Landon Donovan to sign with the San Diego Sockers
(Photo by Stephen Carr / Daily Breeze)
In the world of sports, the old adage “The best offense is a good defense” can be applied to numerous situations, no matter the league.
This adage can be applied to the MASL, as the league features high amounts of scoring along with the tempo of an NHL game.
The San Diego Sockers are a blend of both high-flying offense and physical defense, as their league-leading goal differential of +54 (73 goals forged vs 39 goals allowed) is a key reason for their success. San Diego has many weapons at their disposal but, according to Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated, they are adding another.
36-year-old Landon Donavan, he of World Cup and MLS fame, will be coming out of retirement and signing with the Sockers.
The four-time US Soccer Athlete of the Year, Don0van comes to the indoor arena as the U.S. men’s national team’s all-time leader in goals (tied with Clint Dempsey) and assists.
For Donovan, this is the third time that he is coming out of retirement after his initial retirement from the MLS in 2014, as he rejoined the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2016 and played six months with Club León in Mexico during 2018.
Sports Illustrated: Landon Donovan will come back as a player with the San Diego Sockers of the Major Arena Soccer League https://t.co/M5kxzir7Ez
— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) January 23, 2019
He will join a Sockers team that is flush with offensive firepower. Leading the pack are Kraig Chiles and Brandon Escoto, who are both tied for second place in the MASL for total points. Chiles leads the team in goals scored with 17, while Escoto is slightly behind him with 14 goals. Leonardo De Oliviera and Taylor Bond are two newcomers who are proficient in racking up assists with their passing game.
The versatile Donovan brings both leadership and versatility to the pitch while the shorter field should only benefit him at the midfield position. It will be interesting to see how Donovan adjusts to indoor soccer considering how teams in the MASL play a much faster and physical style of soccer than the MLS. Travis Pittman is one such player, as he recently came back to indoor soccer after spending three years in the outdoor United Soccer League.
Donovan has lived in the San Diego area in recent years and had an integral role with Soccercity, a group that pushed to bring the MLS to San Diego but was defeated by SDSUWest in the recent November Election. San Diego will formally announce his signing in a press conference tomorrow.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.