Donovan outlook: not so bleak

With 2009 being a crucial year for the United States national team, Landon Donovan figures to be a busy man. He'll likely play a major role for both club and country, but just how much he's around for both remains to be seen.

MLS did not shut down when the US national team plays but was a bit more accommodating this year than in year's past.

I figured I'd take a look at how the Galaxy and US national team's schedules line up and how many Galaxy games conflict with US dates. It's actually not as bad as you may think.

Donovan should play in at least the first 10 games of the season. The US has qualifiers on March 28 and April 1 but the Galaxy have no games between March 22 and April 4.

Then, the busy summer starts. The Galaxy plays a home game on May 30, which is a Saturday. The US plays at Costa Rica on June 3 and against Honduras in Chicago on June 6 before heading out to the Confederations Cup. Donovan could play in the Galaxy's game on May 30 and then go to Costa Rica afterward, so I'll give the Galaxy that game, and that brings the tally to 11.

But Donovan probably won't be around for the Galaxy's first three games in June at least. If the US does not advance past the group stage in the Confederations Cup, he might be able to play against Houston on June 28 (US-Egypt close out the group stage on June 21). I'll say the US doesn't advance and Donovan plays in the Houston game, so 12 games with, three games without.

July is a big question mark. If Donovan does not get called up for the Gold Cup squad, then he will not miss any games in July. If he's on the team, he'll likely miss four games, provided the US reaches the final. I'm going to say that Donovan does get called up for the Gold Cup and he'll miss four games. Total - with: 12, without: seven.

He probably won't miss any of the Galaxy's five games in August. And as luck would have it, the Galaxy don't have any games that conflict with any of the Americans' last four qualifiers. So he'll probably be available for all six Galaxy's games in September and October.

Final total - with: 23, without: seven. Of course, this is just by making an educated guess.

Donovan missed 10 games in 2005, the last time the Hex was played. He stands to be around more often for the Galaxy this season.

MLSer for life

The topic of contracts is almost taboo in MLS. Length of contracts is an unknown - at least, it's not readily available. Unlike other American sports where the fact that an NFL player is in the last year of a three-year deal or some baseball player inked a four-year deal with a club, in MLS that topic is not often known. PR people never give you a straight answer if you ask (even if you ask nicely) and players themselves don't always want to share or act like they are uncertain of the length of their deal.

But Paul Oberjuerge tells us exactly how long Landon Donovan's deal is and has more information about option years.

Turns out, it won't be easy at all for Donovan to head across the pond and make his future in Europe. With the length of the deal, the financial demands MLS has for Donovan and his ever-increasing age, Donovan will probably play out his days with the Galaxy.

Day late, dollar short

I swear, I am my own worst promoter. I never did link to my PE column from Wednesday.

Well, here it is.

The definitive Donovan rundown

I linked to some stories and provided quotes about how the day went, but if you really want to know how the Landon Donovan press conference went down, about all the things that were asked and said, check out Paul Oberjuerge's blog.

Paul spent about four months in Hong Kong, but now he's back stateside and had the chance to attend the press conference and talk to Landon Donovan.

There is not a person who has the perspective Paul does when it comes to Landon Donovan. Nobody. Those of us who worked at The Sun back about 10 years ago had the chance to talk to Landon Donovan the Teenager. But Paul also talked to Landon Donovan the German-based Teenager, Landon Donovan the Youth National Team Star, Landon Donovan the Olympic Star, Landon Donovan the World Cup Standout, Landon Donovan the German League washout...

You get the point.

So aside from all the relevant quotes and information, Paul offers up some thoughts on Donovan and his return from Bayern Munich.

More Donovan coverage

Some links for other coverage from the Donovan press conference:

Larry Morgan writing for MLSnet.com included some stuff he got from his Galaxy teammates.

Nick Green on his 100 Percent Soccer blog has some more quotes from the presser.

That's it for now. I filed my PE column, which I wrote on Donovan (of course). I'll link to that in the morning. And if I come across some other stuff I'll link to it here.

UPDATE:

Here is a link to video of the press conference shot by my former blog cohort AC.

And of course how could I forget the Galaxy's blog, which has lots of video (thanks J).

Non-committal

I felt this was worthy of its own post since it deals with something a bit secondary to his return and the Galaxy and David Beckham and all that good stuff.

