Landon Donovan, arguably the greatest American soccer player of all time, has announced his retirement from the game.
The 32-year old LA Galaxy striker, who was also the U.S. national team's all time top scorer, made the announcement after scoring the winning goal in the MLS All Stars match against Bayern Munich Wednesday.
"After careful deliberation and after many conversations with those closest to me, I have decided that this will be my last season as a
professional soccer player," Donovan wrote in a statement published on the LA Galaxy's official
website.
"I feel incredibly blessed and lucky to have played a role in the remarkable growth of MLS and US
Soccer during my playing career.
And while my career as a player will soon be over, rest assured I will stay connected on many levels to the beautiful game."
Donovan had become one of the most recognizable U.S. soccer stars outside of his home country. In England he became something
of a cult figure after two successful loan spells at Premier League side Everton.
But it was for a string of incredible performances for the U.S. national team, and for his partnership with David Beckham whilst both men were at LA Galaxy, that he will be most fondly remembered.
He played at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals. Whilst every fan will have a favorite moment, be it winning the Gold Cup or scoring against Brazil in the Confederations Cup, It was his last-minute goal in the 2010 finals against Algeria that perhaps best defines his career.
Not only did it take the U.S. into the second round, more importantly, it improbably won them the group ahead of England.
Despite hopes he would shine for the US team inbBrazil this summer, he was a shock omission from coach Jurgen Klinsmann's squad.
But, paying tribute to the MLS' all time top scorer, US Soccer Federation president Sunil
Gulati hailed Donovan's contribution to the game's rise in the U.S.
"When the story of the growth of US Soccer isbtold, Landon Donovan will be one of the central figures," he said. "Landon achieved unprecedented success as he emerged as the Face of US Soccer, and helped bring the game to another level.
Do you have a story for publication?
Send your press releases/articles to; exclusiverawnaija@gmail.com
Subscribe to BBM Channel-: C002C4E41
Facebook-: http://facebook.com/exclusiverawnaija
Twitter-: @rawnaija_gist
Via BBM-: 7E0148B9
0 Comments:
Post a Comment