CARSON, Calif. – Landon Donovan’s final game could take place on Sunday.
Let that sink in for a minute.
Should the Galaxy fail to advance past Real Salt Lake in Sunday’s Western Conference Semifinal second leg, the professional career of the greatest American soccer player ever will come to an anti-climactic end at StubHub Center.
When Donovan announced that he was calling time on his 14-year career at the end of the season, many envisioned that the only fitting end could be with him lifting MLS Cup on Dec. 7. But if LA are unable to defeat RSL, Donovan’s career will end in much different fashion.
With such high stakes, does that mean that Donovan is looking to adapt his game on Sunday? Not a chance.
“I have to do what I do and play how I play,” said Donovan. “If it doesn’t happen then it doesn’t happen. We think that if we do the right things then we have a good chance to advance.
“I’ve never dealt with this so I don’t know, but I’m human so, of course, I have thought about it,” he added. “I'm just going to play aggressively and, as cheesy as it sounds, play like it is my last game. If I do, it won't be my last game. But you never know what could happen in this game.”
Ahead of the game against Salt Lake, there’s no “win one for Landon” rallying cry among those in the Galaxy locker room, in fact, there’s no thought about the fact it could be his final game at all. LA’s players and head coach Bruce Arena insist that they’re done putting thought into Donovan’s retirement. Instead they’re focused on their own individual honors.
“It’s going to be possibly his last game until the end, you know?” said a chuckling Marcelo Sarvas. “We don’t think about that. There are so many things to worry about and Landon’s career is not our priority. He made his decision and it’s not our first thought.”
Added Arena, “We’ve spent entirely too many weeks dealing with Landon’s retirement and we’ve put that passed us now so our attention is on this game now. With all due respect to Landon, that’s certainly not our minds coming into this game.”
Even though the match could be his final one, Donovan is adamant that all the emotions surrounding the end of his career will not get to him. Rather, he’s embracing the challenge that is ahead of him.
“The focus is trying to win the game,” Donovan said. “At the end if it doesn’t work out then we’ll deal with that then. For now we’re approaching this like any playoff game at home where we need to win.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and reach him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
