Tag: Landon Donovan

Donovan: Pulisic should have moved to MLS instead of AC Milan

The USMNT legend believes the 24-year-old needs to seek out guaranteed minutes

U.S. national team icon Landon Donovan has opined that Christian Pulisic would have been better off moving to MLS than to AC Milan.

Pulisic is widely reported to be on the verge of joining Milan in a €20 million move from Chelsea, ending a four-year spell at Stamford Bridge.

The 24-year-old wasn’t always first choice at Chelsea, but he is expected to have a clearer path to minutes with the Serie A giants. Speaking on Fox Sports, however, Donovan laid out his belief that Pulisic may have been better off seeking out guaranteed playing time — and enormous money — back at home.

The World Cup is coming in three years. This is once in a lifetime. He’s going to be in the prime of his career, his life as a soccer player, his earning potential — I’m sure he’s making plenty of money — but the ability to come to MLS kind of like [Lionel] Messi did. I’m not so sure that wasn’t a big reason for Messi, the World Cup coming here.

I think it would have been a great move … for the Galaxy to go out and get Christian. Bring him here, pay whatever you have to pay him. Bring an American superstar who has global recognition back to MLS ahead of the World Cup. I think it would have been a great move and I can hear the Twitterverse going crazy.

My biggest thing is he needs to play. I know we all said when he went to Chelsea, ‘He’s going to play a lot.’ He didn’t play a lot, especially last year. At Milan. I would think he’s going play a lot but you just don’t know.

So leading into the World Cup, what if he spends the last six months leading into 2026 like he did this year, then what happens? He’s not playing a lot and he’s not in good form going into the World Cup.

Donovan, of course, took plenty of criticism during his own career for going down the path he laid out for Pulisic. Though he is undoubtedly one of, if not the greatest U.S. men’s player ever, Donovan played the vast majority of his career in MLS.

Former USMNT midfielder Maurice Edu countered by saying that Pulisic was taking a worthwhile risk by going to another club where minutes aren’t guaranteed.

“I’m excited to see what happens for him because I think he’ll be in an environment where nothing’s guaranteed and nothing’s given,” Edu said. “I think that’s the kind of environment where you thrive, where you grow the most, where you have the most success if you can come out of that.”

Donovan did admit that he felt Pulisic would be at his best heading into 2026 if he were playing and thriving at a place like Milan, rather than in MLS.

“The best version is him at a place like Milan, playing every week, killing the league and he’s ready in 2026,” Donovan said. “But there’s a lot of risk.”

“That’s the risk you take, though, right?” Edu countered.

Donovan responded: “Some do — I didn’t.”

Watch Donovan’s take on Pulisic

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The Soccer Tournament reveals star-studded field of 32 teams

Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Heather O’Reilly and plenty more will play in the 7v7 event

The Soccer Tournament has unveiled its official 32-team field and group pairings, with several big names from the game’s past and present set to take part.

The $1 million winner-take-all event will take place from June 1-4 in Cary, North Carolina, and will feature teams from all over the world competing in 7v7 matches.

TST is based off The Basketball Tournament, a similar event that has featured ex-pros and celebrities.

The field will be split into eight groups of four teams each, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stage. The groups are as follows:

Group A: Borussia Dortmund, Hoosiers Army (Indiana Alumni), Kingdom FC, Newtown Pride FC

Group B: Wolverhampton, Blade & Grass FC, Villita FC, DMV Diplomats

Group C: Club Necaxa, Hapoel Tel Aviv, SLC FC, Virginia Dream

Group D: West Ham, Dallas United, Culture by Mo Ali FC, Far East United

Group E: Wrexham Red Dragons, Como 1907, US Women, Say Word FC

Group F: Hashtag United, Conrad & Beasley United, Nati SC, Gracie FC

Group G: Team Dempsey, Sneaky Fox FC, Zala FFF, Jackson TN Boom

Group H: Charlotte FC, Duke Sevens (Duke Alumni), NCFC, Raleigh Rebels

Here are some of the notable participants:

Borussia Dortmund

The German giants are in Group A and will feature club legends like goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller as well as social media influencer Noah Beck.

Blade & Grass FC

The Group B side will include the ex-USMNT duo of Geoff Cameron and Brek Shea, as well as other players with Premier League experience yet to be announced.

West Ham

The Hammers are placed in Group D and will bring a roster with some of the club’s past greats, including Carlton Cole, Marlon Harewood and Matt Jarvis.

Wrexham Red Dragons

The newly minted League Two side owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney will field a team full of names that viewers of “Welcome to Wrexham” will recognize.

Como 1907

Joining Wrexham in Group E will be the Serie B side whose ownership group includes Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry. Fabregas will participate in TST as a player-coach.

