Donovan On ESPN List Deludes U.S. Supporters

Posted on March 2, 2010

According to ESPN.com, Landon Donovan is one of the 50 best footballers heading to the World Cup.

In a list compiled by a panel of 23 contributors to the U.S. mega sports empire ahead of its coverage of South Africa 2010, Donovan was put in as the token American at number 50.

Is Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan one of the 50 best players heading to the World Cup? (Getty)

I am quite big on Donovan, uncharacteristically so for a Canadian. Recently on TorontoFC.ca I wrote a piece about how this Major League Soccer superstar is thriving on his loan spell to English Premier League side Everton. He is talented and opportunistic (aside from that goal-mouth miss at White Hart Lane at the weekend), but putting him on par with the world's best is over the top.

He may be a superstar on our side of the Atlantic, but Donovan is a drop in a deep ocean of talent that will be on display in South Africa, and in no way one of the 50 best players heading to the world's biggest sporting event.

Considering that probably every player on Argentina, Brazil, Spain, France, Italy and a few other countries are better than Donovan (nobody with a straight face can say Donovan would crack any of those squads), it's incredible to me that ESPN would feel the need to have this little throw away.

Nevermind the other countries, Donovan isn't even the most talented American in the EPL. That honour belongs to midfielder Clint Dempsey, who has featured in over 100 matches for Fulham and firmly planted himself as an integral part of Roy Hodgson's club on the rise.

His recent cruciate knee ligament injury notwithstanding (expected to be fit for the World Cup), Dempsey is a better talent than Donovan. So much so that the Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport, which lives and breathes the world's game, named Dempsey in its top 11 EPL players of 2009.

It also has to be mentioned that Donovan is not a better footballer than his Los Angeles Galaxy teammate, on-loan AC Milan midfielder, David Beckham, who should be on the England squad in South Africa on recent form in Serie A and Champions League.

He is not the best on the American squad nor is he the best footballer in MLS, but Donovan is apparently good enough for a top 50 place heading to the World Cup, according to ESPN.

The inclusion of Donovan doesn't mar this list though. It is quite sound apart from the high value placed on Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic (#19), particularly so far ahead of scandal-plagued Englishman John Terry (#37).

Glaring omissions include Real Madrid's Spanish playmaker Xabi Alonso and Chelsea's Portuguese midfielder Deco. Both of these players become a different animal when they wear the shirts of their respective countries at international tournaments. The 23 panelists at ESPN surely place these two superstars ahead of Donovan. At least, I hope they do. For their sake.

It's a little annoying that ESPN has to pull this kind of a stunt just to get Americans excited about the World Cup. This is either power of positivity run amok or the Americans are just being cheeky to get excitable neutral observers going a little. If it's the latter, it worked. For me, at least.

In any event, U.S. supporters shouldn't delude themselves in thinking they have one of the world's best players on their squad. They do not. And if they do, Dempsey is much closer to deserving that title than Donovan.

Here is ESPN's Top 49 best players heading into the World Cup, plus Landon Donovan:

1 Lionel Messi, Argentina (Barcelona)
2 Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal (Real Madrid)
3 Wayne Rooney, England (Manchester United)
4 Kaka, Brazil (Real Madrid)
5 Xavi, Spain (Barcelona)
6 Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast (Chelsea)
7 Andres Iniesta, Spain (Barcelona)
8 Fernando Torres, Spain (Liverpool)
9 Steven Gerrard, England (Liverpool)
10 Michael Essien, Ghana (Chelsea)
11 David Villa, Spain (Valencia)
12 Franck Ribery, France (Bayern Munich)
13 Samuel Eto'o, Cameroon (Inter Milan)
14 Luis Fabiano, Brazil (Sevilla)
15 Iker Casillas, Spain (Real Madrid)
16 Cesc Fabregas, Spain (Arsenal)
17 Gianluigi Buffon, Italy (Juventus)
18 Dani Alves, Brazil (Barcelona)
19 Nemanja Vidic, Serbia (Manchester United)
20 Wesley Sneijder, Netherlands (Inter Milan)
21 Maicon, Brazil (Inter Milan)
22 Frank Lampard, England (Chelsea)
23 Andrea Pirlo, Italy (AC Milan)
24 Carlos Tevez, Argentina (Manchester City)
25 Robin van Persie, Netherlands (Arsenal)
26 Gonzalo Higuain, Argentina (Real Madrid)
27 Diego Forlan, Uruguay (Atletico Madrid)
28 Thierry Henry, France (Barcelona)
29 Sergio Aguero, Argentina (Atletico Madrid)
30 Michael Ballack, Germany (Chelsea)
31 Julio Cesar, Brazil (Inter Milan)
32 Arjen Robben, Netherlands (Bayern Munich)
33 Gerard Pique, Spain (Barcelona)
34 Miroslav Klose, Germany (Bayern Munich)
35 Lucio, Brazil (Inter Milan)
36 Javier Mascherano, Argentina (Liverpool)
37 John Terry, England (Chelsea)
38 David Silva, Spain (Valencia)
39 Carles Puyol, Spain (Barcelona)
40 Nicolas Anelka, France (Chelsea)
41 Ashley Cole, England (Chelsea)
42 Patrice Evra, France (Manchester United)
43 Marek Hamsik, Slovakia (Napoli)
44 Karim Benzema, France (Real Madrid)
45 Yoann Gourcuff, France (Bordeaux)
46 Daniele De Rossi, Italy (Roma)
47 Philipp Lahm, Germany (Bayern Munich)
48 Yaya Toure, Ivory Coast (Barcelona)
49 Giorgio Chiellini, Italy (Juventus)
50 Landon Donovan, United States (LA Galaxy/Everton)