No, it's not David Beckham.
It's Landon Donovan, one of the best players on Los Angeles Galaxy (other than Beckham) and possibly the best player on the US National Team.
After the arrival of David Beckham, one would think that such a high caliber player would have stolen the spotlight for much of Major League Soccer. Although David Beckham jerseys are selling really well, Beckham--the player-does not seem like the sort of person that would brag. As a matter of fact, during several interviews with American media, he has admitted that he is pleasantly surprised at the quality of play that Landon Donovan has shown.Landon Donovan has shown some stunning statistics in only one month (five matches) of the MLS season. In just five matches, he has scored eight goals and two assists. This is also his third career player of the month award, previously winning the same award in April 2003 and September 2003. He has also won the league's player of the week title twice this season for Weeks 4 and 5 and has led his team to a 2-2-1 record and second in the Western Conference.
In only month, Landon Donovan is already the early favorite to win the Budweiser Golden Boot Award given to the player that scores the most goals in a season. As a matter of fact, his not only first at this point but he has also scored twice as many goals as his nearest competitor, Alejandro Moreno of the Columbus Crew. If Donovan continues at this pace, he could break the "all-time MLS single season goals record." This record is currently held by Roy Lassiter who scored 27 goals in the 1996 season.
Since the past year, the league has done a lot to increase growth and talent in MLS. This includes adding clubs to the league (more on this in a latter blog) and requiring designated players from other countries to increase the talent of the league. A perfect example of this is David Beckham (LA Galaxy), but also includes players like Cuauhtemoc Bianco of the Chicago Fire and Juan Pablo Angel of the New York Red Bulls among others.
With this said, it is definitely significant that an American player would win this kind of an award in Major League Soccer, but is he good enough to play in Europe? This is an important question to ask because playing in a club in the English Premier, Budesliga, Spain's La Liga, or other strong clubs could bring quite a bit of experience to Landon Donovan that could be beneficial to the national team. In my opinion, he is wasting his time in Major League Soccer. He should follow the example of American players such as Claudio Reyna who recently returned from Manchester City (a lesser known Manchester-based club in the EPL) to play for the New York Red Bulls. He played for Manchester City for several years before returning. Reyna, as far as I know, has not played that much for the national team, but he has brought some talent to the New York Red Bulls after getting some EPL experience playing in one of the best leagues in the world. Another great player that is currently a prospect for the national team is the young Freddie Adu, who played for DC United and Real Salt Lake, and has recently took the role of captain in this past summer's FIFA Under 20 World Cup for the United States. New York Red Bulls players Jozy Altidore is also expected to leave for Europe very soon.
Here are a few youtube videos of some of Landon Donovan's best goals for both the nation team and the clubs he has played with throughout the years:
Goal against North American RIVAL Mexico to put the United States up by 2-0 in the beginning of the second half
(sorry--this is a really good play but I can only find it in Spanish)
Landon Donovan scores hat trick against Ecuador (first goal in the first minute!!)
Check out this video from the MLS Official Youtube Channel of some Landon Donovan Highlights
Video of the goal that made Landon Donovan the all time leading scorer for the national team (his 35th goal)
A Fan's Tribute to Landon Donovan
For more information regarding David Beckham's life and career, check out his Wikipedia entry.
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