US Women

One of the most prominent teams in the tournament will be US Women, which will be led by ex-USWNT stars Heather O’Reilly, Lori Lindsey, Kristine Lilly, and Cat Whitehill. The team’s coaching staff will include Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers, and Heather Mitts.

Conrad & Beasley United

Conrad & Beasley United will be led by, you guessed it, Jimmy Conrad and DaMarcus Beasley. The former will participate in a player-assistant coach role while the latter will be general manager. Their roster also features MLS legend Dwayne De Rosario.

Team Dempsey

Clint Dempsey will serve as coach of Team Dempsey, which will feature two of his former USMNT teammates in Eddie Johnson and Jermaine Jones.

Sneaky Fox FC

With a roster including former USMNT players Landon Donovan, Alan Gordon, Nick Rimando, and Jay DeMerit, Sneaky Fox FC will be a formidable rival for Team Dempsey in Group G.

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When did Landon Donovan retire from the USMNT?

It’s been a while. But we’ll always have that goal against Algeria in 2010.

If you only pay attention to the U.S. men’s national team when the World Cup rolls around, you might be wondering: Where the heck is Landon Donovan?

And it’s fair to wonder that – even if Donovan, 40, hasn’t played professional competitive soccer in a few years – because Donovan was still playing the last time the American men made the World Cup, back in 2014. But if you remember, there was a lot of controversy around him being left off the final roster by then-manager Jurgen Klinsmann. He and Donovan had a pretty tense relationship, to put it lightly.

Klinsmann’s son poked fun at Donovan’s omission from the roster on Twitter, and Donovan himself had some fun with it in a commercial for PlayStation.

While Donovan’s final appearance with the national team came later in 2014, he continued to play professionally for various clubs. Most folks who follow MLS remember Donovan as a versatile attacking midfielder for the Los Angeles Galaxy, but late in his career he also had a short stints with Club Leon in Liga MX in 2018 and the San Diego Sockers of the Major Arena Soccer League in 2019. And with that’s when Donovan’s decorated playing career in professional soccer came to a close.

In MLS, Donovan won league championships with the Galaxy. He still holds the all-time MLS assist record with 136 and is second in career goals with 145. The league named its MVP award after him.

On the international stage, it’s easy to argue that he’s one of the best players to ever wear the USMNT kit. Donovan is tied with former teammate Clint Dempsey with 57 goals for the title of the team’s all-time leading goal-scorer. Donovan is, however, the sole-owner of the team’s assist record with 58. He is the only 50-50 player in the USMNT’s history, and accomplished the mark in 157 appearances.

Donovan played in three World Cups and scored five goals in 12 games. And perhaps none was more noteworthy than this one against Algeria in 2010, which pushed the Americans into the knockout stage.

“And Dempsey’s denied again, but Donovan has scored!”

Goosebumps.

So, to recap, Donovan’s last national team appearance came in 2014, but not in the World Cup. He last played in MLS in 2016, and last played professionally in 2019. Since then, he’s done a bit of broadcasting and coaching – most notably with USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, a club that he is also the co-founder of.

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Fox unveils full 2022 World Cup broadcast team, including Darke pairing with Donovan

Darke and Donovan will team up after the former called the latter’s iconic 2010 World Cup goal

Fox Sports has unveiled its full broadcast team for the 2022 World Cup, which includes a broadcast-booth reunion of Ian Darke and Landon Donovan.

Darke will make his Fox Sports debut, though it will be the eighth career World Cup for the venerable British commentator. Donovan, meanwhile, will be make his broadcast booth debut after previously working for Fox as a studio analyst.

Donovan and Darke will be forever linked together after the former’s iconic goal against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup was soundtracked by the latter’s iconic call.

“It’s a pretty neat pairing with all the history those two have together,” lead host Rob Stone told Pro Soccer Wire. “It’s always great to have two legends working with you. Ian has been doing this for a long, long time and is just one of the classiest voices in the game. And I think Landon right now still goes down at least in my book as the greatest U.S. men’s player ever, and to have somebody of that caliber and the things he’s witnessed and done on this stage as part of our team only makes us stronger.”

USMNT great Clint Dempsey and USWNT icon Carli Lloyd will also be making their World Cup debuts for Fox, as the pair will serve as studio analysts.

Speaking about Dempsey and Lloyd, lead studio analyst Alexi Lalas told Pro Soccer Wire: “It’s not just because they are big names, but because they’re good, and because they’re opinionated. And that’s what we want. We want it to be discussions and we want it to be debates and we want people that are knowledgeable and have a history, and come to it with their own ideas.”

As they did during the 2018 World Cup, John Strong and Stuart Holden will anchor the lead broadcast booth for Fox, putting the pair in line to call the final as well as several other marquee matches.

