THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MUNICH, Germany — Landon Donovan, the all-time leading scorer for the American national team, has joined Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich for a 10-day practice stint — and says he wouldn’t mind staying longer.
Donovan, whose Los Angeles Galaxy team missed the Major League Soccer playoffs, wants to stay fit during the break.
"Landon will train with us in the next 10 days to retain his level of fitness," Bayern’s coach Juergen Klinsmann said on the club’s website Tuesday.
"He is a great guy, a very good player and a big personality in U.S. football," said Klinsmann, who knows Donovan from the time he worked with the Galaxy.
Donovan said he was pleased that Klinsmann and Bayern had given him a chance to "keep fit alongside great international players."
On his official website, Donovan responded to "rumours" about a move to Bayern by saying he "would be excited to talk about it."
"That’s one of the best teams in the world, but as of now, I’ve got to worry about what’s going on here. If January rolls around and there’s interest, and the league is willing to discuss it, I would be excited to talk about it," Donovan said.
"I would love to go," Donovan said about a possible move to Europe.
"The unfortunate part about the soccer world in that sense is that it isn’t up to me. There are a lot of issues with the league and with the Galaxy also.
"Obviously, if I was in the Galaxy’s position I wouldn’t be totally for it, but in my situation, I would love to go and if the opportunity comes and the league and the Galaxy are co-operative and willing to work with me, I think it would be fun. We’ll see what happens."
Donovan, 26, had an unsuccessful attempt to break through in the Bundesliga when he was under contract to Bayer Leverkusen between 2001 and 2005 but played only seven Bundesliga games.
Donovan voted top U.S. player
LOS ANGELES — Donovan was voted the top U.S. soccer player of 2008 on Tuesday, becoming the only five-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year award.
Donovan led Major League Soccer in scoring and is the career scoring leader for the Galaxy.
In a vote by a nationwide panel of journalists announced Tuesday, Donovan finished with 297 points. He was followed by Tim Howard with 249 points and Clint Dempsey with 176.