August 3, 2021 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – LA Galaxy News Release
LOS ANGELES – The LA Galaxy will unveil a statue of club legend Landon Donovan and will induct him into the LA Galaxy’s Ring of Honor on Sunday, Oct. 3 at Dignity Health Sports Park. The Donovan statue will be unveiled in Dignity Health Sports Park’s Legends Plaza before the Oct. 3 home match against LAFC in a pregame ceremony that will be open to the public. At halftime, Donovan will be honored and placed in the club’s Ring of Honor alongside the names of David Beckham, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Doug Hamilton and Cobi Jones.
“Growing up, I never would have imagined being honored with a statue. It’s a very special feeling of which I’m incredibly proud,” said Donovan. “I spent some of the most formative years of my life with the Galaxy and the club’s fans are a part of my family. I’m proud to share a moment like this with them.”
The Donovan statue unveiling marks the second time the Galaxy have recognized a club legend with a statue, with David Beckham first being honored in 2019. The ceremony unveiling the statue will be open to fans attending the Oct. 3 match against LAFC.
“We look forward to honoring one of the most impactful players in LA Galaxy, Major League Soccer and U.S. Men’s National Team history,” said LA Galaxy President Chris Klein. “Landon helped our club claim four MLS Cup titles and set numerous records for both club and country. He has played a pivotal role in establishing the LA Galaxy as the league’s most iconic and successful club. We are excited to welcome him back home for this special occasion.”
Across 11 seasons in LA (2005-14, 2016), Donovan tallied a team-record 113 goals and 107 assists in 253 regular-season games played (237 starts), notably helping the Galaxy win four MLS Cup titles (2005, 2011, 2012, 2014), two Supporters’ Shields (2010, 2011) and a Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup (2005). The Ontario, Calif., native is the club’s all-time playoff leader in games played (30), games started (30), goals (15) and assists (9). In addition to his time in LA, Donovan played for Bayer Leverkusen, the San Jose Earthquakes, Bayern Munich, Everton and Club León.
Individually, he won a record six MLS Cups (2001, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014) and was named to a record 14 consecutive MLS All-Star games (2001-2014). Donovan was also named to the MLS Best XI seven times (2003, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014), claimed the 2009 MLS MVP, which would later be renamed in his honor, and won the Golden Boot (2008), as well as being the only two-time MLS Cup MVP winner (2003, 2011).
In addition to being the league’s all-time regular-season assist leader (136) and second all-time leading goal scorer in league play (145), Donovan has tallied the most goals (25) and assists (15) in MLS Playoff history. Donovan is also the leading scorer in MLS All-Star history (6 goals) and has been named MLS All-Star MVP twice (2001, 2014). In celebration of MLS’s 25th anniversary, Donovan was named to The 25 Greatest, which honored the 25 brightest stars in league history.
During his distinguished career with the United States Men’s National Team, Landon Donovan became the USMNT’s joint leading goal scorer (57) and the all-time leader in assists (58). He is second in USMNT appearances (157) to fellow LA Galaxy legend Cobi Jones.
Single-game tickets for the Oct. 3 home match against LAFC are available now at https://www.lagalaxy.com/schedule. In addition, LA Galaxy fans can secure a 2021 Partial Plan or calling 877-3-GALAXY and pressing ‘2’ when prompted to ensure access to savings on prime seating locations for the Oct. 3 match plus five or more additional matches of their choice.
Additional details about the statue unveil event and programming around it will be announced at a later date.
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