Donovan Finally Ready for Europe?

Funny how MLS works, huh? On the final day of the regular season and the day that the playoff match ups are finally set, the biggest news maker was a team that couldn't even find a way into the top eight of a 14-team league. Yes, Sunday the league's would-be marquee franchise -- the Los Angeles Galaxy -- were in the news on a couple of fronts, neither for its play in MLS.

As usual, the David Beckham saga to AC Milan dragged on, this time with the English midfielder saying he'll be back from Italy in time for the start of the 2009 season.

Perhaps the bigger news is the U.S. National Team captain Landon Donovan, who scored his 20th goal Sunday in a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas, has again reiterated his desire to give playing in Europe another shot. Earlier in the week he rebuked Beckham for the would transfer thing, wishing he'd waited until the Galaxy season mercifully came to an end.

Finally realizing he's done everything possible to accomplish stateside, Donovan wants to leave his SoCal cocoon and test himself once again..

Following the draw, Donovan was especially candid and stopped just short of playing a "Buy Me" sign on his jersey.

"I'd love to play in the [English] Premiership," Donovan said. "I think it would be incredible. I'd love to play in Spain. I'm not going to go and battle [Chelsea defender and England captain] John Terry and expect to win. But if I can get on a team that plays good soccer, I think I can help."

You'd have to think an avid gamer like Donovan has swapped himself to a couple of clubs in the new 'FIFA 09' to see how things would work out. It's good to see after his embarrassingly awful washout at Bayer Leverkausen and successive tail-between-his-legs return to MLS that Donovan is showing some guts and leadership.

It's also good to see that Donovan isn't delusional. He knows what kind of player he is, and that's not going to be a superstar in Europe. As a U.S. fan it's good to see that he wants to go in the overseas cauldron and test his mettle against the best in the world.

Though he can be much-derided, Donovan does have a skill set that could certainly help some team. His speed would be a clear asset in the up-and-down Premiership. You'd have to be an ultra-Euro snob to think Donovan couldn't help teams like West Brom, Blackburn, Wigan, Everton, etc. (Please not Fulham, please.) Playing in Spain? Another story, though the less physical game would be better for him, and he'd clearly gain in the technical side of this game.

He may be the top American in MLS, but if the league can find a good transfer situation, it has to let Donovan go. He's been the poster boy for a long time and done just about everything that came be done in the American league. Plus he's been a good solider up until now with the whole Beckham circus. Plus shedding his salary would help the Galaxy sign a couple more mid-level players.

If Donovan truly wanted to be a world superstar, the time to go to Europe was five years ago. It's still good to see he realized the error of his ways and wants to be in top form for South Africa 2010 in two years.