"Later this week, Major League Soccer is expected to complete an agreement with the German club Bayer Leverkusen that will allow forward-midfielder Landon Donovan, the top U.S. player at the World Cup, to remain with the San Jose Earthquakes. The 20-year-old Donovan scored two goals at the World Cup. " http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/2002/12/16/arena_contract_ap/ Anyone have more details?
http://espn.go.com/soccer/news/2002/1216/1477780.html last paragraph, i think it says the same thing as yours though
Just read the chat with Tommy Smyth on ESPN. Com. He said that it looks like LD will be going to BL, but as with everything, its all rumors. I take all with a grain of salt until I hear it officially from LD himself.
him staying in the usa will not help him develop at all, he will stagnate on the field... i want to see him in the BL and see what he can do it, i have no doubt he can do well but i wanna see him do it for real...
I don't know exactly how much this relates to this thread, but Bayer Leverkusen will be training in Florida during the Bundesliga's winter break. http://www.kicker.de/content/news/a...2/03&spieltag=17&spielpaarung=572307&turnier=
I'd love to hear Arena's take on this. (For the record, I'd also put myself in the "disappointed" camp after hearing this decision.)
I agree that Landon needs to go back to Bayer. Their won't be a better time for him than now to break into the first team over there with the way Leverkusen are playing.
on balance I am glad he is staying. Better for USA soccer and maybe better for Landon as well. The Bundesliga is not necessarily the best place for a very skillful player. He will have plenty of chances to go to Europe.
i've also heard from reliable sources that LD is staying in san jose...can you say: you go, landon- spin them wheels in mls! i think we've seen the last bridge burned to any future in germany, but i still think we'll see him playing in the uk, italy or spain w/in a couple years.
I posted this on anothe forum but I just got Fox Sports World a few weeks ago and have now seen a few Bundesliga games. More battle then skill. I don't think it is any more skilled than MLS but one heck of a lot rougher and tougher.
Check this link out: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/mls/2002-12-16-donovan_x.htm pretty much says that donovan is staying for at least two more years and that he's god of US soccer.....I kind of hoped he was going back to BL though
Even when he moves to Europe I think one of the other leagues will suit him better. Even Bayern are 98% battle, 2 % skill. They play some ugly ball. To be fair though, I have no idea how Leverkusen play.
Even when he moves to Europe I think one of the other leagues will suit him better. Even Bayern are 98% battle, 2 % skill. They play some ugly ball. To be fair though, I have no idea how Leverkusen play.
You are right that the German league is VERY physical and the game there is a lot about athleticism. I think that is where Landon needs to be. He can turn a defender, has wheels, sees the field well, and combines well. Landon needs to learn to finish better, get more composure, and play tougher. (And in case someone mentions that Landon has composure or that Landon is tough I'm not even talking about that. I'm talking about where a very good player can improve the most.)
I haven't seen much of them this season, but Leverkusen were an anomaly in the Bundesliga last year. They played much like a Spanish Primera club. It's probably quite telling that, at the World Cup, the three German players who were the most skilled with the ball at their feet - Ballack, Schneider, and Neuville - all played for Leverkusen at the time.
Read the papers boys........looks like he is staying here. Read the last line of the article in the USA today. LD says : "The thing I'm learning most is that my mind changes constantly," he says. "Maybe in two years, I'll want to go back to Germany. Who knows?" Remember, he is a 20 year old
donovan should go back to Germany Landon Donovan should return to Bayer Leverkusen in Germany or MLS should secure a very large transfer fee to send him elsewhere abroad. Although it is important for MLS to hold on to as many of its homegrown players as possible, it should not put the fate of an entire league on the shoulders of one player. If that player has the talent and the desire, no front office bureaucrat should prevent him from playing at the highest level possible. American players benefit from playing abroad, where the best soccer leagues are today and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. The American sports media should cast its soccer net wide enough to cover these players and leagues, and pay increasing attention to the game as a whole, both in and outside of the US. Today, American soccer fans still work very hard to keep track of their favorite players, most of whom do not play in the US. Many have followed Ronaldo and Michael Owen for years, before they may have ever known of Landon Donovan. Sure, they may be impressed by his tenacity and goal scoring prowess in MLS, but what would impress them (and me) even more is to see him in a Leverkusen shirt, battling it out against Luigi Di Biagio on a cold night in Milan. The Champions’ League is the toughest club competition in all of soccer, and when the comparison is made, MLS is a minor league. Sure, the Euro-soccer snobs may refrain from embracing MLS, but American soccer fans are not all Euro-soccer snobs. Rather, seeing a MLS guy like Landon Donovan or any “Yank Abroad”, like John O’Brien, play in Europe is a huge boost to American confidence. We do matter in the soccer world, and we are here to stay. What needs to happen next is for the American sports media to acknowledge this passion. Is it so difficult for the mainstream newspapers and sports networks to actually report on soccer abroad? Sure, one goal make may Sportscenter’s Top Ten, but is it too much to ask for a complete box score that includes a lineup, substitutions and yellow cards? Meanwhile, back on the field, huge amounts of money have been invested in the US Soccer pipeline of players. For every Landon Donovan, there is also a DaMarcus Beasley. Isn’t he worth just as much to the health of MLS? And he’s stated that he wants to play in Europe. Not to mention, many avid US Soccer supporters are already talking about next generation guys like Freddy Adu or Alecko Eskandarian. Landon Donovan may be Major League Soccer today, but he may not be tomorrow. And if he isn’t, I’m not scared. There will be 10 other guys with him on the field in Germany in 2006, so I’m looking out for them, too.
Re: donovan should go back to Germany Yet another poster who doesn't understand the difference between MLS and USSF. If you can't figure it out, we can't help you.
Re: donovan should go back to Germany Leverkusen owns the rights for Donovon, not MLS. Also, it seems like he's been around forever but we must all remember that he is still only 20. So in two years he will be 22 and will still have plenty of time and opportunities to go to Europe.
Don't know who else saw this, but yesterday CNN Headline News included in their banner headlines below the main screen that Landon was staying in MLS. That says something about the growth of soccer and his popularity.
see, many people in this thread don't realize the negative effects if all the USA guys had gone to Europe after a good World Cup. Most USA sports writers would have been ALL OVER that story! USA does well, but MLS can't even hold onto their best players!! MLS sucks, soccer will never catch on here, blah, blah.Instead , ALL the papers have stories about how MLS got this done. Story in todays Boston Globe, NY Times, etc.