By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (Oct 21, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- Landon Donovan has done it again.
Yesterday it was announced that the LA Galaxy midfielder had won the 2009 Honda Player of the Year Award. This is Donovan’s sixth time capturing the title of “best US National Soccer Team player.” He took home the award three times running from 2002 through 2004 and has just completed the triple again from 2007 to Tuesdays ceremony.
To add to the plaudits, Donovan was also named Honda Player of the Decade. It goes almost without saying that he is the first ever six-time winner of the award. He was also the youngest player to win the award in 2002 at the age of twenty. Tim Howard finished second in voting and Jozy Altidore third.
With all of that having been said, is there really any argument against Donovan winning the award this year?
So far in 2009, he is tied for the team lead in games played (15) with third-place award nominee Jozy Altidore. He also started all fifteen matches, more than any other player in the National Team pool. That includes every World Cup Qualifier.
He has scored five times so far this year, good for second in the squad behind Altidore’s six goals. He is the runaway leader in assists with ten. No other player on the team has more than three dimes in ‘09. He has also played the most minutes (1350), has the most points (20), and has never been close to being sent off.
This is a guy that, based on the numbers alone, probably has the strongest case for winning the award this year. We all know though that statistics really never tell the full story.
Indulge me please while I shift to baseball for a quick second. There are a lot of people out there that still pass judgment solely based on numbers. There are those that continue to call Derek Jeter the most overrated player in baseball. Watch a few games this postseason and you realize just how important the Yankees shortstop is to his team.
You have to really watch the games from start to finish to appreciate everything that Landon Donovan does for the National Team. He is no longer just an offensive presence. This is a player that will be darting from midfield to spring an attack one second and then chasing back in his own defensive third just seconds later. He appears to now truly understand his role in the team and what his effort and performance means to the success of this group.
I was watching highlights with my father the other day of the recent US World Cup qualifier against Honduras. You remember, right? The one that wasn’t on television, that whole “World Cup clinching” thing, etc.
Ok, so I’m sitting in the living room with my dad and we are checking out the grainy clips from San Pedro Sula when, out of no where, he describes 'what Donovan means' to a tee. He says “where would the US be without this guy? He is everywhere, he does everything.” Perfect.
Bare in my mind, my father is no soccer expert. He understands the game, played when he was in high school, and refereed a bit when I was younger. Still, he doesn’t follow it like I assume most of us do. He’ll catch a National Team game from time to time but isn't scheduling his plans around it. He gets Donovan though, and it shouldn’t surprise me I suppose.
Watch the games, and you see what this player means. The guy is involved in just about everything positive the US does offensively, no matter if he records the goal or assist. Don’t believe me? Well here is a quick refresher.
Think all the way back to February in Columbus. The US defeats Mexico 2-nil courtesy of a Michael Bradley double. Bradley scored the first off a rebound from an Oguchi Onyewu header. Onyewu never has the chance to head towards goal if Donovan hadn’t slid far post just seconds earlier to send an over-hit corner kick back into the box. Bradley’s second is an assist from Donovan played right into his path to smash past Oswaldo Sanchez.
Jump ahead to June and the US in 1-nil down to Honduras in Chicago. This is as vital a game as it gets in qualifying as the States need to bounce back after a 3-1 setback in Costa Rica just three days prior.
The US draw a penalty right before half-time and Donovan coolly steps up to deposit the spot kick. On a side note, he seems to catch a ton of flack for scoring a bunch of goals from the penalty spot? Why? There may not be a more pressure packed situation in a game. You want a confident leader to take these chances and Donovan seems to always come through.
The US Men eventually win the game against Honduras on a Carlos Bocanegra header. The play stars with a Donovan corner kick that is redirected into Bocanegra’s path by Clint Dempsey and most US fans can take a big sigh of relief.
Flash forward to the Confederations Cup semifinal in South Africa against then World number one Spain. Goals from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey see the US through to the final, but Donovan was ever-present on the night. It was his deflected cross that was not dealt with by Spain that lead to Dempsey’s goal. More than that, he defended like mad, ran all over the field, and simply willed this team to victory.
