Landon Donovan’s march to the top of Major League Soccer’s all-time scoring list once seemed inevitable.
But Donovan hit the career brakes with that high-profile sabbatical, and who knew what was going to happen then?
Now, the Summer of Donovan has unfolded, and spectacularly so. And the man is right back on track!
I’m predicting it right here: Donovan, already the U.S. national team’s all-time leading scorer and the LA Galaxy’s all-time leading scorer, will surpass Jeff Cunningham as Major League Soccer’s all-time leading scorer by year’s end.
It just seems inevitable given how well he performed in the Gold Cup, with the momentum rolling right into his re-introduction into the Galaxy lineup. With three goals Sunday against Dallas, Donovan made a big push toward claiming top spot this year. He is third, only three goals south of Jaime Moreno and but four goals behind Cunningham, who only appears to be holding the kingpin spot at this point.
(MORE: Donovan is ProSoccerTalk’s MLS Player of the Week)
Here’s why this is important as it concerns 2013: Donovan does have options at the end of the season, when he will be out of contract with the Galaxy. Given his history, and given his desire to be in Brazil next year with the U.S. national team (which means he needs regular playing time), remaining in MLS seems most likely. Then again, it’s Donovan! And that means anything is possible when we start discussing his career and future in general.
Donovan has six goals in 14 matches, or roughly one every other MLS match. With 10 MLS regular season contests remaining, well, you can do the math.
Here’s the current list of all-time MLS leading scorers:
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