Landon Donovan is “the Vincent Van Gogh of American soccer”

With Landon Donovan calling it quits on his U.S. national team career, his swansong arrives in East Hartford on Friday against Ecuador.

All week on ProSoccerTalk we have been looking back at his incredible career for the USA, as Donovan will make his 157th and final appearance for the Stars and Stripes. Sad face.

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One half of the Men in Blazers, Roger Bennett, has written a reflective piece on Donovan’s career with the U.S. national team and refers to him as “the Vincent Van Gogh of American soccer” as his full impact may not be appreciated for a number of years.

Here is an extract from Rog’s piece, which you can read in full here, that encapsulates the global perception of Landon Donovan and how under-appreciated he may be in American soccer circles. Farewell LD. The man. The myth. The LegenD:

“Donovan’s is a career that will be reappraised the more MLS grows, and the greater the United States national team’s global standing becomes. Like Jimmy Carter, whose approval rate grows the further removed we become from his presidency, he will be seen for what he is. A human, complex, always intelligent, often breathtaking footballer. A genuine U.S. goal threat in an era in which American goalkeepers were more the norm. A home-loving player who suffered for his decision to remain in MLS, a reality which is now standard. An inventive spark on national teams built to persevere. A divisive figure in the United States who is admired in England, and both feared and respected in Mexico. A human being in an image-dominated age who knew exactly when he needed to take a break.”

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