Fox Soccer Asks Why Landon is “Despised”

Not making excuses for players in the States, but they don't have the quality mentors to push them, and top players don't have the competition for spots to spur them on that way. They are also alone in the world in not having a football mad population dissecting their every move through a football mad media (that's on and off the pitch, for better and too often worse). They don't get the adrenalin rush, the support or the pressure, from the number of supporters players elsewhere get. They don't have to face the same mass of heartbroken and/or angry fans when they don't give their all.

Part of the problem is that if you asked a room full of peop.le if they know Landon Donovan, the silence would stun you. If you asked that same group, who is Mia Hamm, the would cheer. He can't play soccer well enough. We go to alot of Galaxy games and he is always having a bad game. Where's the consistency? Where's the drive? Lauren Cheney is a better forward than he is.

So here's the question....is it result of a lack of coaching expertise or a lack of players coming up through the system....OR is it the system not letting the best players through?

JustJack

Don't agree with you. You talk about Drogba,do you remember his first year in Chelsea? He was one big nothing...he was standing there and looked how balls were passing him...Why? Drogba isn't bad striker,but football is a team game. You never play alone! Raul is the greatest striker of CL and Real Madrid,he broke all records. Do you know that for last 4 years he scored in La Liga season 5-6 goals. Why? Once again football is a team game. Do you know Andrey Shevchenko-in Milan he was GOD in Chelsea he warms the bench. Why? I'll say it millions times-football is a team game.
They win and losse together. Landon can't score if his team can't keep ball for 5 seconds,if his team doesn't know what to do with a ball and what their place and role on the pitch...I'm sorry but what you can ask... I'm very green LA fan,but since April I have seen enough games to say that LA played awful in many of them.And in such conditions,when team doesn't function at all no metter who you are Ronaldo or Landon...there is no chance.
So 9 goals in season like this-not that bad at all

Ok this sums it up for all red blooded male americans.

Lando is a great player.

But he is whipped.

And the fact that his girlfriend at the time was the #1 reason he left Bundesliga was found to be weak amongst the male population.

How do I feel? I feel he is a great player. But I can see where the above thinking can strike a nerve.

p.s. Not to sat that the penalty kick warm-up isn't incredibly bizarre and annoying ;-) ...

Agree with Jeff Bull re Donovan's choices. I also like that he's pretty straightforward with the press. Re his eccentricities -- in SPORTS!!? I'm shocked! The only reason Donovan's stand out enough for people to hate is that he's been the most visible player in US soccer by such a wide margin (also agreeing with the frustration because he's the best US has to offer comment). His oddities would disappear into any other team or league. It's October, watch the batting line-up in any game tonight for a scary array of pre-anything rituals. And who had time to notice that Dennis Rodman was wearing a dress and high heels, to say the least, when we were being so dazzled whenever his team hit the boards? I could head over to the EPL, but I wouldn't even know where to begin -- and kickette covers that pretty well already.

I like Donovan well enough and, shockingly, I also entirely approve of the choices he has made; there's a nice authenticity to it all...which, for some dang reason, is what I actually look for even in soccer players. There's something refreshing about someone choosing to be happy instead of jumping like some monkey for our collective egos.

As for the photo - well, first, fantastic anecdote about MLS cribs; I missed that one - I would be so, so proud if I took that photo. I'd blow it up and hang the thing over my mantle for the world to see. A thing o' beauty, I tell ya.

I like Donovan. I like the fact that me marches to a different beat, that his career path is via the road less traveled, and that he's still good - too good to be ignored. He's earned all of his accolades.

I predict he'll be a Galaxy player for one more year and then head to Europe. He wants to get a good year in playing alongside Becks, but with his contract ending in 2009 and his competitive juices starting to flow again I think he'll make the move. I feel this especially after reading Nick Green's blog today.
http://www.insidesocal.com/soc...

