Landon Donovan

Landon Donovan is an American soccer player who most notably played for the LA Galaxy. Donovan started playing soccer at 6 years old when his mother let him play in an organized league. In his first game, Donovan scored seven goals. In 1997, Donovan was accepted into U.S. Youth Soccer’s Olympic Development Program. Two years later, Donovan attended the IMG Academy in Florida, which is part of U.S. Soccer’s training program. In late 1999, Donovan signed a six-year contract with the German club, Bayer Leverkusen. Donovan had trouble adapting to the German culture and spent much of his time training in the U.S. He was loaned to the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS for the 2001 season. Donovan had immediate success in the MLS, as he led the Earthquakes to MLS Cup Championships in 2001 and 2003. In 2004, Donovan became the first man to be named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year for three years in a row. In his first season with the Galaxy, Donovan assisted in the playoffs as the Galaxy won the MLS Cup. After much success with the Galaxy, Donovan announced his retirement from soccer on August 4, 2014. He returned to Los Angeles fox six games in 2016 and currently plays indoor soccer for the San Diego Sockers.