Landon Donovan came in as a second-half sub for Club León on Tuesday night as the American continued his second comeback from retirement. He played about 30 minutes for the Liga MX side in a 4-1 win over second-tier Cafetaleros in Copa MX action. It was his second appearance in 10 León matches since announcing his return to football in January, which begs the question: Is he still getting back to match fitness or was his signing purely a publicity stunt?
Zyen Jones, a 17-year-old forward, is set to become the latest American to move to Germany in search of playing time he can’t find in the U.S. Jones, who went on trial with Schalke in January, will move from Atlanta United’s academy to Schalke’s U-19 team when he turns 18 in August.
Chelsea rolled into the FA Cup quarterfinals with Olivier Giroud scoring his first goal for the club in an emphatic 4-0 victory over Hull City at Stamford Bridge. The 62nd minute also saw the introduction of Kyle Scott, a U.S. U-20, for his club debut.
Do you miss Landon Donovan? We bet you do. Be sad no more, then, because Donovan is returning to the United States in March to play a friendly for Club León against his old club, the San Jose Earthquakes. This is a good opportunity for both clubs to open themselves up to new potential fan markets.
Breaking News
Guess who’s back, back again? Perhaps the greatest U.S. soccer player of all time, Landon Donovan returned to the pitch in a professional match for the first time since 2016. The Landon Donovan Liga MX debut for León on Saturday night marked the American’s introduction to Mexican soccer and his second comeback from retirement in two years.
Geoff Cameron is back at it. After giving an in-depth New York Times interview last week, the USMNT defender had more he wanted to say. A Players' Tribune article was published on Friday as the Stoke City player spoke about how he feels U.S. Soccer needs to move forward, a timely piece given the U.S. Soccer Federation presidential election on Saturday.
Matt Miazga is a very promising young American center back who plays for Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie, on loan from Chelsea. Because we are interested in the goings-on of American players across the pond, we though it was newsworthy when Miazga was suspended for grabbing an opposing player's private region.
The incident happened on January 20, against Heerenveen in a 1-1 draw. The player whose crotch Miazga grabbed is Heerenveen right back Denzel Dumfries, which sounds like a made-up name but we assure you is not.
Here's a video of the incident:
When the USMNT lost Jonathan Gonzalez to Mexico, it highlighted a disconnect between U.S. Soccer and the Latino community. It’s an issue that desperately needs to be fixed. But while the U.S. focuses on keeping Mexican dual nationals stateside, they can’t forget about the European-based dual nationals who are eligible to represent multiple countries at the senior level. In particular, five young Americans abroad need to be locked down to ensure they play for the USMNT.
It took just 34 minutes for new boy Michy Batshuayi to get his first goal for Borussia Dortmund. Fullback Jeremy Toljan, who is eligible to play for the USA, Germany and Croatia at the senior national level (please pick the USA, Jeremy) supplied the assist.
That didn't take long. It's a debut goal for Michy Batshuayi! Dortmund lead 1-0. #KOEBVB https://t.co/zU6cIysBKj
Remember before Gyasi Zardes received his 38th international cap, before the shocking incompetencies revealed by the Jonathan Gonzalez switch and before the catastrophe in Couva, when the only real question facing U.S.