Landon Donovan was asked about this summer with the US national team, Confederations Cup and Gold Cup. Now, the US will have two consecutive tournaments once again as they did in 2007 and fielding the same team in both the FIFA tournament and the CONCACAF tournament will likely not be possible or an option for US coach Bob Bradley.

In 2007, Donovan was adamant about wanting to participate in the Gold Cup only and passing on Copa America. Two years later, it's not quite the same tune.

Donovan was asked whether he would prefer to play in only one tournament:

You'd have to ask Bob that. My guess is that he would keep that in mind with guys who are going to miss a lot of games. I don't necessarily have a preference but that's a question for Bob.

LD and Arena on LD

Just got back from HDC, it takes a while for me to get back home, but here I am now writing away.

Some of the notes and quotes from today's presser (and I'm going to update this more as I transcribe more):

Bruce Arena on having Landon back in tow:

It is absolutely critical to have Landon and his quality. This time around we not only expect him to do what he does on the field but we're asking him to do a little bit more and be the leader of this team and do the things off the field that are necessary to make us a good team on the field. Landon certainly wants to do that.

In Landon we have the best player in MLS. We were absolutely thrilled seeing him on the field today. sometimes you don't appreciate what Landon offers. When he stepped on the field today, he was all business, all quality, is well-respected by his teammates, demonstrated all the qualities we believe he has and will continue to have and be even better.

This is a great day for the LA Galaxy.

Landon on his return:

I'm very excited to be back. I had a good time in Germany. It was a very interesting experience for a lot of reasons, some good, some bad, a lot of learning. It made me certainly appreciate having teammates and having people that you are familiar with, comfortable with, enjoy being around. I enjoyed a lot of the players and staff in Munich but there is a feeling here... that is different. It's nice to be back.

Landon on Beckham's situation:

Like all my teammates, past teammates, future teammates, I want the best for him. he's made it very clear that he wants to be there. in that circumstance I'm happy for him. However fromt he Galaxy;'s standpoint it makes it quite difficult. I know from Bruce's standpoint he's trying to build a team and it makes it difficult now to do that because of this situation.

From David's perspective I'm happy for him. From the team's perspective it would be nice to move on now and kind of figure out what's going on now.

As long as he's committed to helping this team win and give us his all, he's still a world class player and we want him on this team.

Landon on whether or not he felt a negative vibe from his Bayern teammates:

I never got the vibe that there was an arrogant European thing there. Actually, on the contrary guys were very respectful. On the field you have to earn your respect and I learned that quickly. If you make plays and do things to help them out, then you earn their respect and they become a little more friendly, a little more nicer in the locker room and they respect you more. Those things I did relatively quickly and I was proud of that.

Landon presser

Landon Donovan will have a chance to discuss his loan deal with Bayern Munich today. The Galaxy have scheduled a press conference for this afternoon and I'll be one of the throngs of hacks out there, awaiting his every word. Okay, maybe that's a stretch but I will be in attendance.

I'll update you on what he says sometime afterward.

It's official: Donovan's back

The Galaxy announced the official return of Landon Donovan as Bayern Munich passed on Donovan after all.

With the move, the Galaxy became contenders in the Western Conference... well, contenders for a playoff spot anyway. I don't think they will be as bad as they were last season, with Donovan in tow. Without him, they would have struggled.

Donovan's stint in Germany was ultimately unsuccessful but it wasn't a failure. With Bayern, it wasn't the right fit because the club had different ideas about how to spend their millions and where to invest - they opted to spend on young players instead of a 26-year-old. That doesn't mean Donovan won't get another look, nor does it necessarily mean his desire to play abroad has lessened.

At least this loan went along as planned and wasn't a dragged-out soap opera.

Donovan update

This morning, the Press-Enterprise ran my latest column as I tried to help my PE readers catch up with Landon Donovan and his trails and travails.

A few hours later, we found out that his chance apparently has come and gone. Donovan was included on Bayern's Champions League roster but did not even make the bench for Bayern Munich's game against Sporting Lisbon.

I'd say the tone of the column would change now if I had to re-write it. I'd say I'd have a better chance of learning to speak Mandarin Chinese in two weeks than he does of staying with Bayern Munich.

At least now that's over with and we can all move on to preparing for the Galaxy's season.

Almost. There is that whole Beckham thing that's been in the news of late.

