FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile

In 1999, a 17-year-old Landon Donovan picked up the Golden Ball for best player at the FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand, and soon afterwards he earned his first call-up to a United States national team training camp.

Although he did not make his senior international debut until the next year, the precocious withdrawn striker, blessed with an ability to press forward and get goals, soon established himself as the most talented and technically gifted American player of his generation.

With close control, explosive pace and superior vision, he earned himself a place in Bruce Arena’s squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ in Korea/Japan where, at barely 20 years of age, he played a significant role in the USA’s run to the quarter-finals. Roaming between the midfield and forward lines, he scored twice in a successful campaign for the Americans, against Poland in the first round and Mexico in their memorable second-round triumph.

While Donovan enjoyed a meteoric rise with the national team, he has experienced mixed fortunes in his club career. He became one of the youngest American players in history to sign a professional contract with an overseas club when agreeing to join with German club Bayer Leverkusen in 1999.

However, the long-term deal proved too much pressure too soon for the youngster already being labelled the future of American football. After a season with Leverkusen’s second team, Donovan was sent back across the Atlantic to MLS outfit San Jose Earthquakes in a loan deal to allow him to gain more experience in the familiar surroundings of his home state of California.

In his first season back, he led the previously flagging Earthquakes to their first MLS championship in 2001 while simultaneously making good on his young promise by becoming a regular fixture in Arena’s US team during the qualifying campaign for Korea/Japan.

Before the finals in the Far East, Donovan underlined his youthful confidence when he said: “Our young players have developed at an incredible rate over the past couple of years. I think we are ready for international competition, maybe more ready than ever.” In the end his bravado proved justified and Donovan’s performances earned him many admirers worldwide.

Donovan subsequently inspired San Jose to a second MLS title in 2003, when he was voted the league’s best player, and his success prompted Leverkusen to call him back in 2004 for one more try at the European big time. But vocal about his desire to play in the States and his unhappiness in Germany, his stay lasted only three months before he returned home to sign for Los Angeles Galaxy on a new contract that made him the highest-paid player in the American league.

The three-time American Footballer of the Year did not disappoint the fans in the City of Angels as he led the side to an MLS crown in 2005. “He’s rekindled his desire to be a real player, and I think he’s positioning himself to have a great World Cup,” national coach Bruce Arena said of Donovan’s outstanding form for his new club.

Returning to Germany for the FIFA World Cup, Donovan will no doubt be desperate to display his worth in a country where he suffered his most significant growing pains. But unlike 2002 in East Asia, he is no longer the young pup but one of the leaders of the US team at the ripe old age of 24.

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