He’s Just Visiting

Landon Donovan is back in Deutschland, hoping that his third visit will make up for his first two.

Donovan’s speed, dribbling skills and vision, as well as his goal scoring, have made him one of the most accomplished soccer players the U.S. has ever produced.

If the U.S. World Cup team is to survive its tough first-round matches, much of that burden will fall on the playmaking skills of 24-year-old Donovan. With 81 international appearances for the U.S. heading into this World Cup, he has matured significantly as a player since his national team debut in 2000.

In California, he is top dog. Two Major League Soccer championships with the San Jose Earthquakes and another with the Galaxy prove that.

But twice, Donovan left California to play for Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga. Twice he came home with -- in a manner of speaking -- his tail between his legs.

At Leverkusen, a grim industrial city that couldn’t be further in outlook from the sun, sea and sand of California, he was only one of the pack of players, and not a particularly important one.

Donovan was never happy in Germany. A little more than a year ago he was only too glad to come home to his family, including twin sister Tristan, to his fiancee, actress Bianca Kajlich, to their new Manhattan Beach home, and to the almost $1-million-a-year contract the Galaxy gave him, courtesy of owner AEG.

Now he is back in Germany, intent on showing the Germans that, yes, he can play this game and pretty well too. Even at the highest stage. Even at the World Cup.

“I don’t harbor any ill will, and I don’t hate Germans or Germany,” Donovan said recently. “I was very immature as a person, as a soccer player, as a professional. The first time, all I ever asked for was a chance, and that didn’t come and that’s why it was frustrating.

“The second time, I had a chance and I didn’t do well with it. I can rant and rave and say they didn’t treat me right, blah, blah, blah. I had a chance to perform and I didn’t, so ...

“Is there blame to go both ways? Probably. But I can’t say it was just them....I have to be honest with myself.

“It wasn’t the right situation for a lot of reasons.”

The player Donovan would become already was evident at the Korea/Japan World Cup in 2002, when he scored against Poland in the first round, against Mexico in the second round and tormented Germany during the U.S. team’s 1-0 loss in the quarterfinals.

Another four years have further polished his game.

Certainly, Donovan has a confidence about him now that is reflected in his status as the U.S. captain when veteran Claudio Reyna is absent. (Reyna is the only U.S. player nursing an injury, with a troublesome right hamstring, though he is likely to play.)

Donovan sat down at the Home Depot Center not long ago and talked about how he has changed and about the things that are important in his life.

Last year’s move back to MLS and the Galaxy put him at a comfort level that allowed him to flourish. It also forced him into a leadership role on and off the field.

“Getting to come back here, getting paid a lot of money compared to other guys in the league, I don’t feel like I can just kind of be another guy on the field,” Donovan said. “It’s not fair. I can’t look at Herculez [Gomez] last year making 16 grand a year and say, ‘Come on, buddy.’ ‘Well, how about you come on? It’s your job.’

“That whole situation playing out was great for me and also woke me up to being more professional and more of a leader. I have to perform. I don’t have a choice of not performing.” That has carried over to the U.S. team, where Coach Bruce Arena has insisted that Donovan take on more leadership responsibility.

“I was always hesitant to say things to people, to get in people’s faces, if I needed to,” Donovan said. “Now, I feel like I’ve learned enough about the game where if I see a situation happen I know I’m right about it and I can say something. I feel comfortable doing that now.

“Bruce demands that too. Especially when you have the [captain’s] armband. You don’t have a choice. That’s your job.”

For a decade or more, Alexi Lalas was the face of U.S. soccer. Now, that face belongs to Donovan, and it brings with it a heavy schedule of personal appearances, endorsements and media obligations.

“Four years ago, that would have killed me,” Donovan said. “I would have been mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. I’m content right now, and I like doing those things.”

On the field, Donovan’s game has continued to grow. Opponents now know the danger he represents and set out to nullify the threat. He is a marked man.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” he said. “You can’t tell me that Kobe Bryant doesn’t deal with that on a nightly basis and he still succeeds, so that’s my challenge.”

The U.S. has a difficult first-round group, featuring the Czech Republic and Italy, two legitimate European powers, and Ghana, one of Africa’s rising teams. Advancing to the round of 16 is not a given. “I try not to analyze it too much,” Donovan said. “It’s about performing in three games. Either you perform or you don’t. You can talk about it all you want. You can talk about getting one point in this game, three in this game and one in this game and you’ll advance.

“Either you bring it or you don’t, for three games. That’s what our objective has to be.”

Rekindling the spirit of 2002 will help.

“When we started really believing in ourselves, toward the end of the 2002 World Cup, we were good, man,” Donovan said. “Against Germany, we were very, very good. I never realized it. When you’re in it, you don’t think about it. But we were not just competitive, athletic and fit, we were a good, good team.”

The 2006 team is on the threshold of being just as good. If it is, European clubs again might come calling for Donovan. Would he return to Europe?

“Not now,” he said. “Maybe someday. If I felt there was a reason or a good situation to go to, it’s possible.

“But I can’t imagine I’d go back to Germany. Maybe somewhere else.”

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Donovan’s travels

The professional soccer career of Landon Donovan:

* Bayer Leverkusen, 1999-2000 -- At 16, became the youngest U.S. player to sign a contract to play overseas. Didn’t break into the first team with his German club.

* San Jose, 2001-2004 -- On loan to the Earthquakes, he scored 32 goals and 10 more in the playoffs in four seasons, leading San Jose to two MLS titles.

* Bayer Leverkusen, 2004-05 -- Played seven games with no goals in a second stint in the Bundesliga, before negotiating a return to MLS.

* Galaxy, 2005-06 -- Scored 12 goals with 10 assists last year in leading the Galaxy to MLS and U.S. Open Cup titles.