Goals needed

Landon Donovan's stay in Germany is supposed to run through March 8, and although many on this side of the situation have speculated that Donovan is all but set for a transfer, recent articles on that side of the deal have all but indicated otherwise.

Still, Donovan will have a chance to show his stuff now. Bayern Munich have five games from now until the end of Donovan's loan, and with striker Luca Toni injured, Donovan may have his opportunity to play and show his worth.

I had expected Donovan to remain in Germany and I'm still holding out hope that he does. However, in order for that to happen he must show what he can do. And that means goals. If he's not scoring, he's not staying. And if he's not playing, he's not going to have a chance of scoring much.

Bayern play Cologne today and have a Champions League fixture against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday. With Toni out, Donovan may start. Or Lukas Podolski may get the opportunity. Regardless, Donovan has to find the back of the net soon and probably often in order to win over support from the front office.

And even then, there are no guarantees that he'll stay. MLS might set the price too high.

With everything still up in the air, at least this loan isn't a soap opera.

Becks and LD

I got a late start this morning because I've been working on my PE column, which now runs every Wednesday.

I tackled the David Beckham topic, the soap opera that it is. And while I'll save the actual column until Wednesday, I did want to share a bit of it here right now.

Beckham's made it clear that he wants to stay in Italy. So too has Landon Donovan. Beckham is on loan and scheduled to return on March 9, like Donovan, but if he had his druthers Milan would be his permanent home; Munich would be Donovan's.

So, what's the difference between the two? Why is Beckham vilified while Donovan isn't?

I answered that in my column, at least what I think is the answer, but wanted to see if I'm thinking along the same lines as Galaxy/MLS fans, mostly the former.

Bayern debut

Landon Donovan made his official Bayern Munic debut on Tuesday in Bayern's German Cup match against Stuttgart. Donovan came on in the 66th minute of the match, which was already out of hand by the time he came on.

Bayern Munich won 5-1 and had scored all five of their goals by the 60th minute.

Bayern returns to Bundesliga action on Friday when they play Hamburg.

Landon continues scoring binge

Landon Donovan had two goals in Bayern Munich's latest friendly win, a 5-0 laugher over Mainz.

Here's a link to some highlights the blog No Short Corners has over there.

Anyway, I'm not going to proclaim Landon as having arrived and having overcome his past European demons and slayed them but he's at the very least showing that he deserves some playing time during Bundesliga play.

Donovan's goal

Check it out. No Short Corners has a video of Landon Donovan's most recent goal for Bayern Munich over the weekend. It's a nice goal, really.

Donovan's goal was his second for Bayern Munich. This latest one was against Kaiserslautern in a friendly, a 2-0 win for Bayern.

Local guys look for success

For me weekly PE column, I wanted to take a look at four of our local guys - and by "our" I mean guys who were either born in or have a connection with Riverside/San Bernardino counties. There are a handful of players from the area that I follow but I only had room for four.

Landon Donovan is a local guy, which is great because he is such a high-profile player. Chad Marshall, Maurice Edu and Ante Razov are three others from the area that I try and keep tabs on.

Anyway, the first three could play key roles for the US national team this year. Marshall probably has the biggest upside of the trio while Edu has the experience necessary to take the next step. Landon's only question will be: how many of the US games will he play in this year?

Year in preview

I don't have a crystal ball but that doesn't mean I can't make predictions. I made five predictions for SI.com on what 2009 will bring.

What do I foresee? An historic road win for the US, massive failures for a pair of strong national teams and no MLS action for one superstar.

The Landon fallout

When I talked to Landon Donovan after the season ended about the possibility of going to Europe, I specifically asked him if he thought he had something to prove and if that was a reason behind his desire to go try his luck in the Old World again.

He said no, flat out, he didn't need to prove himself to anyone.

I'm not sure it's that straightforward, though. Landon is a polarizing figure, which is perplexing. He's the best American soccer player ever. I don't think you.... no, I know you can't argue that. His accolades and statistics and accomplishments speak for themselves. But I would venture to guess that he isn't, I don't know, in the top three of most popular American soccer players. Tough to say. He may be, although Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Jozy Altidore have huge followings as well.

But that may be the difference right there. Dempsey and Howard long ago left MLS for good, haven't returned and haven't mentioned a desire to return. Altidore's popularity is fueled by his potential; that he's now on a Spanish club team has only fed into that.

