MLS star Landon Donovan, who spent the last two months on loan with former German soccer champions Bayern Munich, has returned to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Though Donovan led the MLS with 20 goals scored the prior season, his performance with the German club in competitive matches was less than stellar. Unlike his Galaxy teammate David Beckham (who was asked by AC Milan to return), Bayern Munich has decided to pass on Donovan.
“I’m very excited to be back,” Donovan said after practice at the Home Depot Center. “I had a good time in Germany. It was a very interesting experience for a lot of reasons. Some good, some bad.
“You always wonder if you’re capable of playing on that level, and it quickly became apparent that I was and that I enjoyed it. But there is something distinctly different about the environment here” in the U.S.
“One of the building blocks of our team is now here,” said Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena, who can begin the serious work of putting together a starting 11 for the March 22 opener against D.C. United in Carson.
The Galaxy has failed to make the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, and Arena, who was hired last August as coach and general manager and subsequently became Donovan’s Manhattan Beach neighbor, has dismantled last-season’s side and started virtually from scratch.
“It’s going to take time for all of us to get to know each other and make adjustments,” he said. “I believe half our team is new, and that’s difficult. So it’s going to be important that early in the season we stick together.
I think I was one of the few who thought Donovan would be so successful in Germany that he would never return to the MLS. It’s funny how quickly professional soccer players can get the axe. Donovan only played in 11 matches (five friendly, six competitive) during his two-month stint in Germany and Bayern management quickly felt the relationship wasn’t working.
These types of overseas experiments are much different with the NBA and MLB. There’s no such thing as having a player on “loan.” Foreign talent is frequently signed (sometimes a bit too quickly), often to monster-sized contracts a la Daisuke Matsuzaka. If the player fails to produce, the owner is bound to a contract, whereas soccer clubs seem to simply pay players on loan on a per match basis. These “experiments” between professional soccer leagues seem logical actually, especially in these economic times. To owners, players are nothing more than an investment that may or may not reap rewards.
To be fair, Donovan did score a combined four goals in his five friendly matches in Germany. I expected Donovan to do well abroad, especially since their approach to the game suits his style of play. Oh well. At least the most dominant goal scorer in the MLS has returned to the team that needs him the most.
