77 Facts About Landon Donovan

Landon Timothy Donovan was born on March 4,1982 and is an American former professional soccer player.

Landon Donovan was voted as the best US soccer player of all time by a poll conducted by ESPN, along with Major League Soccer having ranked Donovan as the greatest American soccer player of all time.

In 2005, after six years with Leverkusen, the majority of which were spent on loan with the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS, Landon Donovan moved back to the United States permanently to sign with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Landon Donovan later returned to Germany for a loan with Bayern Munich, and twice went on short loans to English Premier League club Everton in 2010 and 2012.

Landon Donovan retired as a player in 2014, but made a brief comeback with LA Galaxy late in the 2016 season and then in 2018 to play for Club Leon.

Landon Donovan further played one season with the San Diego Sockers of the Major Arena Soccer League.

In MLS, Landon Donovan won a record six MLS Cups and is the league's all-time assists leader with 136.

Landon Donovan is a four-time winner of the US Soccer Athlete of the Year award, as well as the only seven-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year award.

Landon Donovan starred in the US team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup where he received the Best Young Player Award.

Landon Timothy Donovan was born on March 4,1982, in Ontario, California, to Donna Kenney-Cash, an American special education teacher, and Tim Donovan, a semi-professional ice hockey player originally from Canada.

Landon Donovan's parents are both of Irish descent, and he holds Canadian citizenship by way of his father.

Landon Donovan's mother raised Landon and his siblings in Redlands, California, and he attended Redlands East Valley High School when not engaged in soccer activities elsewhere.

Landon Donovan first played soccer with his older brother and when Landon Donovan was six, his mother allowed him to join an organized league, where he scored seven goals in his first match.

In 1999 Landon Donovan attended the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, with other members of the U-17 national team as part of US Soccer's youth development program.

Landon Donovan was a member of the inaugural class of the US Soccer youth residency program in Bradenton, Florida.

Landon Donovan was named Player of the Tournament for his role in the United States under-17 squad that finished fourth in the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship before signing with German club Bayer Leverkusen later that year.

Later in 1999, Landon Donovan signed a six-year contract for German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, whose sporting director Michael Reschke spotted him at a youth tournament in Europe.

Landon Donovan played in a German Cup match for the reserve team.

Unhappy with his situation with Leverkusen, Landon Donovan was loaned to the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer for the 2001 season.

In MLS, Landon Donovan had immediate success, leading the Earthquakes to MLS Cup championships in 2001 and 2003 and becoming one of the only recognizable faces of soccer in the United States.

Landon Donovan was named US Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2003.

In 2004, Landon Donovan became the first man to be named the US Soccer Athlete of the Year three years in a row before returning to the Bayer Leverkusen first team in January 2005.

LA Galaxy, his hometown team, were able to trade leading scorer Carlos Ruiz to FC Dallas to get on top of the MLS allocation order as Landon Donovan prepared to leave Germany.

Landon Donovan signed a multi-year contract with LA Galaxy, making him the highest-paid American player in the league.

Landon Donovan was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI after the season.

Landon Donovan scored a goal in every match except for the final.

At this point in his career, Landon Donovan had 84 all-time regular season goals putting him in seventh place on the league's all-time scoring list.

In July 2009, Landon Donovan received praise and criticism for his critical comments about Beckham in Sports Illustrated journalist Grant Wahl's book The Beckham Experiment, calling Beckham a poor captain and teammate.

Landon Donovan later apologized to Beckham for discussing his concerns to a reporter rather than to him directly.

In that campaign, Landon Donovan scored 7 goals and a team-high 16 assists.

In October 2012, Landon Donovan expressed his desire to take a break from his professional soccer career, citing physical and mental exhaustion as the main reasons.

Landon Donovan returned to training with LA Galaxy on March 25,2013, and made his season debut five days later against Toronto FC, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute.

Landon Donovan scored two goals against Chivas USA, tying him with Jeff Cunningham together as the top MLS goalscorer with 134 goals.

On May 25,2014, Landon Donovan scored twice against the Philadelphia Union to break Cunningham's record of 134, making Landon Donovan MLS's All-Time leading goalscorer with 136 goals.

In November 2008, Landon Donovan trained with Bayern Munich, before joining the German club on loan until the start of the 2009 MLS season in mid-March.

Everton were keen on extending his loan deal, but LA Galaxy refused, and Landon Donovan returned to the US in time for the start of the 2010 MLS season.

An agreement was reached in December 2011 for Landon Donovan to spend another two months at Everton beginning in January 2012.