Donovan's time in Europe didn't work out. He came here to MLS, tore it up and many wondered why he couldn't do the same in Europe, where it supposedly really counts.

So now Donovan is back on his way. And he needs to prove himself. Now, here's where the thoughts may differ. Paul Oberjuerge wrote a piece on his blog about Landon's return to Europe and how he feels it's fueled precisely by the constant insults and jeers he gets from the same American soccer fans who massively cheered his goals in the 2002 World Cup, the same American soccer fans who would plug him into their preferred U.S. lineup, the same American soccer fans who have cheered after scoring each of his record 37 U.S. goals, and yes the same fans who were disappointed in his performance in the 2006 World Cup.

I tend to think that Landon is tired of many things; the league, the Galaxy, maybe the relative routine his life has settled into, maybe the long MLS offseason, and the insults and jeers as well. But I do think he has to prove himself. I think he has to prove to himself that he can hack it, that he can succeed at the highest club level possible.

Anyway, check out Paul's post. He includes his dream scenario for this entire Donovan-to-Bayern situation.

Landon back to Germany

Three of the top figures in MLS are leaving the league on short loan spells. First, it was David Beckham going off to Italy and AC Milan. Then, it was Cuauhtemoc Blanco shipping off as Santos' hired gun in the Apertura 2008 playoffs (which begin Saturday). Now, it's Landon Donovan who will head over to Germany.

Donovan turned his 10-day trial with Bayern Munich into a two month loan, which I'd imagine would come with a chance at being sold to the Germany giants if he proves his worth. A full transfer would not be out of the question as Donovan has a huge supporter in Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who last week called Donovan the premier player in CONCACAF.

This may be the beginning of the end of Donovan's days in MLS, at least for the short term. He'd always have a home here in this league no matter how much time he spends in Europe. But now is when the timing is best and when his stock is the highest. The Galaxy and MLS stand to make quite a bit of cash if Donovan does prove his worth and Bayern does want to purchase him outright. Bayern, after all, isn't exactly hurting for funds.

It may seem a bit strange that Donovan would be so adamant about going over to Europe in a rather quick amount of time. Now, he did say before that he'd like to try his fate in Europe again but that seemed to be more a pat answer without much sentiment behind it. But his thoughts and emotions seemed to turn towards Europe at a fast rate during the 2008 season. Perhaps after Jurgen Klinsmann showed interest in Donovan over the summer, the thought became more concrete and he really started to think seriously about it. Or maybe he really did mean what he said all along.

I have my guesses as do other reporters but nobody outside of Donovan's inner circle really knows what makes him tick, what motivates him. And as far as reporters go, there's only one reporter who came close to breaking into that inner circle, well, as much as a scribe can really break into it I suppose. My former editor Paul Oberjuerge knows Donovan the best. I don't care who else has covered Donovan or who else he's talked to over the years, Paul O has everyone beat. Problem is, Paul wasn't covering soccer regularly or even semi-regularly this year. Then he was a victim of a layoff. Now, he's living in Hong Kong. Crazy story, I know.

Anyway, Paul has quite an insightful post on Landon Donovan on his blog and I think anyone who is a fan of Landon, the Galaxy or the US national team should read it.

As far as the move goes, I think it's a positive move. I hope Donovan goes over to Germany and stays there. It goes without saying that Bayern and the Bundesliga is a top-notch environment for him and I think he can still improve both personally and professionally. And I respect his decision to continue to try and test himself.

Do I think it will happen? Actually, if I had to make a bet right now, I'd say he does not come back to MLS. If you heard the audio of our six-minute chat, you can hear his desire to move on in his voice. He seems disgruntled with MLS as a whole and I think he would welcome a chance to move abroad.

Donovan tales

Hadn't gotten around to posting links to these stories. With the MLS playoffs in high gear, I was distracted from the Landon Donovan story.

Andrea Canales has a pair of stories regarding Landon Donovan's possible move to Europe. He's been training with Bayern Munich and a move there would be grand for Donovan. He's got an in with FC Bayern as Jurgen Klinsmann, a former Galaxy technical advisor.

Anyway, here's a story Canales wrote on Landon in which she talked to US national team coach Bob Bradley. As usual, Bradley doesn't exactly take a side on whether he thinks the move is good or bad, just calls it a challenge.

Also, Canales talked to Eric Wynalda about Landon's possible move to Europe.