With every passing day you watched Landon Donovan training with Bayern Munich, you just knew his trip to Germany would wind up being more than a training stint.
It has. According to multiple reports out of Germany and now confirmed on the Bayern Munich website, Donovan is set to join Bayern Munich on a short loan from the start of January through mid-March.
Donovan will join Los Angeles Galaxy teammate David Beckham as MLS players heading to Europe on these short loan deals during the MLS transfer window, which runs from January through mid-April. Donovan is expected to return to the team in time for the start of its MLS season. That is assuming Bayern Munich doesn't buy him outright.
The loan will mark Donovan's third foray into the German Bundesliga after two unsuccessful stints with Bayer Leverkusen, the last coming in 2004 before returning to MLS in 2005. He originally signed as a youth player for Bayer Leverkusen in 2001 before moving on loan to MLS.
What do you think of this news? Surprised? Excited? Think Donovan will flourish? Think he will flop? Think he will play? Think he will start?
Share your thoughts on Donovan's loan deal to Bayern Munich in the comments section below.
Disappointed. I want him bought by them not loaned to them. What’s the story there Ives?
I hope he gets some minutes. Bayern is particularly stacked with marquee attackers. In any case, just getting to train regularly with a quality side will benefit him. If Podolski walks, I think you can pretty much hang your hat on Donovan playing in Munchen next season.
What sort of fee does MLS get for this?
I think Donovan will do well. He’s saying the rights things and he’s impressing in training with the club. Plus it seems he has the maturity and the will to succeed overseas, which he didn’t seem to have before. To see an American outfield player on such an significant club is exciting.
At this point in Landon’s career, specifically his European career, I just desperately want him to not suck. Being a Donovan fan, I’d like to see him perform well on a large, more pressured stage, but really I just want him to NOT SUCK this time! I’m rootin for ya Landon!
The difference for me between this and Beckham’s loan is that Golden Balls ran out of steam in the 2nd half of the year. Seems strange to me that he and Blanco are looking for games when they looked like they needed rest first, or to be in better shape for the games they just played. That said, I don’t think the Becks loan is actively bad for the league.
Ives – give us your take on last night’s game so I can move on with my life!
I’m pleased with it, I think it will go well. Landon has a coach who believes in his ability and he’s more mature and experienced this time as a professional.
LA Galaxy to tour Bavaria for training in March.
AEG hopes this will help them reach their fans in Europe and grow the Galaxy brand further.
i like both loans, myself.
I love how different people’s reactions are for this loan and for Beckham’s.
mike: I wouldn’t expect so. Since it’s the offseason, the players aren’t getting paid by mls anyway. I bet they both have big insurance policies by the loanee club.
MLS gets international exposure and stars that start the season in form (you hope) ussoccer gets a midseason donovan to start the Hex, which means more than England getting a mid-season Becks these days.
I like it for the following reasons:
– Keeps him in shape for the WC qualifiers in March
– short-term loan enable his to really assess whether he can be successful in Germany or not
– Allows Klingsman to truly evaluate Landon’s potential in that league
Seems like a win for all.
ive never been a huge donovan fan, but i hope he does well! just training with them will help. better than training by youself during the off season. bayern munich has plenty of talent, makes him work hard everyday. a spot on the field (ot bench) is not guaranteed to him. work for it donovan, and kick some butt!
hey Ives, have you heard anything about the rumor that Arsenal is head hunting Gazidis for the CEO job? I know he turned down Man City because he didn’t want to move to England, but that’s Manchester, no one wants to live in Manchester, might London tempt him more? Thoughts?
Hincha Tim: I think your idea is “spot on” and I wonder if it has been thought about. Here is one way that I think the DB experiment could work, as it broke the psychological barrier about playing here, and it helps world players realize league play is a bit more challenging then most realize.
Paul L: nice tidbit. And good counter! But I am referring to Hoeness as an administrator. 🙂 PS> do you have a link to a clip of that goal?
Thanks.
So what sort of return does MLS see off of a loan deal? Is some of that kicked backed to the Galaxy and do they get any cap relief like they would with a transfer fee? With both Becks and Landon out on loans that would be nice to know.
I love the move… to those with concerns about playing time, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…
Bayern has only 3 forwards on the whole roster (Toni, Klose, Podolski).
Landon will see playing time, and if any of those three get hurt (or transferred out, in Podolski’s case), he’ll see LOTS of playing time.
kpugs, as always, you present a well balanced opinion concerning a Galaxy player. 🙂
Cheers,
As I’ve indicated before, I’m skeptical about his getting playing time there. I’d be disappointed if ANOTHER significant national team member rides the pine in Europe. We already have Dempsey, Beasley, Edu, Adu, Altidore, Pearce, Guzan, Spector, Feilhaber, etc. as not regular starters.
That said, I’d like to see how he does at the top level.
kpugs wrote:
his disgusting diving/cheating/crying/whining/massive ego
——-
Sounds like he’s ready to join the ranks of world class footballers like Ronaldo, Stevie G, Lampard and Rooney! 😉
I’m extremely curious to see how he does, if he actually plays.
Donovan is a huge primadonna and crybaby, as much as I love that he plays for the national team. I need to see if he can take his national team persona to club football and abandon his disgusting diving/cheating/crying/whining/massive ego that he has had as an MLS player.
I know he’s capable of doing it, because he is a completely different player with the national team. I want to see if he can do it with a club team.
Unfortunately, if he succeeds that will prove that a)he truly was a pathetic crybaby cheater in MLS and b)that MLS officiating is what enabled him to be tha way.
Never been a big fan of the softy, but I hope he develops everything he is missing. It can only help us on the NATs. We need him to learn how to step up in big games and not disappear. How can you be a captain and not be noticed on the field? Please become a man.
