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Morning Ticker: Donovan training with Bayern, more MLS awards and Howard set to be honored

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                                                Photo by ISIphotos.com

In what could be a prelude to a loan move and potentially a full transfer, Landon Donovan is in Germany preparing to begin a week-long training stint with Bayern Munich.

Donovan could wind up joining Bayern as replacement for out-of-favor German striker Lukas Podolski, who appears on his way out. Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness stated that Podolski wouldn’t leave unless the team could find a suitable replacement. With Juergen Klinsmann being a fan of Donovan, the U.S. national team star just might be that replacement.

Here are some other stories to get your day started:

MLS announces more awards

Columbus Crew head coach Sigi Schmid and San Jose midfielder Darren Huckerby are expected to be   were announced as winners of Major League Soccer’s two latest awards today as the league is named Schmid coach of the year and Huckerby newcomer of the year.

Schmid helped guide the Crew to the best record in MLS just a year after the club failed to reach the playoffs. Huckerby joined the Earthquakes in mid-season and helped the expansion club make a late-season playoff surge, posting six goals and four assists in 14 games. Houston head coach Dom Kinnear and San Jose head coach Frank Yallop were the other coach of the year candidates while KC midfielder Claudio Lopez and FC Dallas midfielder Andres Rocha were the other newcomer of the year candidates.

Howard expected to win Honda Award

The Honda Player of the Year award given to the U.S. national team’s best player will be given out on Tuesday and goalkeeper Tim Howard is considered the heavy favorite to take home the prize for the first time.

Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are also finalists, but Howard was easily the best player on the U.S. team in 2008, posting five shutouts in eight starts and allowing just three goals in 630 minutes of action.

U.S. Soccer taking nominations for ‘Best of’ series

U.S. soccer is acception nominations for its annual ‘Best of’ awards, which honor the best soccer bar, specialty store, blog, all-access video and fan photo.

Nominations close on Friday, with voting for the awards beginning on Nov. 17 and running through Dec. 9. You can send nominations to centercircle@ussoccer.org.

What do you think of Donovan’s training stint with Bayern Munich? Do you see him joining Klinsmann at Bayern? Expect to see any surprises in the MLS awards or the Honda award? Any early suggestions for the U.S. Soccer Best Of Awards?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. few people are asking why bayern would even want to sign landon to start with. clearly he’s not ribery, toni, klose, podolski, ze roberto, etc. nor does he ever figure to be. let’s face it, he cannot play at their level for sure at the wings, can’t really control the middle of the pitch, and will be too small as a forward. so, why for bayern? he’s an american, and as much as we doubt his ability to play there ourselves – the constant american skepticism makes for a far cheaper transfer than an equivalent european-based player. and he is at least serviceable in a number of positions and still only 26 years old with a lot of experience.

    why would landon go there? perhaps because this is his last chance to prove he can at least fit in at a big club and exorcise some of his demons. besides, they’d figure to pay him twice as much with half the responsibility. but at least with beckham in his offense in l.a., he’s surely outgrown mls.

    or this could be a publicity stunt to start generating interest for a smaller club… very similar to the way the adu machine played up hype on the big clubs after freddy for years to keep him relevant.

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  2. Landon is a talented player, it is great that Bayern is giving him a shot, and I wish him well. But to tout him as a potential replacement for Podolski is a mistake. Podolski is a class above Landon at this point, though Landon is still young enough to change that fact.

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  3. some of you may be interested in the German press’s take on Landon:

    Kicker had a video article on him. Tone was matter of fact, pointing out that two previous stints didn’t provide a break through, and yet he has scored 20 goals for LA. They see him as a replacement for Podolski. (Nothing new here)

    Sportbild.de had a photogalerie, chronicling his carreer from Leverkusen to the present day. http://www.sportbild.de/slideshow/fussball/20081112/11576/photo_1.htm

    Various drive-by articles proclaimed (with apologies to Ives) that he is the reigning US footballer of the Year, that Klinsmann thinks he is a “good guy, a very good player, and a high profile celebrity of US Soccer.” They say Klinsmann may secure the transfer of Landon, who is a “known entity” in the Bundesliga.

    Many reports talk about what we would consider the highs and lows, but none are sarcastic or cynical, just matter of fact. Actually, all things considered, perhaps lean to the positive side. There is no question of “is he capable.” There is an implied faith in Klinsmann’s judgment and Donovans accomplishments on multiple levels.

    Arshavin is still seen as a potential transfer, but who is wooed by Real Madrid. Anatoly Tymoschuk, his teammate, might come to replace van Bommel who is desired by Schalke. Pavel Prgrebnijak is also rumored to be a Podolski replaement.

    Landon is referred to in the Allgemeine Paper as a “potent striker.”

    Fact that may only interest me: Rumenigge referred to 1860 Munich as a team that was mentioned as early as the Old Testament times when it reports: “they wore peculiar clothing and wandered aimlessly around.” 🙂

    Einmal Lowe, Immer Lowe!

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  4. At very least Donovan offers something very different tactically. He can play forward or midfielder, offers pace and tracks back for balls. In particular, I can imagine he and Ribery running at defenses all game long. But first, he’s gotta pass the audition.

    If Donovan does go, I wonder how many questions involving David Beckham is he going to get.

    And how’s his German?

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