Landon Donovan bid farewell to the game that made him an American soccer legend in 2014, but before doing so, he provided us with a few lasting memories that fans of the Galaxy and the U.S. National Team will cherish for a lifetime.
For all the glory at the end of the year, Donovan’s 2014 campaign started with heartbreak and frustration.
Despite starting the season without a goal in his first seven games, Donovan earned a call-up from U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann for the U.S. National Team’s pre-World Cup camp. Donovan’s hope that he’d be making his fifth appearance in a World Cup was soon dashed, however as Klinsmann dismissed him from training camp.
WATCH: All of LD's 2014 goals |
|---|
<script height="140px" width="248px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=593075e6e23740a1b70140d7cc53cf13&ec=hwa3A0cjqI4lMrLyr_tW6eTNATwiCfWD"></script> |
But that crushing disappointment could not sink the U.S. Soccer legend.
Upon returning to the Galaxy, Donovan promptly made a statement as he became the league’s all-time leading goal scorer with a pair of goals against the Philadelphia Union on May 25. In sole possession of the record, Donovan’s season endured an ebb and flow until he announced in August—after an MLS All-Star MVP performance in the team’s victory over Bayern Munich— that he was hanging up his boots at the end of the year.
Liberated by his decision to retire, Donovan’s statistical output exploded down the stretch as he finished the season with six goals and 12 assists after his announcement, taking ahold of the league’s all-time assist record in the process. In October, he donned the U.S. kit for a final time with an appearance in a match against Ecuador in front of thousand of fans in No. 10 Donovan kits.
Before he bowed out officially, he had one final task as he was instrumental in leading the LA Galaxy through the MLS Cup Playoffs, even notching a hat trick in the Western Conference Semifinal second leg against Real Salt Lake.
WATCH: All of LD's 2014 assists |
|---|
<script height="140px" width="248px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=593075e6e23740a1b70140d7cc53cf13&ec=UxazY1cjoE9SH5ppM-dz7-8I4yrHa3Re"></script> |
And in the end, there was only way that it could end, with Donovan lifting MLS Cup aloft, after LA’s MLS Cup victory over the New England Revolution, with the roaring crowds at StubHub Center wishing a fond farewell to their departing hero.
All the while shouting, “Thanks LD.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
