Major League Soccer

Donovan returns to Bayer Leverkusen, ending 4-year San Jose stay.

(Tuesday, November 23, 2004) -- After four seasons of playing with the San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer, striker\midfielder Landon Donovan is returning to Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, the club that first signed him as teenager.

Donovan, 22, did not adjust well to Leverkusen and Germany after signing in 1999 and MLS negotiated a pair of complicated two-year loan arrangements to obtain him.

"They have assured me that it's not prison I'm going back to," Donovan said today in a media conference call. "Germany wasn't always the friendliest place for me when I was younger. They assured me if I don't like it -- I hate it and I don't want to be there and it doesn't work out -- they will do whatever is in their power to make me happy."

The Earthquakes, who won MLS titles in 2001 and 2003 MLS Cup titles with Donovan, will receive a replacement allocation from the league.

Donovan, who last week was named winner of the Honda Award as the best U.S. men's player for the third straight year, originally signed an innovative two-year "sharing" agreement in 2001 which gave the Leverkusen the right to recall the World Cup veteran at the end of the 2002 season. Leverkusen exercised that right to retain Donovan, but negotiations between MLS, Leverkusen and Donovan's agent Richard Motzkin of SportsNet LLC, resulted in a new two-year deal on December 18, 2002. The new arrangement allowed Leverkusen to recall Donovan at the conclusion of the 2004 MLS season.

"I continue to believe Landon has a future in Major League Soccer," MLS deputy commissioner Gazidis said. "Whether that's six months from now or 18 months from now or five years from now, I can't say. Our futures are intertwined."

After earning the Golden Ball as the "Most Valuable Player" for the United States at the 1999 FIFA Under-17 Youth World Championship in New Zealand, Donovan became one of the youngest Americans ever to sign a professional contract overseas when he joined Leverkusen in February 1999.

Donovan's 57 international appearances and 19 goals with the U.S. men have nearly exclusively come during his four years in MLS.

Donovan had six goals in 23 regular-season games this season for the Earthquakes, down from 12 goals the previous year. Overall, he has 32 goals in 87 regular-season matches.

MLS was not afforded the opportunity by Leverkusen to keep Donovan any longer. "There were no serious discussions about financials or economics," Gazidis said. "It was driven by Landon's desire to repay Leverkusen and do the right thing by them."

Leverkusen, one of the traditional Bundesliga powers, is 5-5-4 with 19 points in a three-way tie for ninth place, but only 10 points off the lead. In the European Champions League Group B, the club is tied with Spain's Real Madrid at 2-1-2 with eight points, trailing the Ukraine's Dynamo Kiev (3-1-1, 10). The top two teams advance to the Round of 16.

Donovan is sponsored by adidas, a German-based company. During the recent MLS Cup weekend, Erich Stamminger, president and chief executive officer of adidas America, said, "MLS, of course," when asked where he would like to see Donovan play.

The unsettled future of the Earthquakes did not held San Jose keep its top star. Anschutz Entertainment Group, which is the owner\operator of San Jose and four other MLS clubs, looked to sell the club over the past season and there was a possibility of moving it to Texas. After sales talks fell through, AEG announced the team would play in San Jose in 2005, but the long-term outlook is unclear. Donovan is a Californian who enjoyed playing in his home state.

Gary Davidson is SoccerTimes managing editor. E-mail Gary Davidson.