About that Landon Donovan rumor...
3 Comments Published by Cardillo on September 24, 2008 at 1:12 PM.
Let's not beat around the bush. This thing about Landon Donovan moving to Bavarian titans Bayern Munich has been floating around the Inter-nets for a couple weeks. It gained steam a couple days ago in an ESPN.com story where Donovan basically said he wants to move to Germany, or someplace in Europe to give it another crack after two colossal failures at Bayer Leverkausen where he initially signed as a 16 year old ten years ago.
For whatever the reason this made me think of HBO's failing, well it's not a sitcom and it's not a drama, "Entourage" with Donovan, despite the receding hairline, playing the role of Vinny Chase. (If you don't watch the show just skip ahead a couple graphs.)
If you follow the arc of the show, basically Chase is a guy in Hollywood that for the first few seasons didn't give, for lack of a better word, fuck. He was the "pretty face" who made got by on his looks and according to the show's methos eventually starred in "Aquaman" -- the highest grossing film of all time. All Chase wanted to do was smoke pot with Turtle and shag high class tail. The world was his oyster until screwing up big time with the disastrous 'Medellin' vanity project. In the current season the only job Chase can get is being a guest at a Super Sweet Sixteen party.
It also doesn't hurt the comparison that both 'Entourage' and Donovan are so inter-connected to SoCal. Then again, Donovan doesn't have a less-talented, older, brother toiling away in the USL like Johnny Drama, so it's not a perfect comparison.
For Donovan, it seems he too has lived a moderately charmed life since bursting onto the U.S. soccer scene. He's always been the poster boy of the USMNT and represented a new era of hope with a breakout showing at the 2002 World Cup, his "Aquaman" as it were.
Meanwhile as Donovan has been hyped as the best the U.S. has to offer, he flamed out twice at Bayer Leverkausen, including a famously awful showing in the 2005 Champions League against Liverpool -- his own 'Medellin.' That caused Donovan to slink back to the warm, non-judgmental bosom of MLS where he's been the league's best player over the last four seasons. (The 2006 could have been called Donovan's "Silo", though Billy Walsh never produced that fictional piece.)
Now, like Chase, seemingly chaffing at the criticisms of his nonchalant attitude Donovan wants to prove that he's tough enough for the rigors of European football with Bayern Munich in January. You'd assume by the end of this run of 'Entourage' that Vinny Chase will be back in the game. Donovan's like isn't scripted so anything is possible in the next three months.
"Entourage" comparisons aside, this move seems rather odd because even if part-time SoCal dude Jurgen Klinsmann is a fan of Donovan it seems very unlikely he'd be able to crack the Bayern starting XI. Lukas Podolski can't even do it, and he's a younger, faster, stronger version of Donovan. (Hell, Clint Dempsey has faded to the fringes of Fulham, for what it's worth.)
The idea of Donovan going to Europe is good, but perhaps five years too late. This is a guy, after all, who said that all he did at his first stint at Leverkausen was play video games at his house. That's understandable since he was young and in a new country, yet hundreds of foreign players stake out for Europe and try to make their way every year. Good players and even some great players can skate by on their talent alone, but the transcendent players have that inner fire that drives them to be the best they can be.
It's definitely a tough decision for Donovan. He's done everything he can at in MLS and is a clear notch above most players in the league. Yet when he goes to Europe, his raw talent won't set him that far above everyone else. And at 26 years old, how much better can he possibly get with the fabled "European Training" methods? He does have a ton of mileage on his legs already, so he maybe has 3-4 top seasons unless he reforms and refines his game. (At the very least he can refine his set piece delivery.)
The best move for Donovan might have been to do something like Bobby Convey (remember him) and go to a team in the English League Championship, trying to work himself into that team's set up and try to gain promotion or catch the eye of a Premier League team. That ship has sailed, though, so Donovan will end up on the fringes of Bayern or some other established team, where the fans might be happy to read the initial headlines that he's the USMNT's all-time leading scorer. He might be effective as a quick-legged substitute in the final 20 minutes of a match.
Still, as a fan of the USMNT it's good to see that Donovan is finally showing a little guts, instead of his typical California cool. Maybe he really does want to get better and be ready to lead at South Africa 2010. Perhaps all the whispers and jeers that he's a washout and a baby finally caught up with him. Who knows, maybe a guy toiling away in the lesser leagues of Europe like Danny Califf called him out.
Bottom line, it's good to see that the light blub has finally gone off for Donovan. Too bad, like Chase, it took him so long to figure it out.
For whatever the reason this made me think of HBO's failing, well it's not a sitcom and it's not a drama, "Entourage" with Donovan, despite the receding hairline, playing the role of Vinny Chase. (If you don't watch the show just skip ahead a couple graphs.)
