Top Stories

SBI MLS Player of the Week: Landon Donovan

LandonDonovanCelebratesHattrickvsFCDallas1 (LAGalaxy)

By DAN KARELL

The Summer of Landon Donovan hasn’t stopped just because he returned to Major League Soccer from the U.S. Men’s National Team.

In his first match back with the Los Angeles Galaxy since winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup and being named tournament MVP, Donovan scored a hat-trick on just three shots in a 3-3 draw with FC Dallas. Donovan’s performance on Saturday made him an easy choice for SBI MLS Player of the Week honors.

Donovan beat out Kei Kamara, Federico Higuain, Camilo Sanvezzo and Blas Perez for this week’s honors.

What did you think of Donovan’s performance? Which player stood out for you in MLS Week 24?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. The older LD doesn’t fade in and out of games as much as he did in the past. He makes a constant impact on and off the ball. Finishing is always the last part of his game to come around. In the Gold Cup he was still finding his form. The Dallas game shows what LD is like when his whole game is clicking.

    He has also become much better at defending high up the field. In the ITC it was his defense at forward that undid Juventus and caused both RM and ACM a fair bit of bother. He is better than adequate as a midfield defender, but he is becoming really good as a defender at the forward position.

    We are finally beginning to see what LD looks like at forward when he has a player along side the can keep up with his speed of thought. On the Galaxy and on the National Team he saw the game so far ahead of his team mates that he had to wait around for them to catch up. The goal in the Gold Cup by Eddie Johnson who dummied to LD is an example of what happens when his team mates see the opportunity as soon as he does.

    With Robbie Keane next to him, they made Juve pay immediately after winning the ball. When those two are both on form, they are a combo that very few teams in the world, let alone MLS have seen. There is nothing more beautiful than a combination of players seeing the game very early and in the same way.

    Reply
  2. Was that his first MLS hat trick?

    The “I like him because he reminds me of me” part of me points out his hard work and creativity to show up all over the field for 90 minutes.

    The part that I liked in these highlights but feel some worry about is the contrast between his 3 for 3 shooting today and his misses under international pressure in the Gold Cup.

    Not a Galaxy fan, but I want to see the NT players on that team grow and grow!

    Reply
  3. It is just too easy to poke at the guys that thought he was washed up…..not really any fun even.

    Reply
  4. the intelligence he shows on most plays in light years ahead of anyone else on that field. And if he has slowed down in the last few years, it’s not by much. that first goal, when he flicked the ball over Seitz then finished the play proves that speed is still very much a part of his arsenal

    Reply
  5. I love seeing Donovan play forward rather than out wide. As he grows older and continues to evolve as a player (less pace and stamina), I think that an attacking-midfield or center-forward role will best use his skills. He has great instincts in the box and is a deadly finisher. He is also fantastic at playing a killer final ball to players running off of him.

    Reply
    • I think the Gold Cup showed that a withdrawn striker/central attacking mid role is one that best suits Donovan’s style of play and intelligence on the field.

      Reply
      • yeah he did! He played second striker/withdrawn forward or attacking midfielder! He was only out wide a hand full of times and that had more to do with the compliment of players on the field that were capable of playing multiple positions i.e. bedoya, corona, torres!

      • He ducked into those spots after stationed up high pushing the opponents back line, also the wide spots, and underneath

        He always plays like this…all over the field. That’s why he shows up unmarked all over the place. Station him as a withdrawn striker and he’s marked, allow him to roam and he’s not

        That’s what he did!

      • I read all those things. Also watched the games multiple times and saw where he was. Good example is CR game when he was literally stuck on the CR backline until the 2nd half when he started popping up all over the place on the field

        Seriously

Leave a Comment