Words Andrew Lawn
On 2 August 2009 a 17-year-old Landon Donovan faced German powerhouses Borussia Dortmund. It was a 9th professional appearance for the young American forward. On that day Landon came off the bench to represent fellow Bundesliga giants, Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
14 years later, almost to the day, his new side are facing Borussia Dortmund again. But this time, the man voted America’s greatest ever soccer player, has a very different role, at a very different club.
Tonight, at Snapdragon Stadium, Landon will happily remain on the bench, from where he will watch San Diego Loyal, an American 2nd Division club he helped build, face German footballing royalty.
“Dortmund were very nearly German Champions and they have come here to play against a second division team, you don’t see that happen very often”, Landon muses as he sits down and watches Edin Terzic and his team file past on their way to the changing rooms.
But, how did it happen? How did the man voted USA’s best ever soccer player, end up in San Diego, at a club in the 2nd Division of American soccer?
“I grew up in a tiny house a couple of hours north east of here. My wife grew up here. We both love San Diego, so when we had our first child we moved back here. We love the people and we love the city”.
While soccer was popular in the city - the Mexican border is only a few miles south - on their return to their hometown they found themselves in a city with no professional, outdoor soccer team. In 2019, Landon briefly turned out for the San Diego Sockers, who play in the indoor soccer league, but it wasn’t the game Landon loved and he saw an opportunity.
Initially, Landon worked on a proposal to redevelop a stadium in Mission Valley, with an eye on bringing Major League Soccer to the city, but the plans faltered and ended up coming to nothing.
In June 2019, businessman Warren Smith founded San Diego Loyal, to play in the USL Championship. Landon, along with current Chairman Andrew Vassiliadis joined up. It may not have been Major League Soccer, but the dream was the same; create something the city could be proud of.
“I came on board relatively early after Warren Smith founded the club. When Warren and Andrew (Vassiliadis) asked me, I was very clear with them that if I'm going to be involved in a 2nd Division club, we have to do it at a high level because I don't want to show up every day to something that's not done at a high level, and I don’t want to put my name to that. Warren has since moved on, but to his credit Andrew has kept his end of the bargain the entire time and provided us the resources to do that”.
“Everything we do we treat it like we're a Major League Soccer club or a 1st Division club, those are the standards we have. There are only two or three clubs in our league that hold themselves to the standards that we do”.
“What makes us special though is that the link with the community here is so strong. Lots of clubs say they’ll work closely with the local community, but it's usually a bunch of bullshit. In our country, anyone with money can start a club and they might come in and say; ‘do you want it to be A - San Diego, or B - San Diego Loyal. It’s two choices and it’s bullshit”.
“We built this club with the community, as organically as is possible in this country, by including them in everything we do. It started from the very beginning with Warren, who understood the importance of it, and it continues in how we live and act every single day. That comes from the very top in Andrew. He grew up in Point Loma here in San Diego, he loves the city and he's a phenomenal human being. Andrew provides the money, but he doesn’t dictate. We don’t work that way”.
“The people in the club are very emotionally connected to the club and our fans are part of that. We built this together. Everyone knows everyone and we can go over and say hello and that's why we have such a special club and our home games have a very special atmosphere. This club belongs to San Diego. We built it together”.
As we chat, Landon’s pride in the club and how far they have come is evident. Hosting Borussia Dortmund is a highlight of course, but you sense that for Landon the real satisfaction comes in the human relationships being forged in this corner of the USA.
“The most joy I've gotten out of this is watching players grow and develop. It's like watching your kids. You work on something that maybe seems easy to me, over and over and over, then when they finally click or they do it in the game, it is like such a proud moment to see them enjoy that and celebrate that. It is phenomenal”.
“I came in, assuming that players know things, but that's because I knew things like, in that, you know, the players I played with at a high level new things, but you can't assume people know, just like those things that I didn't know. There's a reason why we're all - including myself and including the players and staff - at this level and not at the next level. Either they're too young and inexperienced or they're not good enough, right? There are a lot of days where I have to check myself like you know I'll say ‘okay well maybe he just hasn't learnt yet’ so I go into teaching mode. I really enjoy it”.
While learning, teaching and growing San Diego Loyal takes up most of Landon’s time, he also acts as a Strategic Advisor to another club on the rise; Lincoln City in England’s League One.
“My role with Lincoln came about through a close family friend of mine who has been looking for a long time to invest somewhere in European football. He loves soccer”.
“Opportunities would come up occasionally and he would ask me what I thought. Most of them weren’t a good fit, but when the opportunity to work with Lincoln City came up, we both quickly realised that this was different. The difference was the people.
Clive Nates, the Chairman and the board members, Jay Wright, David Lowes, they’re high integrity individuals and very competent. Their story speaks for itself, and they've done remarkable work over the last five years. I have grown to love that club, the city and the people of Lincoln. It’s been great”.
As the players begin their warm ups next to us, thoughts turn back to Landon’s own playing days. We wonder if he misses playing on big occasions like tonight and what moments from his career he looks back on with the most fondness.
“I loved playing, I really loved it. Sometimes you would be scared shitless before a game and I know a few of our lads might be scared about playing Dortmund tonight, but but you learn to deal with it and you grow to love the pressure”.
“The highlight for me wasn’t actually on the pitch, but when I walked out of the tunnel for my first World Cup match in 2002, I had this moment where I was like, how the fuck is this possible?
“When you play for your country you feel it's different from playing for your club. You feel this weird sense of playing for a lot of other people. You have to manage your emotions because you're aware of so many things. I was very aware my family were there and I thought of all the things my mum sacrificed for me, you know? You’re aware of everyone around the world paying attention. In the US we have this big military influence where you know they’ve made big sacrifices and are watching all over the world and you don’t want to let them down. That's a big responsibility and you don't want to shit the bed in those situations because people really care”.
“On the pitch, maybe the goal against Algeria in 2010. That was cool because of what it meant to the sport here. I get the significance because of the drama and what it meant, but it was a simple six yard pass into the goal”.
Again, Landon’s answer betrays how he sees football as more than individual glory. More than 90 minutes on the grass. More than a game. To Landon, and you feel to San Diego Loyal, soccer is much bigger than that.
