FRISCO, Texas -- Landon Donovan may go down in history as the best playoff performer Major League Soccer has ever seen.
In just five seasons in the league, Donovan has led his teams to three MLS Cup berths, winning titles in 2001 and 2003 with the San Jose Earthquakes and currently sitting on the brink of another championship with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He's scored in each of the two title games he's played in so far, and in 2003, he scored the first double in MLS Cup history to earn MVP honors.
Perhaps if Donovan expands on his MLS-record 14 playoff goals and stands holding the Alan I. Rothenberg trophy for the third time Sunday afternoon at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, after playing the New England Revolution, he'll finally put to bed the insinuation that there is another Landon Donovan lurking.
The "other" Landon Donovan, to hear some observers say it, doesn't care to show up for every game. He couldn't make it as a professional in Germany, they say, so he came back to the United States to play for his hometown team.
The "real" Landon Donovan is tired of hearing that kind of talk.
"I'd be lying if I said [criticism] didn't affect me at all, but fortunately I'm pretty comfortable in my skin," he said Tuesday. "I realize nobody else lives my life, and nobody understands what my day-to-day life is. Nobody understands what I need to do.
"I would love to sit back and critique everyone else's life. You know, sit in my chair at home and critique everyone else's life, but I just don't have time for that and I don't really care."
Life and soccer aren't always easy for Donovan, anointed the poster child of MLS and of U.S. soccer in general. The belief that it is better, without exception, for U.S. soccer stars to play and succeed in Europe than to ply their trade in MLS has hurt his image among the soccer media and fans. When he plays well, out come the compliments on his precise runs through the midfield and his incredible vision. But on the rare off day, the criticisms come twice as fast.
This year, Donovan led the USA on a tear through World Cup qualifying, topping the squad with seven goals and eight assists as the Red, White and Blue clinched a berth in their fifth consecutive World Cup finals. But as the summer wore on, the jammed schedule seemed to get to Donovan, and the perception was that he eased off in the Galaxy's late summer matches.
According to Donovan, the struggle to stay at his peak is just another thing the naysayers are ignorant of.
"People just don't understand, really, is what it comes down to," he said. "It's difficult mentally and physically to always be at 100 percent.
"I'm sure they'll say it next year if we have a successful World Cup and I come back and I'm bad for a game," he added. "They'll say it again, and that's just the way it goes."
But this season has arguably been Donovan's best. The Redlands, Calif., native matched career highs in both goals and assists with 12 and 10, respectively. He says his performance this year is proof that he's trying as best as he can to do away with, once and for all, the criticism that he only performs when it's convenient for him.
"It's not something that I say, 'I accept this and it's never going to change,'" he said. "I've worked harder at that than anything else in my life, professionally.
"It doesn't always come off that way, but I felt this year, this was clearly my best year from being motivated consistently. And I was proud of that, and I can only improve on that."
For all of the snide comments fired in Donovan's direction, the 23-year-old earns equal or greater respect from his teammates and peers.
His movements are on the minds of the Revolution this week, as the Eastern Conference Champions look to shut down the speedy attacker as much as they hope to go on the attack themselves.
Revolution forward Taylor Twellman -- the Budweiser Golden Boot winner for scoring the most goals in MLS this season -- said he's happy that he and the Revs get to face his national team mate Donovan and the Galaxy in MLS Cup this weekend.
"I don't know if I would even put me in the same league as his," Twellman said.
And Revs head coach Steve Nicol cited Donovan as one player who could give the Revolution defense fits if he has his way on Sunday.
"The one thing I think we've done defensively is we have read the game well and kind of put fires out before they start, so to speak," Nicol said. "I think that's what we have to do with Landon. He's clearly talented. You know, he does have that type of pace ... We hope to make them be under pressure so that people like Landon and Herculez [Gomez] are not going to be involved in the game."
Speaking of Gomez, Donovan pointed out that it was the minimally experienced Gomez -- not Donovan -- who's scored 18 goals in all competitions this season, earning team MVP honors. It was Gomez who carried the Green and Gold to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at the end of September.
"I think it's unfair when you have a guy like Herculez, who has, I think, probably scored as many goals as I have, not getting the recognition -- not quite getting the exposure that he should get and not getting paid on the same scale," Donovan said.
And there are nine other players who will be wearing Galaxy shirts on the field on Sunday, as well.
"I can score five goals; if New England scores six, then we're going to lose the game," he said. "If people weren't paying attention during the year, we've got a couple of guys on our team that are pretty damn good soccer players going forward.
"I think defensively, that's the reason why we're here. It's not because we've been scoring goals. It's because everybody's taken it upon themselves to defend better and that's why we're here."
Put simply, the Galaxy are not "Landon Donovan's team" or "Landon Donovan and 10 other guys." At least he doesn't see it that way.
And he doesn't use his detractors' harsh words to propel him to new heights. He says he doesn't need to.
Instead, Donovan harkens back to the promise he made when he returned to MLS this spring. His goal was to continue to help build the sport in the United States and win a few championships along the way.
"The motivation I have used this year is that I need to validate why I'm here," he said. "I need to validate what I'm being paid. I need to validate the expectations that I have of myself."
While stars like Donovan may never escape the brutality of the spotlight, come Sunday evening he might have a sparkling new weapon to add to his defensive arsenal.
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
