Thank you, Landon

Image: Getty

Landon Donovan played his last match for the U.S. Men's national team tonight in a game versus Ecuador in East Hartford, Connecticut. He didn't score but sure got close. There was spectacle while he was on the pitch and his teammates wanted it for him.

Altidore served Donovan the perfect ball and he Landon struck it well. The post, however, disagreed. The rest of us, all of us, wanted it for him. 

But Landon gave us so many goals already with the national team. 57 of them, actually. Some were expected, some spectacular, some made us dream, some made us cry. There was the second goal in the 2-0 versus Mexico in 2002 and a passage to the quarterfinals. There was also the goal versus Mexico that clinched the qualification to Brazil 2014. And, of course, the goals versus Slovenia and Algeria in 2010. 

Donovan's goal versus Algeria encapsulated what it is to be an American soccer player. The goal started from the bottom up, from Tim Howard's pass, to teamwork between Altidore and Dempsey, to Donovan's sublime final touch off a rebound. It was meant to be and it was meant to be dramatic. Americans love drama and Donovan wrote us the script.

Andres Cantor put it well during his narration of the goal. The goal was and had to be scored by America's franchise player. 

Tonight we say goodbye to his presence on the pitch for the USMNT. True, he was missing at the World Cup and it would have been nicer for his career to end with another tournament. And yet, in the end, Landon chooses his own path, as he did by staying in MLS and foregoing a career in Europe. He knew it was his time to end this journey. Landon chose to say goodbye at 32 with his head held high, still scoring, still smiling, still dreaming.

Thank you, Landon, for helping us dream of soccer.

American Legend: Donovan Retires

                             

It came out of nowhere. Today, US Men's National Team fans were going about their daily chores when they saw a shocking headline: Landon Donovan is retiring. The leading MLS and USMNT will exit from professional soccer at the end of the season at age 32.

We lose a star, a constant, a dream. His retirement came as swift as his movement through the pitch. Always faster than the rest, always looking for the goal.

We remember the many moments that made him a legend. We recall his goal in 2002 versus Mexico in the round of 16. It made the score 2-0, forever coining the "Dos a Cero." There was his hat trick versus Ecuador in 2007 and again versus Scotland in 2012. And of course, clinchers like the goal versus Algeria to win the group in South Africa 2010 and versus Mexico in 2013 for another "Dos a Cero," this time cementing the Americans' entrance into Brazil 2010 and leaving Mexico to hope for a playoff spot versus New Zealand.

There was the San Jose Earthquakes and LA Galaxy, of course. Two trophies for the Quakes, three for the Galaxians. 137 goals in MLS. His performances with Everton in 2010 and the sublime goals he scored will always be remembered. He was on top of the world in 2010 and it showed at the World Cup.

We could write interminable accolades for Mr Donovan, so I will leave this simple. When Donovan chose soccer as a little boy, he did so because he saw the great stars playing the game and he wanted to be like them. A true origin story for our best American player in history. So who's to say that the next great star is not out there, having watched Landon Donovan light up the league and the international stage. That is, perhaps, his greatest gift, for now a small American boy need not look abroad for soccer idols. He has Landon Donovan. Our American Soccer Legend.