Landon Donovan figured to start drawing fresh interest from European clubs after his command performance in the Confederations Cup. The first of those clubs has emerged, and it could bring Donovan to Serie A.
According to the Gazzeta dello Sport, Donovan is being targeted by recently promoted Italian club Livorno. Club president Aldo Spinelli revealed that Livorno is preparing to make a bid to MLS for the U.S. national team all-time goal scorer.
Livorno last played in Serie A during the 2007/2008 season before being relegated to Serie B. The club gained promotion to Italy's top flight once again by finishing in third place in Serie B last season.
What do you think of Livorno's interest in Donovan? Think he would fit in Italy? Would you mind seeing Donovan on a recently promoted club or should he aim higher? Do you believe MLS and the Galaxy will actually sell Donovan?
Share your thoughts below.
Livorno…who? Insult to Donovan, who just tied AC Milan.
whoever said about the option years, that LD would have to sign them for it to go into effect. Maybe you’re right.
But from what LD has said, and has been reported, those option years are strictly in MLS’s hands and if they want to exercise them, Landon has to do so.
So again, he won’t be free and he can’t just do what he wants.
You can argue ’till you’re blue in the face about whether LD is as good as another player in Europe, or would fit in well with this or that club – but you can’t tell unless you see him get significant minutes in one of the top leagues. He’s tough to put a value on right now which is why I think he shoudl give Europe another go now, while he’s not too old. Until he goes head-to-head with top defenders in Serie A (for example), sporting directors don’t know what they’re getting, which is why I think you’re not seeing him attract a lot of attention. If he plays a year at Livorno and shows his quality – even it the team gets relegated he’ll get picked up.
BTW – Fiorentina is not a mid-table club, for the record. They’ve finished 4th in a 20-team table 4 years in a row.
rg,
That’s awesome that they looked at him in that way in Italy. Do you know what type of things they were saying about him?
His best fit is La Liga.
@Steven Cohen,
That’s a great idea. That would ensure more teams knocking on Landon’s door.
Hello Ives, we need to have you on the show as a guest at some point near the end of silly season.
My personal opinion for where Landon should go is this: hold out for a while longer and play lights-out at Azteca on August 12. If you can do that, better offers (if you want them) are sure to come.
“Do you believe MLS and the Galaxy will actually sell Donovan?”
I think MLS would ask too much for Landon. It would be great seeing Landon going against Gooch at Milan.
Keep him here. Donovan proved in the Federations Cup he can play in the MLS and still kick butt in big tournaments.
Wait for some more offers. They should come. Stay away from Germany. Serie A would be great. La Liga, much better.
This is a translation of what Livorno has said about Landon:
http://tinyurl.com/mr4w3y
According to the President of Livorno, the transfer fee is not the issue. It appears that the club can afford it. The club’s concern is wages.
I’m not knocking LD as a player or his skills but…
Can somebody explain to me why any team in Europe would pay anything close to $10 million for him, when (based only on his history) there’s a possibility that he gets homesick/starts pouting and is suddenly worth nothing because the only place he’ll go is back to MLS?? I personally don’t think that will happen but it reduces his value. I think he’s grown up a lot and wants it more than he did before, but if I was a club, and it was my $10 million, I certainly wouldn’t take the risk when there are so many other players out there..
I think it would be a good move. He needs playing time to get confidence and have some success at that level. A bigger club is what he does not need at this point.
I’m happy that there is interest in Landon in Europe, but I hope he can do better than Livorno.
During the Confeds Cup, La Gazzetta de Sport (the sports version of the Holy Bible in Italy) could not get enough of Landon Donovan…It was plainly evident that they thought he was World Class and a remarkable player. So for those saying that no one in Italy noticed or follows American players, you’re in the wrong.
I think Italy would be great for Landon’s career.
I think we saw in the Confed Cup that his diving needs A LOT of work.
There’s no better place to learn than Italy.
livorno is also supposedly interested in ricardo clark.
until a amount is mentioned for transfer its hard to say what is going ot happen… “He” should go but the MLS should fair market price for his talents. 8 million US seems fair to everyone
Livorno will be a doormat in the Serie A and will most likely go down at seasons end, but I do believe Serie A would be a great place for Donovan to play. The traditional counterattacking style played by most Italian clubs would be perfect for his pace and ability to run at players. Just wish teams like Fiorentina, Lazio, or Parma were interested, as they are a bit more stable from the jump.
Livorno?!?! Donovan deserves better then that. I know its the Series A, but they may get relegated again and just came out of Series B, which isn’t exactly high quality soccer to watch. Donovan has quick pace and would better be suited for La Liga at a mid-table team or at a mid to high-table team in the Premier League.
How could they possibly afford him? He is great, but on the market he is considered waayyyy overpriced
The measuring stick here is Jozy Altidore. At $10 million, there is no way that MLS lets him go for less than $15 mil. In a league like MLS, where the league controls player movement not the clubs, there’s no way they let the face of soccer in this country go for less than $15 mil. Especially in this inflated market. The Real Madrids and Man Citys of the world are destroying the transfer market and completely throwing player values out of wack.
People who think Livorno would “wipe the floor” with any MLS side are either eurosnobs or just uninformed. MLS could easily compete with bottom tier teams in other leagues, probably other than EPL. People are overrating Serie A after the top 8-10 teams. It’d be better competition with some giants, but I think Landy could hold his own.
The above picture:
“My milkshakes bring all the goals to the yard”
No one is going to pay $15 for him when his contract is almost up