Landon Donovan Returns To Soccer; Can He Help the USMNT?

Landon Donovan is back, but his fate on the United States national team is still not determined.

After helping the Los Angeles Galaxy to the MLS championship last fall, the former United States superstar took a sabbatical from the game claiming that he needed to take a break to regain the passion for playing.

"As I made pretty clear, I was pretty burnt out. In retrospect, there were certainly some situations along the way that I wished I'd handled better. Should those feeling come again now, I think I've learned from it," Donovan told the media during a press conference.  "I've learned a lot from this whole process, and I will deal with it in a better way. The hope is that I'll feel this way for as long as I keep playing. I think that's a much more likely scenario now that I've had a break." 

"I was mentally and physical exhausted," he elaborated. "I'll keep it pretty vague in that way. I needed a break, and I don't use the word 'need' all that lightly. I needed the break, and so I had to listen to myself and do what was best for me." 

While there is no doubt that Donovan will play for Los Angeles in coming weeks, his future with the Americans is still very much in doubt. He did express a desire to play for his country once again. "If I can go back in with the national team and they ask me to play goalie, then I'll play goalie," Donovan joked.

"My job now is to make it so that [manager Jurgen Klinsmann] wants me back. He has not said anything - he hasn't said he doesn't want me to be part of it. He has said the door is open and once I'm playing again, he'll evaluate me like any other player, and I wouldn't want it any other way," he added about communicating with Klinsmann.

The United States lacked offensive flair in their latest World Cup qualifier against Mexico and it was immediately noticeable that the team lacked a driving force in the offensive half; a characteristic that Donovan provided the team with for years. If Donovan returns to form, there is no doubt that Klinsmann will bring him back his prodigal son with open arms.