11 Dec 2014
US soccer star Landon Donovan failed to lift the MLS Supporters' Shield, in what will be his final season in the game, after LA Galaxy suffered a defeat against Seattle Sounders in the final. It would have given him a shot at his second trophy of the season.
Now, Donovan will be focusing his entire effort on lifting the MLS cup. Regarded as one of the best American players to have ever graced the game, Donovan announced that he will be retiring from all forms of football at the end of the season. He has been in and out of the game over the last few years after suffering from burnout.
It was only a few years ago that Donovan was featuring regularly for club and country. He did not have any rest even during the off-season after joining Everton on a short-term loan spell. This appears to have taken his toll after the 32-year-old announced his retirement much earlier than expected. He was not part of the US team that did well at the World Cup 2014. It is heavily expected that Donovan will become a pundit in the future after ending his playing career. LA Galaxy lacked the cutting edge without star striker Robbie Keane, but Donovan defended his teammates after the match.
"We can't play a whole lot better than that. If I'm not mistaken, I think they had three shots? Four? Up until the goal, you would have thought that they were never going to score. Give them credit. They made a play that made the difference, but I think we're OK with the way we played. We just needed to find a goal, and that let us down today. Overall, an excellent performance, and, obviously, results matter - it's hard to lose - but I think we can be confident with how we're playing going forward,” said Donovan.