At age 23, life already has been a whirlwind adventure for Landon Donovan. The winner of two MLS Cups with the San Jose Earthquakes and a key member of the U.S. national soccer team, Donovan is also one of the youngest U.S. players to sign a contract to play overseas. When a second consecutive European experience soured, Donovan returned to the States as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy; before Sunday’s game against the Rapids at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., the star forward chatted about his career and his legacy, among a number of other topics.
Anthony Cotton: So you’re settling into life in L.A.?
Landon Donovan: Settling into something of a normal life, which seems not that exciting but is awesome for me.
AC: I guess that’s a good thing for you after the last couple of years.
LD: Some people are suited for that, but for me, it’s just nice to know where I’ll be and the course my life is taking.
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AC: I’m guessing that a year ago, maybe a little more, you couldn’t have envisioned being with the Galaxy.
LD: I couldn’t have envisioned it two months ago, to be honest. It was a thing where I absolutely hoped and prayed that I’d come here, but clearly it was something that I wanted to do at some point in my career – to come back home, to be close to my girlfriend and close to my family. And to have it happen that quickly, I don’t know, I’m still amazed at how it came about.
AC: I guess part of it was because things weren’t so great in Germany, would that be accurate
to say?
LD: Yeah. It wasn’t so bad, but it wasn’t for me. Unfortunately, I had something of a bad experience last time and I didn’t want to go down that road again. I’m at a point now, where I want to live the life I want to lead. Fortunately I’m able to do that.
AC: I saw a World Cup qualifier story on the FIFA website that said you were returning to MLS after “another failed attempt at playing overseas.” It was kind of harsh on you.
LD: That’s OK. Nobody really knows the idiosyncrasies or the day-to-day things that really go on. From an outsider’s perspective, it looks that way, and that’s fine. The fact of the matter is that I’m home and I’m happy, and I’m doing what I want to do.
AC: Wasn’t there a point when it was thought that to prove yourself as a world-class player you had to go overseas?
LD: That’s what people think, but I’m hoping that we’ve proven, especially with the last World Cup, that that’s not a necessity. Granted, people around the world may not ever look at people who stay in MLS as world-class players, but I’ve been around and seen enough players to know that there’s many guys in this league who could play anywhere around the world and be successful, or play against anyone in the world and be successful. To be able to do that, and to be able to be at home and promote something you believe in is something most people should try to do.
AC: It has to be an uphill fight. When you joined the Galaxy, you said you wanted soccer to become the No. 2 sport in the U.S. – how do you do that?
LD: People have to remember that it takes time, first of all. Fortunately, we have good people in our business and in our industry. The players that you see are not what you see in other sports, where it’s gotten out of control with a plethora of different things, the bad things their people do. Eventually people will get to a point where they’re sick of it – we start off on the right foot because we don’t have those problems. And people can relate to us – we’re people just like everyone else. And you don’t have that with a lot of other sports.
AC: Why was it soccer for you, and not baseball or basketball or whatever?
LD: My older brother played when I was younger; I don’t know, I couldn’t tell you. My mom just put me in it; I played baseball, I think, one year when I was younger, but it was just my love, what I always wanted to do. I guess I was fortunate to find that the one sport I loved was the one I was best at.
AC: So that means you had the original “soccer mom?”
LD: Oh yeah! Absolutely, to a T. She did whatever it took – and that’s what soccer moms do. You don’t ever do that thinking some day your son is going to grow up to be a professional, she just did it because she knew I loved it.
AC: You had all the time with San Jose; is it weird to be playing for one of its biggest rivals?
LD: It is, and the only thing that’s going to help that go away is time. I’m sure the first few times we play it’s going to be weird for me, for them, for the fans – it’s just different. But over time, I’m not worried about it; things happen like that in sports, you just move on.
AC: You didn’t necessarily have a choice about it – L.A. acquired you.
LD: At some point, if I had said “I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be there – I’m not leaving here because I don’t want to be in a certain place,” they would have had to take that into consideration, but it worked out that L.A. wanted me here and I wanted to be here. What it boils down to is that you only get so many opportunities for something like this to happen, and if I had gone back to San Jose, or gone back to Dallas, which had the next allocation, you never know. They may have said, “We’re never trading you for the next 10 years.” Then I maybe wouldn’t have been able to go home ever, until after my career. So when this came about it was an easy choice, something I had to do.
AC: When you speak of your legacy in the game, what do you envision that being?
LD: People already forget about the ones before us. We’re trying to take soccer to the next level, but soccer was nothing 10, 15 years ago. I don’t know if they think about it, but they’re the ones who put soccer out there, at least got it in people’s minds. We’re just trying to make it a sport that the public loves. They created the real first legacy – it would almost be doing them an injustice if we didn’t continue and help soccer get to the next level it needs to get to.
AC: Is it strange to be only 23 and regarded as such a leader on the U.S. national team?
LD: Yes, from an age standpoint, but when I think about it, I’ve been part of that team for quite some time, and I have quite a few caps like some other guys. And really, for me, at times, that team lacks leadership, and I feel like I’m someone who can help do that. Bruce (U.S. coach Arena) has challenged, not only myself, but a lot of guys to step up more and be leaders, and I think when we all play with that in mind I think we’re a much better team.
AC: Is it hard wearing the two hats? Looking at the schedule, you have a World Cup qualifier (June 4) the same night the Galaxy is playing an MLS match.
LD: It’s different and it’s a challenge. When you first come in with the national team, it’s very strange. More than anything, the physical part, or how your opponent is going to play, doesn’t really matter – the most important thing is jelling with your teammates in two or three days. You’re getting guys you battle against every weekend, and now they’re on your team. It’s a whole different dynamic and that’s really the key to being successful with this team – jelling right away. It’s something that I, that we all have learned to do quite well over the years.
AC: So in the end, will the U.S. team be in the World Cup?
LD: I would say yes. You never know – you never, ever know – but if we didn’t, it would be disgraceful, really.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or at acotton@denverpost.com.