On September 8,2016, Landon Donovan announced his return from retirement and officially signed with LA Galaxy for the remainder of the 2016 season.

Landon Donovan explained that the injuries sustained by the club late in the season led to his decision to return:.

On September 11,2016, Landon Donovan entered the match against Orlando City as a substitute on the 83rd minute.

Landon Donovan scored a goal in his second match after returning to LA Galaxy.

Altogether, Landon Donovan played in all six remaining matches of the 2016 regular season, as well as in all three play-off matches.

Landon Donovan started in five of them and scored one goal.

On January 12,2018, Landon Donovan signed with Liga MX team Club Leon, having returned from retirement for a second time.

Landon Donovan scored his first goal for the club on March 24,2018, in a friendly against his former team, the San Jose Earthquakes On June 17,2018, Club Leon announced they had decided to terminate Donovan's contract early.

On January 24,2019, Landon Donovan signed with the San Diego Sockers in the Major Arena Soccer League.

Landon Donovan was a member of the inaugural class at US Soccer's full-time residency program for the under-17 national team at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Landon Donovan represented the United States at the 1999 Pan American Games.

Lee collided head to side with Landon Donovan which resulted in Lee being paralyzed after sustaining neck and spine injuries, while Landon Donovan had fractured ribs.

Landon Donovan was a member of the US squad at the 2006 World Cup, in which the Americans were eliminated in the group stage.

On January 19,2008, Landon Donovan scored his 35th international goal, a penalty against Sweden, and passed Eric Wynalda as the United States' all-time leading goal scorer.

Landon Donovan captained the US in the group stage of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup due to Carlos Bocanegra's injury absence.

Landon Donovan played every minute of the US campaign at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

However, Landon Donovan was re-called to the national team for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup to be played in July.

Landon Donovan started every match of the tournament for the United States.

In May 2014, Landon Donovan was named in the preliminary squad for the 2014 World Cup and joined the team in training camp.

On October 10,2014, Landon Donovan played his 157th and final match for the United States in a friendly against Ecuador in East Hartford, Connecticut.

Landon Donovan was a versatile attacker known for his pace and stamina as well as intelligence and technical skill, allowing him to play at various forward and midfield positions at different points of his career.

Particularly in the early parts of his career, Landon Donovan played as a withdrawn striker and was most noted for his quickness and goalscoring ability.

Landon Donovan provided capable delivery on set pieces and served as first-choice penalty taker for club and country for much of his career.

In July 2015, it was announced Landon Donovan had been appointed as head coach for a team consisting of young MLS players for the 2015 MLS Homegrown Game.

Landon Donovan selected and coached the team a second time in the 2016 edition of the event.

On November 14,2019, Landon Donovan was named the inaugural manager of the San Diego Loyal, a team that he helped co-found and was the vice president of soccer operations.

Landon Donovan brought on former coach Paul Buckle and former United States women's national soccer team player Shannon MacMillan as senior advisors to his staff.

Landon Donovan noted that he wanted a staff with experienced coaches because they could aid him with the day-to-day responsibilities with a coaching role that he was unfamiliar with.

On December 2,2022, Landon Donovan was elevated to full-time Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations for Loyal.

Warren Smith will be the president, while Landon Donovan will be the executive vice president of soccer operations and head coach of the new club.

On 17 June 2021, it was announced that Landon Donovan would be joining Lincoln City as a Strategic Advisor, working with the Board, Chief Executive Liam Scully and Director of Football Jez George to enhance the club's network and relationships, particularly within North America.

Landon Donovan married actress Bianca Kajlich on December 31,2006; the couple separated in July 2009, and Landon Donovan filed for divorce in December 2010.

Landon Donovan has spoken publicly about dealing with depression throughout his life and career, and has criticized the professional sports world for its approach to mental health issues.

Since joining the Galaxy, Landon Donovan has resided in Manhattan Beach, California.

Landon Donovan speaks fluent Spanish, which he learned both in school and through playing in Hispanic clubs and leagues while growing up in California.

Landon Donovan speaks German as a result of his time spent in Germany.

Landon Donovan was featured on the North American covers of the FIFA 11 and FIFA 12 video games.

In 2016, Landon Donovan became a part owner of Welsh football club Swansea City, joining several other Americans in an investment group that has a majority stake in the club.

Landon Donovan revealed during the 2018 FIFA World Cup that he was a fan of fierce rival Mexico in the absence of the United States national team, having been sponsored to do so by Wells Fargo.

Landon Donovan was widely criticized, including from his former international teammate Carlos Bocanegra, who Donovan responded back that he should "remember where you came from" in reference to Bocanegra's Mexican heritage.