I’m sure Landon Donovan does not need another new car from Honda. Ultimately though, his sixth Player of the Year award is truly deserving. He certainly couldn’t have done it without his teammates, but one usually does tend to stand out above the rest.
He has scored five times so far this year, good for second in the squad behind Altidore’s six goals. He is the runaway leader in assists with ten. No other player on the team has more than three dimes in ‘09. He has also played the most minutes (1350), has the most points (20), and has never been close to being sent off.
This is a guy that, based on the numbers alone, probably has the strongest case for winning the award this year. We all know though that statistics really never tell the full story.
Indulge me please while I shift to baseball for a quick second. There are a lot of people out there that still pass judgment solely based on numbers. There are those that continue to call Derek Jeter the most overrated player in baseball. Watch a few games this postseason and you realize just how important the Yankees shortstop is to his team.
You have to really watch the games from start to finish to appreciate everything that Landon Donovan does for the National Team. He is no longer just an offensive presence. This is a player that will be darting from midfield to spring an attack one second and then chasing back in his own defensive third just seconds later. He appears to now truly understand his role in the team and what his effort and performance means to the success of this group.
I was watching highlights with my father the other day of the recent US World Cup qualifier against Honduras. You remember, right? The one that wasn’t on television, that whole “World Cup clinching” thing, etc.
Ok, so I’m sitting in the living room with my dad and we are checking out the grainy clips from San Pedro Sula when, out of no where, he describes 'what Donovan means' to a tee. He says “where would the US be without this guy? He is everywhere, he does everything.” Perfect.
Bare in my mind, my father is no soccer expert. He understands the game, played when he was in high school, and refereed a bit when I was younger. Still, he doesn’t follow it like I assume most of us do. He’ll catch a National Team game from time to time but isn't scheduling his plans around it. He gets Donovan though, and it shouldn’t surprise me I suppose.
Watch the games, and you see what this player means. The guy is involved in just about everything positive the US does offensively, no matter if he records the goal or assist. Don’t believe me? Well here is a quick refresher.
Think all the way back to February in Columbus. The US defeats Mexico 2-nil courtesy of a Michael Bradley double. Bradley scored the first off a rebound from an Oguchi Onyewu header. Onyewu never has the chance to head towards goal if Donovan hadn’t slid far post just seconds earlier to send an over-hit corner kick back into the box. Bradley’s second is an assist from Donovan played right into his path to smash past Oswaldo Sanchez.
Jump ahead to June and the US in 1-nil down to Honduras in Chicago. This is as vital a game as it gets in qualifying as the States need to bounce back after a 3-1 setback in Costa Rica just three days prior.
The US draw a penalty right before half-time and Donovan coolly steps up to deposit the spot kick. On a side note, he seems to catch a ton of flack for scoring a bunch of goals from the penalty spot? Why? There may not be a more pressure packed situation in a game. You want a confident leader to take these chances and Donovan seems to always come through.
The US Men eventually win the game against Honduras on a Carlos Bocanegra header. The play stars with a Donovan corner kick that is redirected into Bocanegra’s path by Clint Dempsey and most US fans can take a big sigh of relief.
Flash forward to the Confederations Cup semifinal in South Africa against then World number one Spain. Goals from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey see the US through to the final, but Donovan was ever-present on the night. It was his deflected cross that was not dealt with by Spain that lead to Dempsey’s goal. More than that, he defended like mad, ran all over the field, and simply willed this team to victory.
I’m sure Landon Donovan does not need another new car from Honda. Ultimately though, his sixth Player of the Year award is truly deserving. He certainly couldn’t have done it without his teammates, but one usually does tend to stand out above the rest.
Look at the numbers to build your case if you chose. Me, I’ll watch the games. Donovan has done it again and he’s earned it in 2009.
Graig Carbino covers American Abroad and writes a weekly column for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at graiger11@yahoo.com