If you follow the arc of the show, basically Chase is a guy in Hollywood that for the first few seasons didn't give, for lack of a better word, fuck. He was the "pretty face" who made got by on his looks and according to the show's methos eventually starred in "Aquaman" -- the highest grossing film of all time. All Chase wanted to do was smoke pot with Turtle and shag high class tail. The world was his oyster until screwing up big time with the disastrous 'Medellin' vanity project. In the current season the only job Chase can get is being a guest at a Super Sweet Sixteen party.
It also doesn't hurt the comparison that both 'Entourage' and Donovan are so inter-connected to SoCal. Then again, Donovan doesn't have a less-talented, older, brother toiling away in the USL like Johnny Drama, so it's not a perfect comparison.
For Donovan, it seems he too has lived a moderately charmed life since bursting onto the U.S. soccer scene. He's always been the poster boy of the USMNT and represented a new era of hope with a breakout showing at the 2002 World Cup, his "Aquaman" as it were.
Meanwhile as Donovan has been hyped as the best the U.S. has to offer, he flamed out twice at Bayer Leverkausen, including a famously awful showing in the 2005 Champions League against Liverpool -- his own 'Medellin.' That caused Donovan to slink back to the warm, non-judgmental bosom of MLS where he's been the league's best player over the last four seasons. (The 2006 could have been called Donovan's "Silo", though Billy Walsh never produced that fictional piece.)
Now, like Chase, seemingly chaffing at the criticisms of his nonchalant attitude Donovan wants to prove that he's tough enough for the rigors of European football with Bayern Munich in January. You'd assume by the end of this run of 'Entourage' that Vinny Chase will be back in the game. Donovan's like isn't scripted so anything is possible in the next three months.
"Entourage" comparisons aside, this move seems rather odd because even if part-time SoCal dude Jurgen Klinsmann is a fan of Donovan it seems very unlikely he'd be able to crack the Bayern starting XI. Lukas Podolski can't even do it, and he's a younger, faster, stronger version of Donovan. (Hell, Clint Dempsey has faded to the fringes of Fulham, for what it's worth.)
The idea of Donovan going to Europe is good, but perhaps five years too late. This is a guy, after all, who said that all he did at his first stint at Leverkausen was play video games at his house. That's understandable since he was young and in a new country, yet hundreds of foreign players stake out for Europe and try to make their way every year. Good players and even some great players can skate by on their talent alone, but the transcendent players have that inner fire that drives them to be the best they can be.
It's definitely a tough decision for Donovan. He's done everything he can at in MLS and is a clear notch above most players in the league. Yet when he goes to Europe, his raw talent won't set him that far above everyone else. And at 26 years old, how much better can he possibly get with the fabled "European Training" methods? He does have a ton of mileage on his legs already, so he maybe has 3-4 top seasons unless he reforms and refines his game. (At the very least he can refine his set piece delivery.)
The best move for Donovan might have been to do something like Bobby Convey (remember him) and go to a team in the English League Championship, trying to work himself into that team's set up and try to gain promotion or catch the eye of a Premier League team. That ship has sailed, though, so Donovan will end up on the fringes of Bayern or some other established team, where the fans might be happy to read the initial headlines that he's the USMNT's all-time leading scorer. He might be effective as a quick-legged substitute in the final 20 minutes of a match.
Still, as a fan of the USMNT it's good to see that Donovan is finally showing a little guts, instead of his typical California cool. Maybe he really does want to get better and be ready to lead at South Africa 2010. Perhaps all the whispers and jeers that he's a washout and a baby finally caught up with him. Who knows, maybe a guy toiling away in the lesser leagues of Europe like Danny Califf called him out.
Bottom line, it's good to see that the light blub has finally gone off for Donovan. Too bad, like Chase, it took him so long to figure it out.
Labels: LA Galaxy, Landon Donovan, MLS, Soccer, USMNT
The attitude before with Leverkausen was that he was going to do great, and USMNT fans were really sour when he didn't. It was almost became a taboo subject. Afterall, our greatest field player failed on a marquee European stage BIG time. This time I think everyone expects him to fail, instead, so maybe he can reverse that perception.
The truth is he has to make this move, even if he fails. He still is the best we have produced, and if he never does it we will never know. Think of the arguments at the end of his career if that elephant in the room (Europe) isn't taken care of. He is playing the best of his career and really has no choice now with all the press this move has made. I wish him all the best, but not too optimistic.
OK, Cardillo. Do I really need to remind you to pick against Newcastle this weekend?
Just watchin' yer back.
What happened in Germany anyways? He just didn't gel? Too slow? Never seen a game with him overseas.