Landon Donovan MVP

[MADfan]

ill be happy if Donovan goes on loan to a European club....he will get a work out over there and it will only increase his skills :thumbsup:

[Frank Cunha]

Portsmouth unlikely to obtain Donovan


January 28, 2004
PORTSMOUTH, England (AP) -- Landon Donovan is unlikely to be loaned to Portsmouth of England's Premier League because of FIFA's new transfer regulations.

Portsmouth owner Milan Mandaric said on Monday his team had reached agreements with the 21-year-old forward along with Major League Soccer and the German team Bayer Leverkusen, who share his rights.

But FIFA, soccer's governing body, told the U.S. Soccer Federation that it must limit transfers to two periods per year. The MLS can obtain players from foreign teams from Jan. 1 until March 31 and from Aug. 15 until Sept. 15.


The team said it was still interested, but the regulations made its unlikely that Donovan would be signed, a Portsmouth spokesman said.

The European transfer window ends on Jan. 31.

Donovan, who has 15 goals in 45 international appearances, helped the U.S. team reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup and San Jose win last year's MLS title. He also helped the Americans to the semifinals of the 2000 Olympic competition in Sydney

[Soccerdad]

SAD!

[Frank Cunha]

a new rule to accomodate European Soccer

[Soccerdad]

When does the MLS season start? SJ should just let him be late, it will make him a better player for them anyway.

[Frank Cunha]

all the way to August?
Premier to end at the end of May

[Pferd]

then he gets a month to piss around europe.

[Frank Cunha]

its not going to happen 8bo:

[Frank Cunha]

2. LANDON'S LOAN: English Premier League club Portsmouth has apparently failed to acquire U.S. forward Landon Donovan on a three-month loan but perhaps not for the reasons publicly stated.

He would have played in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers that start early next week, join Portsmouth until the end of the English Premier League season in May, and then return to MLS -- theoretically.

FIFA prohibits players from making two transfers within a 12-month period and if Donovan would wish to return to San Jose in May, such a move would fall outside of the American transfer window. But loans are treated differently.

FIFA Circular No. 801 covers this situation in the following excerpt:

"In this context, the Committee considered that art. 10 of the Regulations states that a loan of a player by one club to another is dealt with 'administratively' like a transfer. [...] Therefore, the Committee considered it reasonable, in these precise circumstances, to evaluate such a loan as merely one single transfer rather than two transfers within the meaning of Art. 5.2, given that at the end of the loan, the player would be returning to his ongoing employer."

By this interpretation, Donovan would leave Portsmouth when the loan expired irrespective of the transfer windows.

A conflict would arise if under FIFA regulations he could not re-register with U.S. Soccer until the American transfer window re-opened, but as per Circular No. 801, if a Donovan loan was arranged and he was registered in England prior to the closing of the European window his return to MLS would not classified as a transfer.

A player cannot be registered to play with more than one club team at the same time. FIFA adopted this provision several years ago in response to goalkeeper Jorge Campos being eligible to play for an MLS team and a Mexican League club concurrently.

Although Donovan's rights are shared by Leverkusen and MLS, he is not registered to play in Germany.

There were several English clubs interested in Donovan, but only Portsmouth was willing to take him on a short-term loan without an option to buy.

Portsmouth has also been negotiating to buy Croatian striker Ivica Mornar from Belgian club Anderlecht and several news sites reported Wednesday that deal had been completed.
According to a FIFA spokesman, FIFA had not been contacted regarding the Donovan loan as of Wednesday. Any disputes would be settled by the Players' Status Committee.

Reports that FIFA informed U.S. Soccer that Donovan wouldn't be able to play with San Jose upon his return in May are also untrue, according to a source.

[Soccerdad]

Another rule!!!!! urg sounds like Donovan might have picked Olympic qualifiers over Epl,

[Ricochet]

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/...=183573&cpid=8

Mandaric confident of Donovan deal

Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric is optimistic that a deal will be struck to bring United States international Landon Donovan to Fratton Park before the transfer window slams shut.
The Pompey supremo is taking advantage of his extensive contacts across the Atlantic in a bid to thrash out an extremely complicated deal with MLS.

The difference in timing of the transfer windows between the American league and England has caused problems and Fifa have been asked to intervene.

San Jose Earthquakes, Bayer Leverkusen and the player himself are all understood to have given their blessing to the loan transfer.

Mandaric, who is putting the finishing touches to the deal to sign Ivica Mornar from Anderlecht, is hopeful the matter will reach a positive conclusion.

"We are working very hard with Landon and we are enthusiastic about it," Mandaric told Sky Sports News.

"Mornar will be our player and will play against Wolves on Saturday afternoon.

"We're definitely making a lot of progress (on Donovan). My American allies from the soccer federation are making a lot of progress and we are very optimistic about that too."

Pompey have also been courting Rennes forward Frederic Piquionne as Harry Redknapp looks to boost his squad before the end of the month.

[Soccerdad]

guess its not over till its over!

[Frank Cunha]

"I lost my head."
-- Landon Donovan, as quoted by Mexican newspapers, after Donovan was red-carded along with Tecos' Mario Rosales after a shoving match in a 2-2 friendly between the U.S. U-23s and the Mexican First Division club. Bobby Convey and Beasley scored for the U.S.

"

[Frank Cunha]

Donovan expresses frustration at collapse of loan to Portsmouth


By JOHN RICE
The Associated Press
2/2/04 5:30 PM


ZAPOPAN, Mexico (AP) -- Landon Donovan expressed frustration Monday at the collapse of his proposed loan to Portsmouth of England's Premier League.

"I had the opportunity to go for three or four months -- no long-term commitment -- and I can come back and live in America. ... It was perfect from every angle," Donovan said.

Major League Soccer had worked out an agreement to send the 21-year-old forward to Portsmouth for the rest of the English season, which ends in May. But the deal fell through because of new restrictions on transfers.

The new rules meant that if Donovan had gone to England, he could not have rejoined the San Jose Earthquakes until Aug. 15.

Donovan, in Mexico with the U.S. under-23 team for Olympic qualifying, has 15 goals in 45 games with the national team. His rights are owned by MLS and Germany's Bayer Leverkusen.

FIFA, soccer's governing body, told the U.S. Soccer Federation last year that it must set transfer windows. The USSF, after consulting with MLS, said they would be from Jan. 1 to March 31 and from Aug. 15 to Sept. 15.

"It's a bummer," Donovan said. "They have said the reason they put these in was to help the player and to benefit the player, and this certainly doesn't benefit the player."

Donovan isn't ready to make a long-term commitment to playing abroad.

"I don't want to be locked up for three, four or five years," he said. "I'd rather be here and try it out first. If I had the chance to go on loan and experience it and then I like it, then maybe."

When he first went to Germany to join Leverkusen when he was 16, Donovan never got into a game. He joined MLS in 2001.

Asked if he had any desire to return to Leverkusen, he said: "Not really. If it has to be long-term, definitely not."

[BethlehemFC]

It's really a no win situation. Playing overseas could really benefit his game, but he's playing very well -- some of which could be to put down to playing/living where he is comfortable.