis"???? "A defining moment"??? Please.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK I remember when LD first came up through the ranks, he was compared to Baggio.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK so he missed a penatly. It happens, I remember it happening to another player on that pitch last night in another shoot out and no one said it was a career defining moment. He missed the penalty but put the team on his back in the second half. I pay more attention to that than to him fluffing a spot kick. That, to me says more about the player.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK You don't consider missing a PK to win a title game as stand in captain for you team a "defining moment" for him as an athlete... If you hit it, as a team leader and player, your team gets global attention because Becks gets his first "trophy" at LA, you give your team a rallying point after losing thier star Becks, and you give them something to build on to try to get their mojo back... I mean, for crying out loud, the soccer gods HANDED it to him on a silver platter - Klein hits the goal of his career to put it into extra time, the Pachuca player hits the crossbar, and there go you Landon... Team Captain... the world is watching... I promise you, if he's half the competitor he ought to be, he'll think about it for a long time. Has he had a bigger pressure moment in his career? Has he ever had to put in a PK to win a higher prize?
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK for defining club career moments for a player from that game, i submit: Vagenas' own goal.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK these are certainly fair points, but i certainly don't think we'd see this "defining moment" thread had LD converted his PK to win SL2007. people are too eager to define things that aren't successful.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK No one's questioning his effort or even talent - I think what's in question is his nerve... Karl Malone was a great player (among the greatest) and year in and year out produced, won games, scored points, one lots of close games... but when it came down to the biggest games, he often disappeared, particularly as the pressure mounted. For LD to be "great", not just good... he has to make those shots in the big games. Particularly when you go #5 for your team in the PK sequence and you are the team captain/leader.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK note, i think it's outstanding that some are already considering the SuperLiga as a higher prize than the 3 MLS Cups that Donovan's already won.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK He was quoted as saying that he usually looks at the keeper before he shoots but that he panicked this time. He freely admits that he put it in the worst possible position.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK again, decent points, but I don't think now is the time to be discussing a possible "career-defining moment" for a player who is 25 y.o.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK Personally, I think it would have been a defining moment for him HAD he been successful... but I agree that PEOPLE/FANS/MEDIA probably wouldn't have acknowledged it. Don't get me wrong, I think LD is a very good player and has great skills. I have just seen him disappear in big games against big opponents AND to see him cave on the PK just reinforce that for me. The problem was IN PART that he missed, but most telling was that lack of confidence he hit the ball with... A Jordan or Duncan or Beckham relish those moments because they define their career. Sure, you don't have to make every one of them, but you need to make most of them if you are going to be the truly great player.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK I think the SuperLiga has included better competition than the 3 MLS Cups and while those Cups are TEAM accomplishments, this was about a moment for a franchise player / team captain. FWIW, almost every SuperLiga game I saw this year has been the best games I've seen played by MLS teams this year. They have been barn burners and absolutely terrific competitive matches... HENCE, the importance of the moment - LD had the chance to beat the team that had won 3 fairly significant titles in the last year... I saw all 3 of LD's MLS Cup wins and none of them were as competitive matches as this SuperLiga final and none had an opponent as good. Heck, what's the prize money like for winning MLS Cup??
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK He's still got 1, maybe 2 more World Cups to choke in a "career-defining moment".
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK Thank you. Before 2006 nobody was talking about Donovan as a choker - in fact, he was the MLS star who most often showed up in big playoff games. Yes, he had a bad World Cup after running his mouth too much. But people talk about him now like he's a cross between Nick Anderson and the 1991 Houston Oilers. Come on.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK No. At this juncture, the defining moment in his club career is either the Liverpool-Leverkusen game in Leverkusen, or the 2nd leg of SJ-LA in 2003. Or maybe MLS Cup 2001. Or the playoff run of 2005.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK 1. Every missed PK after Vagenas' should have been a retake. The keepers were taking riDICulous liberties. 2. If he had hit it hard and low, but not absolutley perfectly, and the keeper had guessed right while 3 yards off the line, he would have saved that, too. It was a bad miss, but the Landonhate brigade is laughable. It was a pretty good PK; I've seen many, many worse ones go in. It's just a situation where the AR was letting the keepers come a mile off the line, the keeper guessed right, and it wasn't hit perfectly.
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK I purposely said "a" defining moment not "the" defining moment. All great players have a handfull of moments that define their careers, I don't see how as a 25 yr old (at the prime or your professional life) taking the 5th PK in a title game against the best opponent you've ever played in a title game for a relatively big prize is NOT a defining moment. He admitted he "panicked" - how can this not effect him if he's ever asked take a clutch PK in a big game?
Re: Landon Donovan's missed PK That is what makes this whole thread shit. He HAS risen to the challenge, many, many times. He's without doubt the best "money" player in MLS history. So he missed a PK in a big game in an iffy tournament. This wasn't Jay Heaps in last year's MLS Cup, or Dempsey against DC in 2004. You put the miss on his resume, sure, but you don't delete the whole rest of the damn resume. Unless, of course, you hate Landon because he makes you get all tingly "down there."