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Sir Landon Of Donovan

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Kurt said:
Of all the shootings in Murica and this waste of skin never even had a flesh wound ffs
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Long read about Landon Donovan and mental health. It's f%$#in' ace.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...legacy-challenging-stigma-mental-health-word?

Landon Donovan's Other Legacy: Challenging the stigma of mental health | THE WORD

WHEN LANDON DONOVAN STROLLED TO THE STAGE at StubHub Center in Carson, California, in August and unveiled what would become one of the biggest stories of the year in North American soccer, it didn’t exactly come as breaking news.

Donovan’s teammates on the LA Galaxy knew it was coming. The good friends he’d made through decades of playing soccer knew it, too, and so did the media members who somehow managed to mute their gasps in the audience. In fact, just about anyone who’d followed the past 18 months of Donovan’s career could have reasonably expected he would retire after this year, his 15th as a professional soccer player.

What Donovan said that day offered a candid glimpse into a mind that had matured and changed greatly even in just the past two years, perhaps one of the most tumultuous stretches of his career. The end result of all that transpired in that time – career burnout following the 2012 MLS Cup, a curious but cathartic trip to Cambodia, his fallout with United States national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and his eventual snub from the 2014 World Cup team – left him tethered to his career but not enjoying it, playing at times out of obligation, and dispassionate about his day-to-day life.

The decision, he said, freed him up to enjoy the game as if he were a kid again, and allowed for him to exit on his own terms, even if some considered it more of an escape than anything else.

In a refrain Donovan has used many times throughout his career, he summed it all up so simply: “I have to live the life I want to live.”

But as telling as his comments in August may have been, there were revealing signs long before that indicated he’d been doing some serious thinking. When he returned from his offseason trip to Southeast Asia in March 2013, Donovan took a very public -- and rare -- stance on the topic of mental health among athletes in the United States, and he’s revisited his thoughts on the subject numerous times since. Citing mental exhaustion that he said forced him out of soccer for roughly four months, Donovan took aim at the stigma surrounding those who struggle with psychological issues and questioned the overly macho aura that permeates professional sports.

Since then he’s said that he battled depression at times during his career, that he’s found respite in meditation and, for the past six years, sought help from a therapist. He’s also hinted at the idea that whenever his career ends – he's hoping it lasts as long as Dec. 7, when the MLS Cup final takes place – he’d like to become some sort of advocate for those struggling with the same issues he’s had for years...
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Full article is really long, so just posting a sample.
 
Garrick said:
Long read about Landon Donovan and mental health. It's f%$#in' ace.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...legacy-challenging-stigma-mental-health-word?



Full article is really long, so just posting a sample.
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Did OK in his first loan.
Such was his clout he could have moved if he really wanted to
Thing is he coulda been a contender... lacked the final drive to push himself ala the biggies. Was 28 or so when he came to us... not exactly over the hill.
idle bar steward
 
Landon Donovan: Why I couldn't make Everton FC stay permanent

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor.../landon-donovan-couldnt-make-everton-8169531#

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Despite being omitted from Jurgen Klinsman's 23-man squad for the World Cup, former Everton forward Donovan is widely considered to be the best player ever produced by the States. Donovan spent two spells on-loan at Goodison Park in 2010 and 2012, making 22 appearances and scoring two goals
Landon Donovan has revealed he would have joined Everton on a permanent basis - if he hadn’t promised LA Galaxy he would return to the US.

The American forward spent two successful loan periods with the Blues in 2010 and 2012 and became a fans’ favourite at Goodison Park.

Donovan played 22 times across the two spells at Everton, scoring twice, and manager David Moyes wanted to turn his loan move into a full-time deal.

The former US international, who will retire at the end of the year, was keen on staying on Merseyside but said he had made a promise to LA Galaxy to return to play in the MLS at the end of his loan stint with the Blues.

“I’m a very loyal person. I had promised Tim [Leiweke, the former executive with A.E.G., which owns the Galaxy] when he was here and Bruce [Arena, the head coach] that I would come back, in exchange for letting me go there,” Donovan told the New York Times.

“And although things changed and they wanted me to stay, and there was a lot of potential talking to be done, immediately I said, ‘Thank you, but I promised that I would come back, and I want to go back.’”

Donovan also spent periods in Germany playing for Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich but struggled to make the impact he did in the Premier League with Everton.

“One, Everton’s not in Germany,” he said.

“The culture, it’s tough, but there are Americans who have done well. I wasn’t ready for it certainly when I was younger. The timing was right because I was playing probably at my best.

“David Moyes understood that club very well.

“He understood the dynamics of the fan base and how it all works, and what they like.

“And he was always very astute with his signings and he had to be because he didn’t have the money that the top clubs had.

“He watched me a lot.

“He was aware of what I did as a player and he knew that I would fit in. So all of that made for a really easy transition.

“I remember the first week I got to Everton, one of the old guys that played there — he was sort of a legend of the club — we had a quick conversation.

“He said: ‘I’ll just tell you one thing: if you work hard, if you run hard and give everything you have on the field, they will love you no matter what you do.’

“Not that people missed this, but I try to be a hard worker. Maybe it gets overlooked, but for me it was an opportunity to go, I’m going to run until I can’t do it anymore. And I loved it. Their passion and their energy was incredible for me to feel. It was just this perfect marriage.”
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SerenityNigh said:
Landon Donovan: Why I couldn't make Everton FC stay permanent

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor.../landon-donovan-couldnt-make-everton-8169531#
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All very well promising LA Galaxy that he would return, but situations can always change, and I wonder if he ever sounded them out to see if they would be prepared to let him go. Surely the chiefs at LA Galaxy must know the Premier League is a real step up from MLS, and it would be shortsighted for them to hold him back.

Love Donovan to bits but I'm sure there is more at play here. If it was a crisis of confidence or homesickness or whatever, that's cool with me, I just don't buy 'I promised them' as a 100% valid reason.
 
The Cowboy said:
All very well promising LA Galaxy that he would return, but situations can always change, and I wonder if he ever sounded them out to see if they would be prepared to let him go. Surely the chiefs at LA Galaxy must know the Premier League is a real step up from MLS, and it would be shortsighted for them to hold him back.

Love Donovan to bits but I'm sure there is more at play here. If it was a crisis of confidence or homesickness or whatever, that's cool with me, I just don't buy 'I promised them' as a 100% valid reason.
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Hmm "
“I remember the first week I got to Everton, one of the old guys that played there — he was sort of a legend of the club — we had a quick conversation."

Our esteemed former captain perhaps? That sounds like a Fizzer comment to me...
 

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