Landon Donovan is back in Cali after ending his loan stint with Everton on Sunday. However, his much-talked-about Premier League “swan song” was more a guest appearance on backing vocals, with the Galaxy captain appearing as a second-half substitute in the Toffees’ 2-2 draw at Birmingham City.
Donovan, having replaced Yakubu as Everton’s lone striker, looked lively but struggled to make an impact as Everton sought a winner after blowing a two-goal lead.
Still, the traveling fans gave him a royal send-off, and Donovan repaid the goodwill by hinting on a return to the club.
“I wish I had more words than ‘thank you’ to all the Evertonians who made my stay so wonderful,” he wrote on his Facebook page as he waited for his flight to Los Angeles. “I will miss you guys but I’m sure we will see each other again in the future.”
During the loan Donovan made 13 appearances, scored two goals and added two assists. He helped the Toffees beat Manchester United and Chelsea, and appeared in a Europa League series against Sporting Lisbon. He was also named Everton’s Player of the Month for January.
“I’ve proved to myself that I can play against any player in the world and that’s a pretty cool thing to think,” he told Everton’s Web site.
Donovan will rejoin his LA Galaxy teammates for their opening regular season match on March 27.
Meanwhile, Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard was wrong-footed by Cameron Jerome’s slight touch for Birmingham’s first goal, and stood no chance when Craig Gardner finished off a route-one move for the host’s equalizer.
Also from England came excellent news for Bob Bradley as Clint Dempsey made his first start for Fulham since a suffering a knee injury eight weeks ago.
The United States’ midfielder/forward played 72 minutes in the Cottager’s 3-0 loss Manchester United, and he even fired off a long-range shot that almost dipped under the crossbar.
It was a mixed bag of results for the United States’ other England-based national teamers, though.
Goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann tallied six saves for Wolves as they grabbed a crucial 2-1 victory over fellow relegation candidates Burnley.
At Hull City, Jozy Altidore fell victim to a defensive substitution in the 82nd minute with the Tigers tied 1-1 with Arsenal. The move didn’t work: The Gunners eked out a 2-1 win thanks to Nicklas Bendtner’s injury-time winner. To make matters worse, possibly, the Tigers sacked manager Phil Brown on Monday morning.
West Ham United right back Jonathan Spector endured a 90-minute nightmare at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea’s left winger Florent Malouda tormented him with a goal and two assists in a 4-1 beat-down.
Brad Freidel helped Aston Villa shutout Stoke City in a scoreless tie, while Jay DeMeritt’s Watford fell 1-0 at home to Peterborough in the Championship.
North of the border, DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu both made late appearances for Rangers, who dropped a two-goal lead to Dundee United in a cup tie. The 3-3 result means the two sides will replay the quarterfinal on March 24.
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Germany: ‘Dolo
assists as Hannover continues battle
Steve Cherundolo and Ricardo Clark crossed paths Saturday at the AWD-Arena. They both saw bench time in Eintracht Frankfurt’s visit to Hannover.
The duo have been rehabbing from injuries, and while Clark has yet to make his Frankfurt debut, Cherundolo came off the bench to assist on Hannover’s winning goal in a 2-1 victory.
It was the second straight win for Cherundolo et al, though Hannover remains a relegation candidate after losing 11 of 12 matches during the winter period.
Michael Bradley’s Borussia Mönchengladbach continued its slump with a 4-0 thrashing by Wolfsburg. Bradley went the full 90 minutes in his side’s second straight shutout and fourth game without a win.
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France: Boca, Rennes
in the ascension; Davies eyes April return
Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes posted their second straight shutout, defeating Valenciennes 2-0 on the road. The victory keeps Rennes in the hunt for a Europa League spot.
Meanwhile, Sochaux striker Charlie Davies told his club’s Web site that he expects to be playing in late April. “By the end of next week, I think I’ll be pretty confident to end up joining the team again in training,” he said.
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Scandinavia:
Movsisyan sees red, but Rolfe sees minutes
Former Real Salt Lake forward Yura Movsisyan was ejected for an off-the-ball tussle in the final minute of his home debut for Randers. The relegation-threatened Danish club tallied its second-straight scoreless draw on Saturday against Michael Parkhurst’s Nordsjælland. Parkhurst did not play, however, for the second straight week.
Just 26 miles away in Midtjylland, Chris Rolfe made his Danish Superliga debut for Aalborg, appearing as a 70th-minute sub in AaB’s 2-0 defeat. The loss drops AaB to fifth place and nine points off a Europa League berth.
The Norwegian league got under way after the winter break, and both Clarence Goodson and Hunter Freeman went 90 minutes for IK Start in a 2-0 win over Sandefjord. Freeman assisted on the second goal.
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Greece: Adu missing
in Aris win
Eddie Johnson came off the bench late as Aris defeated PAOK 2-0 in Sunday’s Thessaloniki derby. American teammate Freddy Adu, however, has not had any playing time since starting in Aris’ 1-0 loss to AEK on Feb. 21.
