Landon Donovan and the L.A. Galaxy Are Poised to Win the MLS Cup This Year

The 2011 version of the Los Angeles Galaxy has been designed for one purpose and one purpose only, win the MLS Cup. This is Landon Donovan’s last year and the final year of David Beckham’s multi-million dollar contract, so the sense of urgency is there. L.A.’s coach, Bruce Arena, has assembled a balanced team of veterans, young role players and several superstars, the most recent being Juan Pablo Angel, who captained the New York Red Bulls last year and had been its leading scorer and did the same for Aston Villa in the English Premier League. The Galaxy bring about a swagger and attitude that is rare for MLS clubs, and that comes with winning games, lots of them. The last two seasons have ended with L.A. losing in the MLS Cup Finals. Not every team has the talent and ability to win a championship every year, but that may not last past this season with Donovan and Beckham potentially headed back overseas to play. So it is now or never for the Galaxy.

Landon Donovan joined ESPN Radio LA to talk about whether the hatred for their rivals in the MLS has caught on with the fans compared to that overseas, whether David Beckham is going to be done with the Galaxy after this year, and if he is going to come back after next season.

Whether the hatred for their rivals in the MLS has caught on with the fans compared to that overseas:

“Yeah not quite to that level, but certainly when we get to the stadium. It used to be where anytime a ‘star player’ came into the stadium all the fans would kind of cheer when their name got announced, they were happy to see, but at some point, it was probably three or four years ago, when I would go to stadiums, our other guys would go to stadiums, actually some pretty nasty chants and some pretty nasty comments, which is not great for the individual hearing it but overall for the league it is good because it means the fans are starting to get it and they care about their home teams.”

If he can have his anonymity in his hometown and whether the World Cup helped gain him notoriety:

“That is kind of how I realized how big that was last summer and you can’t really get a good feel for it when you are in it, when you are in South Africa and you are there every day, but now if I go out without any sort of disguise, any hat or glasses or anything like that, yeah there is people are going to recognize me and that is good for our sport and we need that. It is not like when you see an NBA guy, you know an NBA guy even if you don’t really know their face. They are so tall and so big and imposing, that you are going to know him. I think it says a lot about where we are getting, that people are starting to recognize us.”

Whether David Beckham is going to be done with the Galaxy after this year:

“I don’t think he is done playing. His future with L.A. remains to be seen. I think a lot is predicated how this year goes for him personally and for the team but he is still fit, he still moves around like he is in his early 30’s so it will be interesting to see.”

If he is going to come back after next season:

“I am not done. Oh yeah, you never know what can happen but I am imagining I will be here and I certainly don’t plan on retiring anytime soon.”

Landon Donovan on ESPN Radio LA with Mason and Ireland (the interview starts at the 22:45 mark)