Donovan again treats RSL field like home turf

There must be some mixed emotions for Real Salt Lake fans when they look at the schedule and see the Los Angeles Galaxy coming to town. There is the excitement of seeing the defending Major League Soccer champions. The intrigue of whether Real can put it together and get a result, and of course seeing one of the premier soccer players in the world in Landon Donovan.

"Every single time that he comes to town, people should take advantage of it," said Galaxy coach Steve Sampson. "Soccer players should come just to watch him because they can learn a lot from him."

Saturday was no exception as Donovan continued his superb play in Salt Lake City. The national-team player had a goal, an assist and an assist to an assist. His play helped inspire L.A. to a 3-2 win over Real.

"I don't know what it is about this place, a little luck I guess," Donovan said of yet another outstanding performance at Rice-Eccles. He scored a goal and had an assist in the Galaxy's visits last year and matched the same feat with a goal and an assist for the U.S. Men's National Team played last year in the stadium against Costa Rica.

"It's fun to play here," he added. "It's really a great place to play and I have been fortunate to play well."

While Donovan feels fortunate, his coach attributes his success to something other than fortune. He feels it is his preparation, fitness and attitude that provide those opportunities.

"Landon is a great pro," Sampson said."I have never been around a better training player. He is always prepared to go. He knows how important these games are to us, and he comes to play like it every day. He feels that if he is in top form for these games, it will only help him in the national spotlight."

It could be easy for Donovan to justify taking it a little easy in some MLS games. He is a fixture on the national team, and in just a few short weeks the U.S. squad will be heading to Germany for the World Cup. That is simply not Donovan's style. It was his effort and hustle that led to his goal. He intercepted a pass from Eddie Pope, the last defender, and raced in for a one-on-one chance. He calmly slotted the ball past a helpless Scott Garlick for the goal.

"I kind of took a chance. I saw the ball was bouncing to Eddie and thought that I could make the extra run. You never know how the ball is going to bounce on this turf, so I ran at him and stuck my foot in there. Most of the time the ball is going to either bounce back to the goalie or bound off, but I was lucky and the ball stayed right with me. When you get a chance like that, you better finish."

While it is tough for a RSL fan to watch Donovan pick apart the home team, there still is hope. Donovan has admitted to loving Salt Lake and Utah. Perhaps with a new stadium for Real, fans could not only appreciate his play, but cheer for it as well.

"I love it here. Maybe I have a future here someday. You never know. They get grass in here, I might come," he concluded.

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E-mail: mblack@desnews.com