The face of U.S. soccer is Landon Donovan and that's a good thing

For the first time, the face of U.S. soccer is not viewed globally as the jumbo shrimp.

Because for the first time in his career, Landon Donovan is not viewed as a beach bum baby who requires the perceived weakness and shelter of the MLS to make him feel better.

As the respect for U.S. soccer has slowly expanded over the past decade, it has coincided with Donovan's ascent.

"Landon has been the poster child for so long you're going to identify U.S. soccer with him," veteran FC Dallas goalie Kevin Hartman said. "Landon grew up in the system and came along where you could watch the rise of U.S. soccer, and he was right there through it. I considered their journeys have gone hand in hand."

The World Cup begins Friday in South Africa; the U.S. will begin pool play Saturday against England in Rustenburg. The Americans feature international celebrities such as Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, but for the time being this team's identity is the 28-year-old Donovan. And for the first time in his career, that's a good thing.

A ROUGH START

Eleven years ago Donovan was viewed as the man who would replace Claudio Reyna and Alexi Lalas as the nation's premier player; a player capable of taking a pitch in La Liga, Man U or Madrid and representing the U.S. as something more than an over-hyped Nike creation.

Players such as Reyna and Lalas were symbolic of where the American game was — nice little players from a nice little international squad.

"There is a patronizing attitude in European football when talking about American football players," said Greg O'Keefe, who covers the sport for the Liverpool Echo newspaper in England.

That attitude was solidified when, as a 17-year-old, Donovan signed a pro contract with Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga and promptly demonstrated he wasn't good enough. He didn't play much and, when he did, he was overpowered.

Donovan did considerably more on loan to the MLS while under contract for Leverkusen. He led San Jose to MLS titles in 2001 and '02.

"The German game is big, physical. He's going to get beat up," said FC Dallas assistant coach John Ellinger, who worked with Donovan as a teenager. "Landon probably went to the wrong place. Spain would have been better."

Donovan's second stint with Leverkusen didn't go much better, and he returned to the MLS and the L.A. Galaxy, his current pro team.