page_title: Landon Donovan
section_title: 2005–2014
hierarchical_section_title: Landon Donovan / Club career / LA Galaxy / 2005–2014
caption_attribution_description: Landon Donovan sending in a corner kick.
context_page_description: Landon Timothy Donovan is an American retired professional soccer player who is currently the manager of USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC. A former forward, he holds numerous individual records in Major League Soccer and for the United States national team and is regarded as one of the greatest U.S. men's soccer players of all time.
  A native of Southern California, Donovan was a member of the inaugural class of the U.S. Soccer youth residency program in Bradenton, Florida. He was named Player of the Tournament for his role in the United States under-17 squad that finished fourth in the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship before signing with German club Bayer Leverkusen later that year. In 2005, after six years with Leverkusen, the majority of which were spent on loan with the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS, Donovan moved back to the United States permanently to sign with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He later returned to Germany for a loan with Bayern Munich, and twice went on short loans to English Premier League club Everton in 2010 and 2012. He retired as a player in 2014, but made a brief comeback with LA Galaxy late in the 2016 season and then in 2018 to play for Club León.
context_section_description: Donovan signed a multi-year contract with LA Galaxy, making him the highest-paid American player in the league. In his first season at the club, Donovan scored 12 league goals with 10 assists and added four goals and an assist in the playoffs as LA Galaxy won the MLS Cup (his third MLS championship to date). He was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI after the season. In his second season with LA Galaxy, Donovan scored 12 league goals and 8 assists. He also scored three goals in the Open Cup. Despite this, Donovan and LA Galaxy failed to make the playoffs and lost in the Open Cup to  Chicago Fire SC. Donovan's playoff goals make him MLS' second all-time leading scorer in the playoffs with 14, behind Carlos Ruiz's 15.
  Donovan had a mixed year with LA Galaxy in 2007. Upon the signing and arrival of David Beckham, Donovan relinquished his captaincy to the English superstar. In the 2007 SuperLiga tournament, Donovan was the top scorer. He scored a goal in every match except for the final. He scored six goals in five matches. At this point in his career, Donovan had 84 all-time regular season goals putting him in seventh place on the league's all-time scoring list. Although the 2008 season was a disappointment for LA Galaxy, it was a banner year for Donovan as he scored 20 goals and 9 assists in 25 matches, forming a strong offensive partnership with David Beckham and Edson Buddle.
  After his former national team manager Bruce Arena was named LA Galaxy head coach and Beckham joined Milan on loan in early 2009, Donovan once again was given the club captaincy on a permanent basis. In July 2009, Donovan received praise and criticism for his critical comments about Beckham in Sports Illustrated journalist Grant Wahl's book The Beckham Experiment, calling Beckham a poor captain and teammate. He later apologized to Beckham for discussing his concerns to a reporter rather than to him directly. The two reconciled upon Beckham's mid-season return to Los Angeles and Donovan enjoyed an outstanding 2009 campaign, winning the league's Most Valuable Player and MLS Goal of The Year 2009 award and leading LA Galaxy to MLS Cup 2009, which they lost on penalties. Following the season, Donovan agreed to a four-year extension to his contract with LA Galaxy, with clauses that allow him to seek loans during the MLS offseason. On August 1, 2010, Donovan scored the 100th goal of his MLS career. On September 18, 2010, he became the all-time leading scorer for LA Galaxy.
  LA Galaxy had another successful campaign in 2010 winning the Supporters' Shield for the first time since 2003. In that campaign, Donovan scored 7 goals and a team-high 16 assists.  In the playoffs, LA Galaxy would ultimately succumb to FC Dallas in the semifinals.
  In 2011, LA Galaxy again won the MLS Supporter's Shield. In the 2011 MLS Cup, Donovan scored the title-clinching goal in the 72nd minute over the Houston Dynamo, securing his fourth MLS Cup title.
  Donovan was named the MLS Cup MVP.
  In October 2012, Donovan expressed his desire to take a break from his professional soccer career, citing physical and mental exhaustion as the main reasons. In LA Galaxy's next match, the 2012 MLS Cup, a rematch with Houston, Donovan converted a penalty kick in the 65th minute of play to give LA a 2–1 lead. The goal was Donovan's fifth in MLS Cup Finals. LA Galaxy went on to win their second straight MLS Cup, 3–1.
  Donovan returned to training with LA Galaxy on March 25, 2013, and made his season debut five days later against Toronto FC, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute. However, upon his return, it was announced he would be forced to relinquish the captaincy to Robbie Keane for the 2013 season. He scored two goals against Chivas USA, tying him with Jeff Cunningham together as the top MLS goalscorer with 134 goals. On May 25, 2014, Donovan scored twice against the Philadelphia Union to break Cunningham's record of 134, making Donovan MLS's All-Time leading goalscorer with 136 goals. On August 6, 2014, he scored the winning goal at the 2014 MLS All-Star Game, putting the ball past Bayern Munich 
caption: Donovan taking a corner kick for LA Galaxy
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