Landon Donovan remains as one of the few North American players to have represented Bayern Munich. The German club are regarded as one of the biggest in the world and they have a huge fan following across the globe. Donovan is regarded as the best North American player to have come in the last few decades. His undoubted talent resulted in him playing in European leagues, albeit for a short period. The 32-year-old has largely been playing in the MLS for LA Galaxy.
His first stint in European football came with Bayer Leverkusen after he signed for the German club in 2004. This was after playing for the second string team for several years. He has also represented the likes of San Jose earthquakes on loan spells. His big move, though, came in 2009 when he moved to Bayern Munich on a loan spell. Even though the loan spell did not last long and he made only nine appearances for the Bavarians, it was a thoroughly enjoyable spell according to Donovan. Subsequent loans spells to the Premier League with Everton followed, but Bayern Munich remains the biggest club he has played in his career.
Donovan will be part of the MLS all-star team that will be taking on Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in a pre-season friendly match. He says that he is looking forward to meeting his former teammates like Philipp Lahm.
“They’re just so talented. When you have a chance to play with guys like Phillip Lahm and [Franck] Ribery, you learn a lot about the game and what it takes to get to that next level. Obviously watching the World Cup and how Germany just dominated their way through it was impressive, so there’s a lot we can learn even at this age from watching those guys and seeing how they do things,” said Donovan.