HOUSTON – It always seemed a foregone conclusion that Landon Donovan was going to claim the MLS assist record.
He was moving toward the mark of 135 set by Steve Ralston, and conventional wisdom had Donovan playing at least another year if not more – plenty of time to claim the mark.
His abrupt retirement announcement a month and a half ago changed that.
Suddenly there was a clock on his run to claim another MLS record; he currently holds the goals record with 143 and counting. It also broached the possibility that Ralston, who first set the mark in 2007 and added 21 more before his retirement in 2010, could keep the record.
With five games left for Donovan to claim three assists, it has become an interesting storyline and one that has forced Ralston to think about his record more than he ever had before.
“People keep asking me, ‘What do you think?’ I think he’s at least going to tie it and probably break it,” Ralston, who is currently an assistant coach with the Houston Dynamo, told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. “Do I want him to break it? No, not really. The only person I’d want to break my record would be my son. People that say they want their records broken, they’re liars. Who doesn’t want to keep it?
“At the same time, if he breaks it, I’m not going to lose sleep over it. He’s Landon Donovan. He’s arguably the greatest player in US soccer history. If someone’s going to break it, and it’s Landon Donovan, that’s fine with me.”
It was a record that Ralston accumulated over 14 seasons in MLS with first the Tampa Bay Mutiny and then the New England Revolution, where he spent his final nine seasons. This is Donovan’s 14th season in MLS, and with 15 assists – one short of his career high – and nine goals, one of his finest.
“For a couple of weeks there, he was on fire. He was not only racking up assists but was getting goals as well,” Ralston said. “He’s a great player. That’s what you expect from him, and I wasn’t surprised to see it happen.”
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If Donovan sets the mark, Ralston said he will send him a text or a call but will not make a big deal of it. That notion captures Ralston’s career in a nutshell: a player who had a quiet confidence about him, who would hit a ball on a dime and play set-up man to some of the game’s best scorers, including Taylor Twellman and Roy Lassiter.
As Donovan approaches the record, it shows how impressive Ralston’s career was. He attributes it to his longevity and playing with some truly talented strikers. But there’s no denying his skill, which he still displays.
“He could still be playing. We joke with him all the time when he gets in training that he’s one of the best guys; it’s sickening,” Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis said. “We played the same position and had some great battles back in the day, Houston and New England. We always won.”
A fellow St. Louis native and winger, Davis is one of seven players to eclipse the 100-assist mark. He currently has 110 and is the favorite to be next in line to challenge Ralston's mark. Difference is, he'll do it with Ralston's help.
“He’s been a great friend, great coach, great mentor for me personally,” Davis said. “Honestly, he’s put together an amazing career, and to be honest, it’s even neater knowing where he comes from, the St. Louis ties, the background to be able to relate to a guy like that. Class guy, class player.”
Davis is one example of a league full of talented players who, if they stay around long enough, will continue to rewrite the record book.
“I think there’s a lot more guys that are going to be playing for a long time that will have just as many assists, if not more,” Ralston said. “Brad’s one of those players that’s right behind as well. There’s going to be more and more guys putting up numbers.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
