Landon Donovan is the 2010 U.S. National Team Player of the Year. At least according to the Futbol de Primera organization, which annually canvasses 200-plus journalists, including me, who vote for their top three players on the national team during the previous year.
So of course Landon won it. He deserved it. Those two goals at the World Cup (actually three, as noted in the comment below; forgot the penalty against Ghana in the round of 16), the winner in the final seconds against Algeria, the brilliant goal and overall performance that led the comeback from 2-0 down against Slovenia. He was the country’s best player. Again. (Michael Bradley was a distant second and Clint Dempsey third.)
Landon has won the Futbol de Primera award seven times now, four consecutive, following up on the three straight he won from 2002 through 2004.
That says something about how good Landon is. But it also raises a disquieting question about U.S. soccer:
Who is the next Landon Donovan?
A first reaction might be, “hey, as long as we’ve got the original version, who needs Landon 2.0?”
Well, yes. Except that Landon Donovan 1.0 turns 29 years old in a couple of months. Which in the short-and-brutish life of attacking players is certainly on the back side of a career. Look around at the statistics of the great players of the game, and they begin to go south at 30. Often earlier.
It was two years ago that Franz Beckenbauer of Bayern Munich, in explaining why his club was not interested in extending Landon’s winter stay there, said they were looking for a younger player. Landon was not quite 27 at the time.
He won’t disappear next week or next year, barring something weird. Landon is fastidious about how he takes care of himself. For several years now, he has been keenly aware of what he eats, when he trains, and for how long … and spends hours per week with physical therapists, including masseuses. All of which must figure into his history of almost no major injuries.
Yes, he has the sort of compact build that seems best able to withstand the stresses of world-level soccer, but how long will he keep his speed, his greatest natural gift? I’m sure he will survive on guile longer than most, but for how long?
Not even Pele played forever. Landon may be able to stay at a very high level for another two or three years. Through the 2014 World Cup, perhaps (he would be 32), which would be his fourth World Cup. But eventually, and not so long now, U.S. soccer will have to face Life Without Landon.
Who is the next great U.S. scorer? Who is coming along who might have the ability to score 40 goals for the national team? OK, how about 30? Or even 20?
The way this was supposed to work … after the breakthrough of 2002 (if not the breakthrough of 1994), U.S. soccer was supposed to become a magnet for great domestic athletes, and all it would need to do is cull out the best and refine them. Bang. World-class team. Perpetually.
Also? U.S. soccer seemed to be steadily improving. Rick Davis begat Paul Caligiuri begat Eric Wynalda begat Claudio Reyna begat Landon Donovan. Every guy was a little better than the one before him. And certainly, whoever was going to be better than Landon … it seemed like a steady climb toward an American Messi or Ronaldo.
Something, however, has gone wrong. As shown by the same guy winning “best national team player” seven times in nine years. (Kasey Keller slipped in in 2005, and Clint Dempsey in 2006.)Â No one else has won the award more than twice. (Eric Wynalda 1992 and 1996, and Keller, 1999 and 2005.)
Yes, it says something about how good Landon is, but is that healthy for U.S. soccer? How many serious soccer nations have ever had the same guy named “best player” seven times in nine years?
So, we return to: “The next Landon?”
Once upon a time we thought it might be Freddy Adu. We were disabused of that notion years ago. Michael Bradley is pretty good, and still only 23 … but he clearly is not Landon Donovan good. Dempsey has moments, but he’s 28 in two months. Maybe Jozy Altidore? Maybe. He’s 21, he has 10 career goals with the national team, but he is moldering on the bench at Villarreal in Spain (three La Liga appearances as a substitute all season), and he also has one of those thick (paunchy?) bodies that almost shouts “a short prime!”
Maybe someone who knows age-group soccer can say, “You should see this guy playing for the Under-16s.” Well, tell me about him. Because I have no idea whom he might be.
