Donovan heading to Germany…again?

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. And if you don’t succeed the second time around, why not give it another shot. That’s what U.S. international and Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan is considering. The 26-year-old has done all that an MLS player can do, winning both MLS cups and MVPs. He is arguably the best player that the U.S. has ever produced, but he has yet to prove his worth in Europe. He has made it apparent that he wishes to give it another shot in Europe, but he was reportedly considering England or Spain.

In comes German giant Bayern Munich.

He’s twice floundered for Bayern Leverkusen, so I’m unsure why he would try it again in the Budesliga. As big as Munich is, why is it that Donovan would really want to go there? He does know the Munich boss, Juergen Klismann, well after he lived for a number of years in Southern California. Also, one of Klismann’s top assistants, Martin Vasquez, was an assistant for the Galaxy in 2004.

The drawbacks though far outweigh a little comfort with the coaching staff. Bayern Munich is one of the bigger clubs in the world and has an abundance of attacking talent. Their roster already boasts Miroslav Klose, Luca Toni, Ze Roberto, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery. I don’t see Donovan starting over any of them so where will he play and how much time would he actually spend on the pitch compared to being parked on the bench.

As talented as Donovan can be, I just don’t see his game fitting well in Germany, or England for that matter where players have to be more technical and physical. Without a doubt though, he needs to leave the MLS and head to Europe to challenge himself. His best destination would be to make a move to Spain where the game is more free-flowing and feeds off creativity and pure athleticism. Maybe playing there would also help him re-learn how to be creative and he can in turn bring that back to the national team where the team will be relying on his leadership once again in 2010.