In the wake of Landon Donovan's success for the U.S. team at this year's World Cup has been speculation that the 28 year-old may be ready to take his game overseas permanently. Major League Soccer has stated in no uncertain terms that they have no plans to sell Donovan.
Clearly Donovan has the skills to play in a big-time league in Europe. Donovan showed his knack for finding the net in the World Cup and was also successful during his short loan to Everton in the English Premier League last season. He has been the face of the MLS and the LA Galaxy for some time now as he has carried the torch for American soccer.
MLS goes back to the fact that Landon signed a new four year deal with the league in December of last year. The league has control of where Donovan eventually ends up playing on a permanent basis. However, last week Manchester City who has been very active on the market this off-season, was clear that they are interested in obtaining the rights to Donovan. Landon didn't exactly dismiss the remarks and hasn't come out and said he absolutely wants to continue playing in and representing MLS.
Does MLS really need Landon Donovan? Recently MLS has been able to expand the league to include more teams and will do so again next season. While the league is still clearly not a top four league in the world, they are becoming able to attract a few big names to the league. Landon Donovan has been with LA Galaxy for some time along with David Beckham (when he is actually healthy enough to play). NY Red Bulls recently acquired international superstar Thierry Henry to complement Juan Pablo Angel. When it's not international players athletes from the collegiate level in the U.S. have been able to convert into contributing players in the U.S. and more of them are receiving call-ups to the national team.
Landon Donovan is clearly the face of MLS right now. But MLS has been expanding and growing. More than a few teams now have their own soccer dedicated stadiums and some teams are finally turning a profit. Donovan does not play for every team in the MLS that is making these vast improvements. While it's nice to have such a great player in the league MLS will not struggle to attract other great players. The tides are turning and they are turning in MLS' favor. Landon Donovan is a great player but MLS does not need him to be a successful league.
I agree with you on this one as well. Stars like Landon Donovan were needed to launch the league, not sustain it. In the formative years of the league, it required foreign stars - such as Marco Etcheverry, Carlos Valderrama, Giovanni Savarese, and a few others - to spark interest. After the first ten years, it became evident that the league was here to stay. Attendance was up significantly, teams weren't going bankrupt, and the general vibe about a professional soccer league in the United States was positive. A culture had been created - and was expanding. Once the culture is created, people will come out regardless. It's nice to have the stars, but they're unnecessary at this point.
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