Hoeness was exuberant when he scored that beautiful goal against Austria in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. One of the greatest moments in Football.
I think these loan deals are fantastic for the players, the MLS and their teams. It gives the players great experience and keeps them in shape, it gives the MLS and American players greater exposure and it’s a good trial to see if they should continue down that road without having to totally commit. The only downside I see is that the players don’t get any down time to recover.
I’d like to see the reverse happen where top European teams loan their developing stars who don’t get so much playing time (maybe like a Higuain for Real Madrid in the past) to MLS teams for the season. It’s one advantage of the MLS season that it is almost opposite the European season: the Euro clubs could allow select players to play the entire MLS season and only miss the beginning and end of the Euro season.
Best of luck to him.
All i know is, that if he plays in germany and gets some confidence, then we could have a nice attacking MNT with him paired up with Josy, Kenny, Freddy, Sasha, and Mikey in 2010 after what I saw last night!
good question and point, nortzax
plus, won’t Landon be expected in national team camp for at least a while in January? The Hex starts Feb. 11, and I am fairly certain he’ll get a callup.
And I’m not suprised that the coach and manager have different things to say. The coach needs to sell the player to the team and fans, and convince him he’s wanted. The manager needs to negotiate the best deal for the club.
eric,
First, Hoeness is being the responsible organization type. Secondly, the english translation sounds more derogatory or “ordinary” than in the Original German: “Kicken kann er” is basically: “the kid can play.” It is positiv, but not exhuberant.
When have you known Hoeness to be exhuberant?
I think Klinsmann is stupid and doesn’t know soccer, and is being deceived by Landycakes. He will fail.
LOL
Seriously, I think this is pretty cool for FCB, for Landon, for US Soccer, and for us fans, and for this blog!!
Very excited about this. It’s about time for him. I’m really interested to see if the most skilled U.S. player of the generation can hack it with one of the biggest teams in the world. Any word on Podolski? I’d assume this means a loan or transfer for him, no?
Picking up on the Bundesliga and cheering for BAyern is like picking up baseball and becoming a Yankee fan. Yuck!
Guess MLS needs to be consistant.. Blanco looks like he will be loaned out.. nothing like a 35 slow turtle getting no break..
Actually, I believe that jersey sales are a factor in this loan deal … Think about it; I’m sure Landon Donovan being US’ most popular player across the board will probably sell some shirts here in the states. Bayern will definitely see some windfall from it. I’m sure there are fans of the Bundesliga in America already, but I’m willing not nearly as many as BPL fans. Therefore, new American fans (of Donovan) will be introduced to the Bundesliga, and who will be there team of choice? Right-o, Bayern. Ca-ching.
It sucks that there won’t be any games until February. He won’t have much time to prove himself if there is in fact an opportunity for a permanent move.
Hoeness and Klinsmann don’t seem to completely agree here.
K: “The goal will be to see if we can get him long term, at least until the end of the season”
H: “What he has shown so far is okay, he can certainly kick”
Good point ATW. It will be a training/tryout stint and that may just be the perfect solution for all parties. I really think it may work out for him. He spent 10 days working with the squad and guess what….they still want him. Good sign to be sure.
NJ Guy No Longer Stuck in DC:
Nice.
I couldn’t care less about Donovan… EXCEPT that I want ALL American players (at least that play for the USNT) to succeed overseas. Go Donovan!
The Bundesliga is suspended during its winter break from Dec. 17th to Jan. 31. This is Uli Hoeness’s way of getting an extended look at Landon in training and potentially in a couple of games before making a final decision. Good luck, Landon, it aint gonna be easy.
Makes me think he won’t be sold afterall, that this is the deal. I like it, would have been happy had he moved on for real, but very glad to see him go over to Munich, kick some a$$ in training, and be brought in. I bet he sees the field as a change of pace sub, his speed is an element Bayern don’t have.
This loan makes much more sense than the Blanco loan being talked about.
Good to hear. Hopefully he gets some playing time. Garber said at least $10 million as they sold Altidore for that much and Donovan is arguably one of the best players to play in MLS.
Obviously he is being loaned just for jersey sales b/c every German will want one.
Seriously, good for LD and it shows that he will need to prove himself to Munich – fool me once, twice, 3x…
Win-win all around because he can showcase his talent to other clubs
Hey Ives could you check out if the loan rumor of Blanco to Santos is true? Seems a little strange a team could bring someone in just as the playoffs are starting down there…
Steven C- i doubt 12M will be the offer…. he’s practically a finished product with some room to grow… but he offers alot….
the MLS may try to ride off his performance with the Nats as well as in the league…. 6-8M is my guess…
I am very excited to see Donovan going on loan to Europe. I think it would be great to see more MLS players do this. I know it worked miracles for Brian McBride in the past, and I think it will be especially good for Donovan considering his history in Europe. If it works out, he’ll surely have a chance to make the move permanent, and if not, he can come back to MLS without any trouble.
The rising dollar is bad for MLS players looking to move abroad, but it might be good for MLS teams looking to buy. Oh wait, the league has a policy of not buying players. Stupid MLS.
good for LD… im not surprised, as Klinsman truely wanted this…. he has the intl’ experience, the drive (now more then ever) and the ability to change the game… he’ll be a utility player, capable of playing wing, up top or in the middle as nothing more the a super sub… if he gets time im sure it’ll be short stints (unless Klinsman downright tries him)…
but he’ll always be landycakes….
Good Luck to LandyCakes
Hmm. My 3-1 odds looked good. Wonder if he’ll get enough PT for Bayern to buy him… and.. how much is the asking price from MLS? $12 million?