I can tell you who won the U.S. federation’s Youth Player of the Year Award for 2010: Gale Agbossoumonde, a 19-year-old defender who plays for a Swedish club. And you know what it means when your player of the year is a defender? It means you have no young attacking players worth a hoot. (The other finalists were Zac MacMath, Alessandro Mion, Dillon Powers and Andrew Souders — a keeper, a defender, a mid and a defender, respectively.)
I can tell you who the five finalists were for the 2009 award: Marlon Duran, Luis Gil, Jared Jeffrey, Brian Perk and Tyler Polak. Seen any of those guys breaking into the national team lineup yet? And, also: the first three guys are mids; the fourth is a keeper and the fifth is a defender. So, again, no scorer worth a darn.
This is becoming dire. The U.S. has maybe two years to identify a scorer, or times will turn tough.
It has been comforting for U.S. coaches for a decade now to begin writing a lineup card with the name “Landon Donovan.” But sometime in the next four or five years, that’s not going to be the first name on the list.
Or maybe, worse, it still will be.
12 responses so far ↓
1 Ryan // Jan 7, 2011 at 12:50 AM
There’s a great group of young players coming up now. In fact, the current U-20’s may be the most talented group the US has ever had.
Juan Agudelo is getting a lot of attention right now because of two impressive performances for NY in the MLS Playoffs and becoming the youngest player to ever score for the US when he netted against South Africa in November.
Also getting his first cap against South Africa is Teal Bunbury, who had a promising rookie season for Kansas City, showed flashes against South Africa and went to train with Stoke last month where he earned rave reviews and scored in a reserve match.
Mikkel Diskerud is another guy to keep an eye on. He’s played extremely well for his club, Obrero, including in the Europa League. He had the very nice assist for Agudelo’s goal against South Africa and is the type of skillful and creative player that people always say the US lacks.
Add in guys like Sebastian Lletget, who has been in the West Ham youth system for several years now and impressing enough to get some training time with the first team at just 17 and Omar Salgado, who was considered one of Chivas Guadalajara’s best academy players before being released because he decided to play for the US and there isn’t a ton of concern.
2 Kurt // Jan 7, 2011 at 6:41 AM
Great response, Ryan. Though I see Paul’s point, a proven player will always be nicer than a promising prospect. Thankfully, a lot can change in 3.5 years before 2014 rolls around.
3 James // Jan 7, 2011 at 12:26 PM
I like what I saw of Ensign Buddle and Hercules Gomez in the World Cup – I think both should have gotten more playing time, iirc. I like Altidore, when he’s focused on playing the game. He seems to get caught up in trying to draw fouls instead of playing the ball and misses opportunities. When he’s on, though, he’s on. If he can keep his head straight, he might be able to fill ‘next great US scorer’ role. All three of them are young enough that with some playing time and strong development coaching, their potential could be built into something fierce.
I admit I could be wrong about all three guys, though. I haven’t seen much of them since the run-up to the Cup and the Cup itself.
4 Oscar // Jan 7, 2011 at 1:27 PM
James, Esdon Buddle is 30 years old.
5 A. Ruiz // Jan 7, 2011 at 3:35 PM
The next Landon is called Giuseppe Rossi and the next next Landon is called Andy Najar. Whether he follows in Rossi’s or Landon’s footsteps, we shall have to see.
6 CrazyMike // Jan 8, 2011 at 12:37 AM
Of the current crop of senior players who are developing rapidly into potential world stars, we have Michael Bradley and Stuart Holden – the former is one of the most dynamic box-to-box midfielders who doesn’t already play for a top team, the latter the most consistent and highest rated player in the EPL right now, according to SkySports ratings.
I feel the current crop of U20 players have a great chance of going far in the U20 World Cup in Columbia later this year. Most of them will go on to represent the US in the 2012 Olympics and roll from that into a successful transition to the starting senior level lineup for 2014 WC qualifying.
Some of the kids to watch are Teal Bunbury, Juan Agedulo, Omar Salgado, Sebastian Lletget, and Mix Diskerud (all attacking players). Shout out for Andy Najar, who is on a green card and not yet eligible to play for the US, but has repeatedly snubbed Honduras to keep his Yanks’ hopes alive.