I think Donovan is hated by so many out of frustration. Frustration that this prissy guy who tends to wilt on the international stage (except vs Mexico for some reason) is the best US soccer has to offer.
I think his bizarre (i.e. gay) goal celebrations and his shaman prayer rituals before PKs rub people the wrong way.
With that and his early departure from Bayer Leverkuessen, Donovan comes across as the product of a life without a strong father-figure and a bit of a home-sick momma's boy.

oh and p.s. that photo:

Does he regret it? I'd say no. This is a guy who on his Mtv cribs special held up a t-shirt that said "Tap That Ass" and snickered towards his wife (then girlfriend). By the way, that tap that ass incident had me rolling. I both love and hate this guy too. He reminds me of Robbie Williams cause both of them were in the spotlight starting at a young age which obviously f*cked with their egos and turned them into douchey nancy boys. Williams as well - talented with brushes of total brilliance.

i think he's completely overrated and a whiner and a douchebag.

Reasons people don't like Landon Donovan:

1. They're fans of other MLS teams. Especially strong with DC (where he can stink all year and then have one god game against them) or San Jose. San Jose fans hate and have always hated LA (is normally listed as one of the most intence rivalries in MLS even when San Jose is on hiatus - some old school Gal fans still hate the Quakes more than Chivas) and Landon was their star player who led them out of the wilderness (with Frank Yallop as coach) of sucking for the first half decade to becoming the powerhouse earthquakes/dynamo. And then he gets a short lived transfer to germany which might have been a complete scam and comes back demanding that he play in SoCal. The Casbah will never forgive him until you can't fix your second designated player problem and have to trade him back to the quakes and he leads them to a triple. Maybe.

2. National team fans seeing a lack of ambition and improvement. And a whole lot of inconsistency. How can he come running home from the Bundesliga twice with his tail between his legs claiming homesickness and wanting to be back in California (preferably socal) and expect to fulfill hes potential as a player. There is a large section of Nats fans who want every player to get to Europe stat and don't care for MLS. And there are others who would like to see him behave as if he is not content to simply be a big fish in a small pond. But time and time again he is.

3. That picture. Though Pablo's burns my eyes even more. And Cobi is scary.

The country desperately needs a creative engine. He at times displays those capabilities & at others (when being manhandled) choses to disappear. Instead of testing himself with the objective of being the best he can be, he has chosen to be a big fish in a small pond. I believe he will regret his choice later in life, however, not to wax poetic...He is a Nancy Boy!!!

I think he is avery good player, he is the heart and soul of the USA squad, I say this not being a North American but he is th ebest player in the states and it is a shame people don't like him...

and when the hell did he pee on the field?

Nice one JustJack. I think he needs to get back in on the attack or something. I swear there was a long stretch during the USA v Brazil match where everyone just passed the ball to him waiting for him to do something and he just kind of putzed out. Too much In N Out and kickin' it with David "douche" Spade made him soft I guess? I think he is very good but seems to go back and forth on whether he has any leadership abilities at all. In the past few days, there have been a kazillion arguments on his abilities and whether he deserved the award (again) but in the middle of it all, Andrea Canales over at her Sideline Views blog posted the most amazing Donovan quote to date (I think):

http://sidelineviews.blogspot....

"I told Bianca, I don’t know if I want to go, but everyone was super nice," said Landon Donovan of his recent trip to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. "They’re excited to be around what they consider a celebrity, because soccer is their life. Any player they recognize, they’re excited. They say, 'How are you, nice to meet you.'”

This STILL cracks me up - the entire country of Mexico put THE FEAR into him.

My wife says, "Landon's a weenie and he's no Didier Drogba." She also told me to write in that: a) the photo is frightening and she'd expect it to be part of a wanted poster of some kind and b) $900K is too much damned money for nine goals. But don't listen to her, she's pissed because teachers don't get paid what they're worth (I agree but I expect that in 'Merkuh).

I say, he's got a bigger ego than his goals justify. And she's right about Didier. There's a total drama queen but one overlooks that because the man scores goal after goal after goal, consistently and with vision every time. If Lando did that, I'd let him mark territory all over every pitch on the planet, with impunity. But he doesn't. And, Drogba's leash is getting shorter with every match that goes by without his goals (true he just got back from injury and he's serving a ban from his red card a week back).

Our 7 yr old son, who's becoming a rather lethal striker himself (aves 3 goals every match), says, "Landon has to know: if you're a striker, you take the heat." ITA: you score goals everyone loves you. You don't score goals, no one wants you." When Lando slams balls into the "onion bag" (couldn't help myself) every match, then I'll consider singing his praises, maybe even get a wallbanger of him. Until then... nah, don't think much of a player who trumpets himself as a star for scoring 9 goals.