Soccer
Landon Donovan Retires
Some think that a pro athlete can go on forever and never ponder thing when they announce the end of a long career that has seem them reach success far beyond what we ever could.
He has played for Bayer Leverkusen, San Jose Earthquakes, Bayern Munich, Everton and the US Men’s National Soccer team.
He was born on March 4/82 in Ontario, California, to Donna Kenney-Cash and Tim Donovan a former semi-pro hockey player from Canada.
At t, his mother allowed him to join an organized league, and he scored seven goals in his first game.
Donovan was a member of Cal Heat, which is a club based in Rancho Cucamonga and in 1997, he was accepted into U.S. Youth Soccer’s Olympic Development Program.
He told the media “that he simply doesn’t have the burning desire that once fueled him, and his “gut” told him it was time to walk away.”
He called it “bittersweet” and admitted to “some sadness” but said the time was right to end his playing career.
He continued “Last year I took a long break from the game, and that was really the first time that [retirement] was a real possibility.”
“I wanted to get away and take some time to see how it would feel after getting away for awhile. I came back rejuvenated and refreshed, but after a few months I started to have some feelings of, you know, it doesn’t feel the same, there’s not that same passion, that same energy.
“So I kept going, and there was some ebbs and flows and there were some good times through the summer – I felt great, I was playing well, we had the [CONCACAF] Gold Cup, it was exciting – and then as this year started, I was enjoying myself.
I was, I think, playing well, doing well, and in the last few weeks I started thinking a lot about it again. I was talking to my family quite a bit about it, and my gut just told me it was right and it was the right time.”
He has entertained thousands of fans around the world and for those who were fortunate enough to see him play, you were entertained by one of the best!
Thanks for putting Soccer on the map!!