From the college ranks, we’ll be seeing a few big names transition into MLS this year with the upcoming draft, with attackers like Will Bruin (IU), Cory Hertzog (Penn), and most of Akron’s offensive line looking to transition into starting roles at MLS clubs in their rookie seasons. Any of them might have a good start to the 2011 season and play their way onto a starting role in this summer’s Gold Cup
One of the ‘more promising’ players further down the pipeline is 14 year old Emerson Hyndman, grandson of FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman. Its still too soon to tell if he will be the next big thing, but he is training with FC Dallas’ U-20 team and managing to compete well, despite being 5 years younger and 50 pounds lighter than his average opponent. Rumors of ‘Pele-like’ technique and an imminent move to a ‘major European youth academy’ certainly make him seem like an American soccer savior – but don’t get your hopes up, as he’s just 14 after all, and still a good half a decade away from even being on the radar.
And while I love Landon as a Galaxy fan for his work-horse commitment and ability to single-handedly drag the team through a tough game, I’d rather take Clint Dempsey’s ability to make goals out of absolutely nothing any day of the week. Quite frankly, he’s one of the most underrated players in the world, at both the club and international level.
7 Nell // Jan 9, 2011 at 10:56 AM
But I think the point is…when Landon showed up many years ago, it was boom, instant difference maker. Instant. You could see he had “it.” At 20 he was scoring goals in the World Cup. We haven’t had a young player yet – 2 world cups later – to do the same.
And CrazyMike, I respect your opinion on Dempsey, but give me Landon any day. He too can create out of nothing, not with fancy stepovers and audacity, but with his lightening quick mind…he can create for himself or for others. In fact, his soccer “brain” is vastly underrated, And Landon has proven himself by carrying the USMNT for years.
But the debate about Clint or Landon, Landon or Clint, is really beside the point. They’re the old veterans, not the up and coming “next great thing” that needs to carry the mantle when they retire.
8 Ryan // Jan 9, 2011 at 11:24 PM
Nell, to expect another Landon is ludicrous. Take a look back at the last World Cup. Thomas Mueller was the only player 21 or younger to score multiple goals in the tournament. To say Landon showed up when he was 20 and was an instant difference maker and that “We haven’t had a young player yet – 2 world cups later – to do the same” is asking too much. How many players that age for any team has done that in the last two World Cups? You can count them on one hand.
9 td // Jan 10, 2011 at 7:11 AM
Maybe I’m misunderstanding the reference, but didn’t Landon score three goals during the 2010 World Cup?
10 Dennis Pope // Jan 12, 2011 at 8:54 AM
Thanks for bringing up this topic, Paul. It’s the USMNT’s elephant in the room since Altidore failed to score in SA.
One option that has not been mentioned here is Charlie Davies. He’s getting first team PT with Sochaux again, and may work himself back into the mix. I’m sure nobody forgets what he did at the Confed Cup, burning Spanish and Brazilian defenders. Sure, that was almost two years ago but he’s only 24, which would make him 27 or 28 when 2014 rolls around.
11 Ryan // Jan 13, 2011 at 6:45 PM
Dennis, he’s not really back in the mix. He got on the bench for a match because they wanted to reward his hard work, but have been pushing him to go on loan because he’s not ready to play for them yet. As of now, he has no interest in going on loan so that situation is still up in the air. Bunbury is my favorite among the young strikers.
12 Tan // Feb 9, 2011 at 5:02 PM
As someone mentioned previously, asking for a youngster who can come in and make instant impact like LD is just way too much. Apparently, Giuseppe Rossi could have been that special player and we all hope some kid of the same statue will pop up but that type of player is also exceedingly rare to appear on the scene.
It’s not all gloom and doom. We might not find the next LD for a long time to come but we certainly see lots of better players in most positions, and that’s very encouraging. I’d take a team with very good players who can all participating in knocking in a few goals each than one with mediocre ballers and a superstar scorer (see Trinidad Tobago and Dwight York).
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