It was revealed Thursday that former LA Galaxy striker Landon Donovan is considering coming out of retirement. Here’s why that’s a bad idea.
The news broke Thursday morning when Blake Thomsen of The Cauldron first reported that Donovan’s 21-month retirement from MLS was coming to an end. The news was later confirmed by ESPN FC, the Los Angeles Times and Sports Illustrated. According to all reports, Donovan is expected to join the Galaxy immediately, and could be activated for the team’s next match on Sunday against Orlando City SC.
Donovan would hardly be the first athlete to resume his career after announcing a retirement — NFL quarterback Brett Farve returned twice before finally calling it quits in 2011; Mario Lemieux returned to the NHL for three seasons after his retirement, and of course Michael Jordan retired from the NBA twice before playing his final game for the Washington Wizards at age 40.
There are a multitude of reasons why this move is a negative one for MLS, and for Donovan himself. Here are just a few.
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 07: Landon Donovan
Fitness
The simplest and most obvious question fans and analysts will ask over the next few days is about Donovan’s fitness. After capturing the 2014 MLS Cup, he walked away from the game and hasn’t played in a competitive match since. His focus shifted solely towards his managerial and ownership aspirations.
Donovan walked away from the game six months after being cut from the U.S. Men’s National Team, at the time citing burnout as the primary reason. At age 34, few would question the sentiment that the two-time MVP’s best days are behind him.
For evidence that it takes a long time for a player to get back up to speed after time away from the game, you need look no further than the Galaxy’s most fiercest rival, the San Jose Earthquakes. Forward Henok Goitom, of Serie A and La Liga fame, was recently acquired by the team.
The 31-year-old needed nearly a full month before he was ruled fit for match play. And that was after he’d spent only a few months away from the game. Donovan is three years older than Goitom and he hasn’t played for two years.
Tarnishing his own legacy
On the topic of sentiment, few would question that Donovan is the most celebrated soccer player in U.S. history.
His value to MLS went beyond the on-field accomplishments (six MLS Cups). The best American player in the history of the game, he made the choice to remain in MLS and has helped increase the popularity of the league as a result.
It was the sort of validation the league could not find anywhere else. Donovan was criticized for his trips to Germany, he was tempted to become a fixture in the Premier League after a successful stint with Everton, but instead remained in MLS, showing that its product was capable of producing legitimate products capable of impressing on the international stage.
Donovan’s decision to play in MLS “put us on the map and established our league as a real strong alternative to playing abroad,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told the L.A. Times last year. “We will forever remember the role that he played in establishing us as a global player in the soccer business. His legacy will forever be etched in our league’s history.”
A legacy that could be needlessly damaged if Donovan comes back and, as expected, isn’t able to recreate his old form.
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 21: An official MLS match ball is seen on the pitch during warm-up prior to the MLS match between the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy at StubHub Center on March 21, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Dynamo and the Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
MLS Product
The very product Donovan spent countless hours working to craft could be publicly scrutinized should he be immediately inserted into the game day 18 — such a move would only serve to further perpetuate MLS’s image as a retirement league.
Signings such as those of Steven Gerrard, Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard were hailed by the league as progressive signs that MLS can house the world’s top talent. However, among many of the fans, these moves were simply viewed as moving players in the tail-end of their careers stateside in an attempt to sell more tickets and jerseys.
Whether some of those players are still fully committed to the sport, or just in it for the money, is a question for another time. But either way, the return of a player who has literally retired does not send a positive message about the growth of MLS.
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