Landon Donovan returns to Leverkusen?

[Bayer04fan]

Does anyone know if LD is set to rejoin his former club come January? I have heard alot of rumors on the Net but nothing official from the club(as far as I have seen on their site) so I am wondering if it is a done deal yet. We could use LD coming off the bench. Does anyone have anymore info?

Thanx....B04F

[ACBerb]

Landon Donovan is leaving Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes after four seasons and will return to Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.

The 22-year-old forward, voted the top player on the U.S. national team for three straight years, will rejoin the Bundesliga team in January following the end of a sharing arrangement between MLS and Bayer Leverkusen.

"They have assured me that it's not prison I'm going back to," Donovan said Tuesday during a telephone conference call. "Germany wasn't always the friendliest place for me when I was younger. They assured me if I don't like it - I hate it and I don't want to be there and it doesn't work out - they will do whatever is in their power to make me happy."

Donovan signed with Bayer Leverkusen in February 1999 when he was just 16 but never got into a game with the club and joined San Jose before the 2001 season. MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis said Donovan was a "homesick 18-year-old kid" at the time.

"I continue to believe Landon has a future in Major League Soccer," Gazidis said. "Whether that's six months from now or 18 months from now or five years from now, I can't say. Our futures are intertwined."

Donovan, a star for the United States at the 2002 World Cup, already has scored 19 goals in 57 games for the U.S. national team and acted as captain in recent games in the absence of Claudio Reyna, sidelined by a leg injury.

Donovan had six goals in 23 league games this season for the Earthquakes, down from 12 goals the previous year. Overall, he has 32 goals in 87 MLS games.

MLS never had a chance to buy his rights.

"There were no serious discussions about financials or economics," Gazidis said. "It was driven by Landon's desire to repay Leverkusen and do the right thing by them."

Leverkusen is 11th in the 18-team Bundesliga at 5-5-4 and is trying to advance to the second round of the European Champions League.

Donovan said the unsettled future of the Earthquakes didn't play a part in his decision. Anschutz Entertainment Group, the team's owner, has said the team will play in San Jose next year but also has discussed selling the team.


There you go B04F..... :drinkbeer

[Bayer04fan]

Thanx, I just finished reading that on CNN SI. So Welcome LD, welcome back!!

[Drsmoo]

I dont know if hell be coming off the bench

http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news?slug=cnnsi-leverkusenexpec&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

"I am sure that Landon will be around 70 to 80% minimum on the field," Reschke said. "He's able to play two or three positions, and he will be an important part of the team. On Tuesday we were sitting together after the game in Kiev [a 4-2 Champions League loss] and discussing: If Landon were here, he would be in the starting XI on Saturday."