Aside from Donovan-Darke and Strong-Holden, the other three announcer duos will be JP Dellacamera and Cobi Jones, Derek Rae and Aly Wagner, and Jacqui Oatley and Warren Barton.

Stone will once again be the lead host, while Kate Abdo will also handle hosting duties, including for the network’s “FIFA World Cup Tonight” recap show.

As Fox previously announced, former NFL star Chad Johnson will join the network’s World Cup coverage as an analyst on “FIFA World Cup Tonight.”

Lalas and Stone are looking forward to having Johnson on the team in spite of, and perhaps even because of, his lack of a soccer background.

“It goes back to a responsibility of finding interesting and entertaining and even provocative voices out there that are part of the game,” Lalas said. “We welcomed him with open arms because he thinks about the game in an interesting way. He has a history in the game, whether people know it or not, and he’s incredibly entertaining.”

Stone added: “Sometimes, it’s really beneficial to have that outside perspective as well. Yes, the guy cares about the game and loves the game but he’s going to be looking at it much more like a fan, like, ‘What did I just see and why did that happen?'”

Fox announcers for World Cup 2022

Play-by-Play/Match Analyst
John Strong and Stu Holden
JP Dellacamera and Cobi Jones
Derek Rae and Aly Wagner
Ian Darke and Landon Donovan
Jacqui Oatley and Warren Barton

Studio Analysts
Alexi Lalas
Carli Lloyd
Chad Johnson
Clint Dempsey
Eniola Aluko
Kelly Smith
Maurice Edu

Studio Hosts
Rob Stone
Kate Abdo

Reporters
Jenny Taft
Rodolfo Landeros
Geoff Shreeves

Feature Correspondent
Tom Rinaldi

Rules Analyst
Dr. Joe Machnik
Mark Clattenburg

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Ben Chilwell has no idea who Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey is

Christian Pulisic was in disbelief hearing his teammate’s lack of American soccer knowledge

This one may be tough for American soccer fans to swallow.

Chelsea left back Ben Chilwell has said he is unfamiliar with not one, but both of the men widely considered the two greatest U.S. men’s players of all time.

In a segment for Complex alongside USMNT star and Chelsea teammate Christian Pulisic, Chilwell revealed he does not know who either Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey is.

The nerve!

In the segment called “GOAT Talk” Pulisic was asked what his favorite World Cup moment of all time was and answered, as many USMNT fans do, that it was Landon Donovan’s dramatic late winner against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup.

“I don’t know who Landon Donovan is,” Chilwell said.

“You don’t know who Landon Donovan is?” Pulisic replied in disbelief.

“Is that bad? Is he like a big player” Chilwell asked.

“He’s probably the best ever American!” Pulisic said.

It would get worse though! Pulisic was asked his opinion on the greatest American player ever, and after explaining that there was a debate among fans between Donovan and Dempsey, he answered that he would pick Dempsey due to his history playing alongside the ex-Fulham and Tottenham forward with the USMNT.

“I couldn’t tell you who that is,” Chilwell said of a player who spent seven seasons in the Premier League.

Thankfully, Chilwell is able to name at least one American player.

Asked who his American GOAT was, Chilwell had an easy answer.

“I don’t know a lot of American footballers,” Chilwell said, stating the obvious, “but I know one who plays for Chelsea. His name’s Christian. He’s a pretty good footballer.”

Watch Chilwell and Pulisic’s segment on Complex

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Landon Donovan and his USL team fight against homophobia and racism by forfeiting matches

The San Diego Loyal walked off the field on Wednesday.

The San Diego Loyal, a team in the USL that’s coached by USMNT legend Landon Donovan, is in the middle of a playoff race.

But that didn’t matter to them when it came to fighting racism and homophobia that they’ve had to deal with in their past two games.

On Wednesday night, an opponent allegedly said a homophobic slur that was aimed at Loyal player Collin Martin, who is openly gay. Loyal players eventually decided to protest by walking off the field and forfeiting the match against the Phoenix Rising.

Cameras captured Donovan speaking about the incident with officials, along with Rising coach Rick Schantz, in which Donovan said, “We have to get this out of our game.”

Donovan explained the players’ decision further:

“They were very clear in that moment that they were giving up all hopes of making the playoffs, even though they were beating one of the best teams in the league, handily. But they said that doesn’t matter. There’s things more important in life and we have to stick up for what we believe in. And so they made the decision to walk off.”

Both Schantz and the Rising released statements, with the team saying it was investigating the allegations, which a player denied:

The Loyal had just played in a game last week in which LA Galaxy II defender Omar Ontiveros used a racial slur aimed at a Loyal player.

The Loyal forfeited the point it got in the tie from that game, while Ontiveros was suspended by the league and cut from Galaxy II.

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