Landon Donovan Quotes & Sayings

The first goal is always important. — Landon Donovan

Everything balled up into one: Beat Mexico and qualify. There's no better scenario. — Landon Donovan

I'm a little skeptical of foreign coaches in our league and in U.S. Soccer just because of how different our league is and our players are than other players around the world. — Landon Donovan

I think about the things I control and do them well. — Landon Donovan

I don't think in terms of legacy or that kind of stuff. I've always thought that'll take care of itself if I did everything right on a day-to-day basis. — Landon Donovan

If you let the reality of the business side get to you, it can turn you, and that's not good at all. — Landon Donovan

Americans love winners, so if we win we know we'll get a lot of support. — Landon Donovan

Most of us are in this more than just for playing soccer. We're in it for the bigger goal - to move it along for the next generation. — Landon Donovan

I've never met anybody who says they don't like the World Cup. If you're a soccer fan or not, everybody loves watching it, and I think it could be the same for other sports. — Landon Donovan

Relaxing, going on vacation, sleeping, having fun when I want, golfing when I want, do whatever I want - I am going to enjoy it. — Landon Donovan

Men are sort of doofuses about sunscreen, and for the most part, women are more inclined to take better care of themselves, but a reminder is always good for everyone. — Landon Donovan

There have been weeks when I've not been hydrating properly or not eating properly or training too hard. When I do that, I don't feel good. It has to be the exact formula. — Landon Donovan

It's got to be harder in real life to win a World Cup. But depending on if you play World Class level on FIFA, it's going to be difficult to win in the video game, too. — Landon Donovan

You put a lot of pressure on your defenders to be able to hold the fort when you go forward. — Landon Donovan

My brother and I have always had this theory that, as stupid as it sounds, in video games, there is a certain hand-eye coordination and a thought process that you can learn. — Landon Donovan

Some things you can shake off, some things dig deeper than soccer. — Landon Donovan

Fortunately for me, it's my most favorite drill, and that is finishing. However, from a young age, soccer players in this country are not taught how to properly finish, and I think you see that through the professional ranks, that we don't have that killer instinct of the forwards from other countries. — Landon Donovan

The biggest thing for me with charity is awareness. Obviously as an athlete, I have an opportunity to make people more aware. The average person doesn't have that opportunity, so the best way is to spare some money, clothing, food - something. Most of us have a little excess of something that we can give. — Landon Donovan

Unfortunately, I think there's not enough education about hydration. When I was young, we knew nothing about it. We all know that there's cases of athletes having serious issues because of dehydration and even dying. — Landon Donovan

He's confident. He knows what he's good at and he has people around him to help him.
(on Freddy Adu) — Landon Donovan

To imagine being in Germany having a home crowd is kind of silly, but we'll take it. — Landon Donovan

That's a part that's always a challenge for athletes: trying to keep the passion alive while knowing it's still your job. There's no question that at some point, probably sooner rather than later, I'll be pretty burned out. And when that time comes, then I'll take a step back and take a look at it and see if I want to keep going. — Landon Donovan

I got to say 'Hi' to Dolly Parton, which my mom thought was kind of cool. — Landon Donovan

I miss driving to Goodison Park. I miss just the positive energy of the fans walking into the stadium and how much they care about that club and the team. And I miss the players a lot. — Landon Donovan

There is something to be said for waking up every morning and seeing the sun. — Landon Donovan

Do I feel pressure being a young player with high expectations? Nah. — Landon Donovan

The advantage doesn't come because you can run more than someone over 90 minutes. The advantage comes when, in the tenth minute, I'm sprinting back and making another guy chase me. By the end of the game, that guy's worn down, but I can still keep going at the same pace. — Landon Donovan

My decision to return to the MLS is one that I have made with thoughtful consideration. — Landon Donovan

I think all players reach a point in their career where it's natural to lose some of that hunger, that desire, to sort of break out or be a star. — Landon Donovan

You got me: I do Pilates. I love Pilates because we do very specific training in soccer for the same six or seven muscles, but we neglect so many other muscles. So when I do Pilates, it helps get all the rest of the muscles in shape and gets them working together. — Landon Donovan

I know conventional wisdom has always been to go to Europe, and I did that early on, and I tried it, but I realised pretty quickly if I wasn't playing, nothing else mattered - I wasn't going to be happy. — Landon Donovan

I didn't have to step up into a leadership role, ... I just had to be there and help out where I could. But this year I had to be more of the man. — Landon Donovan

I used to focus more on scoring. Now I take a lot of pride and pleasure in helping someone else do well. — Landon Donovan

