Regarded by many
soccer (
football outside of the US) pundits as the future of American soccer,
Landon Donovan is a 20-year-old forward/midfielder who is coming off a stellar performance in the
2002 World Cup.
Donovan left high school in Redlands, California at age 16 to sign with German soccer club
Bayer Leverkusen. After getting no playing time in two seasons, he received permission from the club to join
Major League Soccer. He was assigned to the
San Jose Earthquakes, whom he led to the league title in his first season while leading the team in assists.
Donovan scored two goals in
World Cup play and was instrumental in USA's wins over heavily-favored
Portugal and longtime-rival
Mexico. He dominated the offensive attacks in the team's quarterfinal loss to
Germany, nearly connecting on several opportunities.
Donovan's speed and tenacity will only make him a better player in the coming years. A return to Europe, as is expected, will only help polish his game and mold him into a goal-scoring force by the
2006 World Cup.
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 148 lbs.
Birthdate: 03/04/1982
YEAR TEAM GP GS MIN G A PTS
-------------------------------------------------------
2001 San Jose Earthquakes 22 17 1,666 7 10 24