Champion of Champions

Landon Donovan has left soccer in style. Far from ending up wandering the fields out of shape, as many stars do, the man who some call ‘Captain America’ hanged up his boots as a champion.

Last Sunday, the Ontario, California native celebrated his sixth MLS championship, after a thrilling Galaxy win over Revolution in the MLS Cup.

Never before a player had reigned six times in this league, nor any team had won five titles – until Landon and his Galaxy subjugated the New Englanders with a Robbie Keane goal in stoppage time.

When the referee blew the whistle, Donovan extended both arms, looked up to the sky and exhaled a final breath of glory, as many teammates ran to hug him. It was a final, but you could feel in the air that, above all, it was about a farewell to the most special soccer player hailing from the U.S.

During a season in which the MLS set new records in goals and assists – 144 and 136 respectively – Donovan scored a final triumph to wrap in magic his extraordinary legacy.

A great devotee of on-the-field heroics and drama, Landon announced his retirement from soccer last summer, just a few hours after having scored the winning goal for the MLS All-Stars in their 2-1 win over all-powerful Bayern Munich in Portland. In a classy move, he kept his secret to himself in order not to take the limelight from the mid-season gala of the ascending U.S. league, to which he contributed so much.

He later attended a farewell match with his national ream, where he also holds the goal scoring record, including that last-minute goal against Algeria in the 2010 South Africa World Cup to advance to the next round; the goal that every American – supporter or not – will remember and treasure. And yes, he shook hands with the man who kept him from playing his fourth World Cup, German DT Jurgen Klinsmann.

But, as his colleagues say, Landon Donovan’s most valuable legacy is the example of a sportsman in every sense of the word; a model team player who in the day of his historical farewell celebrated the growth of soccer in this country as much as a personal victory.

Let’s toast for Landon Donovan, a sensible, brilliant man who, at 32, is looking for new challenges and fulfillment in other fields.