If you've followed my career at all, you will know that I perform best in comfortable surroundings. Though other leagues may seem more enticing to other players, it's something I'm just not interested in doing personally. — Landon Donovan

I would probably say that being a commissioner in sports is one of the hardest jobs in the world. — Landon Donovan

In my heart of hearts, I thought, if we get a 1-0 win and the team doesn't perform well, that would feel good. — Landon Donovan

I think it's probably a good lesson for other people to follow - to not always make the decision that's popular for others, but to do what you feel like is the right thing to do. — Landon Donovan

Skin cancer became personal to my family when my father was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma. — Landon Donovan

I'm lucky to be doing what I love, and I appreciate that I can make a good living doing it. I love to play soccer-whether it's in a game, practice or playing with friends-so it isn't like I'm under pressure at all. — Landon Donovan

I genuinely want to do my best every day, and I genuinely want to enjoy life every day. — Landon Donovan

As a spectator, you get to watch everything, but I'd much rather be playing than watching. I'll have time to watch later in my career. — Landon Donovan

Life isn't perfect, of course, but we all know it's how you react to things that counts. — Landon Donovan

I've never asked a player if they would sign my shoe. — Landon Donovan

If I look back after 10 weeks and say I really want to stay then maybe I can make that happen. If I say OK it was good, but I'm ready to go then I can go, but for now I'm taking it week by week. — Landon Donovan

I talk periodically with the producers at EA and I try to be as honest as possible because as great as EA does, you just don't want to hear good things. These people are really passionate about making games and making them as realistic as possible. — Landon Donovan

I love winning and any team I'm on, I expect to win. — Landon Donovan

I think where we're still a little bit behind some other countries is just our pure soccer knowledge and our savvy on the field. That takes time and generations that have watched soccer growing up, played the game growing up. — Landon Donovan

I like teff, an Ethiopian grain. It's not so popular in the States yet, but it's really good, almost like a porridge. And I love sushi, but it's not always that healthy, so I don't keep it at home. — Landon Donovan

As athletes, we all have egos, we all think we can help, and when you're not given that chance, it's hard to watch. — Landon Donovan

My guess is that if David Beckham wants Ronaldo's jersey, he's going to get it. — Landon Donovan

I remember - when I was little, I remember playing 'Tecmo Bowl,' and I would be so excited to be Bo Jackson in the game that I wanted to watch him play in real life. — Landon Donovan

I have to be able to be honest and be credible, and I think I can say, 'This guy did not have his best game today' rather than, 'He is awful and I cannot believe he did that.' — Landon Donovan

Ten years ago, the level was nowhere near what it is today.
(on soccer in the United States) — Landon Donovan

I've got a lot to prove to a lot of people, including myself. — Landon Donovan

I've always been active - outdoors, on the beach, playing - and so to go home and have to sit on my couch and relax ... it's frustrating. Sometimes, you just have to really shut yourself down. — Landon Donovan

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I know in our region everyone is gunning to beat us. We have a new challenge. — Landon Donovan

As athletes, most of the time we deal with fans cussing at us, saying how much we suck. — Landon Donovan

The second-highest honor is playing for your country, and the highest honor is wearing the armband for your country. It shows that the players have confidence in me, and that feels good. — Landon Donovan

There was this old soccer game called 'Goal' for the old Nintendo, and ever since then, I've played everything from the old school games to the 360. — Landon Donovan

New England has two factors to get them ready to play. They've consistently been, if not the best, the second best team all year and they're playing confidently. And a lot of those guys were on field when they lost to LA. They'll take motivation in that. — Landon Donovan

I've always thought it would be interesting to give insight on soccer because I have a lot of experience in my career. — Landon Donovan

When people say 'American soccer,' they think of the U.S. national team. But American soccer also includes Major League Soccer, and until we have a league that produces players at the rate other leagues around the world do, I don't believe we'll ever get to where we want to be. — Landon Donovan

I sure am handsome. I can't lie. This is one handsome guy. — Landon Donovan

I want to be a positive influence. I want to be someone who they want to call in and want here consistently, regardless of my role. — Landon Donovan

A lot of times I watch sporting events, and there are things I want to say and things I see that don't get said or talked about. — Landon Donovan

When you're with your club team, every week you have a performance to judge. But when you're with the national team, it's a little different because you might not play for three or four months at a time. Things change constantly. — Landon Donovan

I grew up playing video games. And the cool thing about the EA Sports games is they took me through the whole motion-capture thing, where they put little sensors on my body so the video game really is me. It actually moves the way I move. — Landon Donovan

Fortunately, I don't spend too much time reading or worrying about what people have to say, but the goal for me throughout this whole process - throughout my whole life - is to try to be happy. — Landon Donovan