Soccer Fan Blog

Only a week remains between now and the end of Landon Donovan’s loan stint with Everton. The pacy American has excelled — one horrible miss aside — in his 10 week adventure in Liverpool.

American fans are bellowing out reasons why he should stay. And that is a logical choice. Keep Donovan in one of the world’s most challenging leagues they say, and he’ll be ready to rip it up at the World Cup. 

But a return to Los Angeles also provides opportunity to boost the league’s credibility in a way that people tend to push aside. In a haste to keep Donovan over in England, returning to Los Angeles — which is the likeliest outcome — opens up a new door.

Consider that Donovan has developed primarily in MLS, he, along with other players (Jozy Altidore, Stuart Holden, Maurice Edu) have shown the ability to translate MLS play onto a higher level.

So what happens if Donovan returns to MLS and the Galaxy, plays well, and then takes that to the next level — the World Cup? While that obviously doesn’t mean MLS has reached new heights of player development, surely it speaks towards the league’s credibility. And that’s the opportunity he can carve out, and improve the league’s stature.

Surely it won’t happen overnight. And no matter what Donovan does, MLS remains a stepping stone to the European leagues that play at a much higher level. Given MLS players and their performances against lower-level competition in January and February, there is a long way to go still.

No matter what happens, Donovan has proved many doubters wrong with his play in England. Never before had he shown that he could cut it in among the world’s best. And he won’t let a return to MLS hamper his play in South Africa — after all, he made the jump from Los Angeles to Everton look smooth enough.

Now, he must take that to the U.S. national team, and cash in at the Cup. Then he’ll be able to kiss MLS goodbye, and take his game to the next level permanently.