Scenes From the Career of America's Soccer Hero, Landon Donovan

It was a far from perfect game for Landon Donovan, but he was still showered in beer and champagne by his Los Angeles Galaxy teammates. And he got to take a final sip from American soccer's biggest prize: the MLS Cup. This was Donovan's sixth Cup—the most among any MLS player—and it will be his last. American soccer's most famous face and most decorated player is retiring.

The 2-1 extra-time defeat of the New England Revolution in front of 27,000 mostly Galaxy fans at the StubHub Center left Donovan grasping for the right words.

"I'm in a little bit of a daze to be honest. I don't know," Donovan said after the game. "There is a lot going on—a lot of excitement, some sadness. There is uncertainty, and just pure joy for this team and for what we did. It's just feels a bit strange, is the best way to put it."

It wasn't a trademark Donovan game. He struggled to influence play at times and drifted in and out of the action. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena shifted Donovan around from one position to the next to try and free him up to make magic, like he's done so many times before. But Donovan scuffed his best chance at an iconic parting shot with the Galaxy up 1-0. Still, he worked as hard as anyone on the pitch and got to walk out a winner one last time.

"I'm so happy that [Donovan's] made this decision," Arena said after the game. "That he's able to go out as a winner, don't we all wish to be able to leave what we do like the way Landon left today, as a winner?

Before Donovan could walk at all, his brother Josh, who is five years older than Landon, was trying to get him to kick a soccer ball. As soon as he could walk and kick, the Donovan brothers played as often as they could.

"I firmly believe that practice makes perfect," Donovan said after the game. "So I've had a head start on almost everyone I played against. We [Josh and I] played all the time, and when I mean all the time, I mean all the time in every way, every facet—him and I playing in the street, playing in the house, breaking things, playing in the backyard, all of that."

Those early years of practice and love for the sport made Donovan one of American soccer's first prodigies.

Donovan broke onto the world stage when American soccer was still in its infancy. He stepped onto the field as a teenager in New Zealand in 1999 at the Under-17 World Cup. Major League Soccer was in its third year and contraction was on the horizon. The U.S. Men's National Team finished last in its group in the 1998 World Cup—scoring one goal and finishing behind Iran. But Donovan and his fellow Under-17 teammates proved to be a guiding light for American soccer.

They were the next hope. They were the foundation that soccer in the U.S. would be built on. The team finished fourth in the tournament, which is still the best showing of any men's team ever at a World Cup, junior or senior level. Donovan was named the best player of the tournament.

On October 5, 2000, the U.S. Men's National Team hosted their long-time rival Mexico at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Onto the field came America's next great hope, a frail looking, blonde-haired 18-year-old kid who has been lighting up the youth national team games. In the thirty-second minute of a heated, deadlocked contest, USMNT coach Bruce Arena gave the teenager his first cap for the red, white and blue senior team.

In the fiftieth minute, Donovan broke the deadlock, scoring the first of what would be 57 goals for the U.S. Clint Mathis set him up with a beautifully weighted through ball. Donovan was behind the Mexico defense. He dribbled around Mexican goalkeeper Adrian Martinez and rolled his shot into the open net from eight yards out.

In the seventy-ninth minute, Donovan drove a cross into the 18-yard box from the left flank that found Josh Wolff inside the penalty area. The 23-year-old Wolff collected the cross and placed a shot into the bottom of the net for the U.S.'s second goal.

Donovan was given the Man of the Match award for his one goal and assist in the 2-0 win.

When Donovan went on loan to Bayern Munich in 2009, I wanted him to take the opportunity under Jurgen Klinsmann—the man who would become his national team coach five years later and subsequently leave him off the 2014 World Cup roster—and show the world that American soccer had a place on one of the world's biggest soccer stages. Instead, the move didn't work out. Donovan went back home to the Los Angeles Galaxy after making five appearances and scoring four goals in friendly matches for Munich. It wouldn't be the last time that Donovan and Klinsmann butted heads.

In 2010, Donovan signed his first of two short loan deals with Everton in the English Premier League. Donovan went straight into the side. He pushed the team and gave David Moyes a much needed attacking boost on the flanks. He ran at world-class defenders and beat them time and again. He looked like the player I had always wanted to see, the player I thought he could become.

After his loan deal expired, Donovan returned to the Galaxy and joined up with the USMNT as it prepared for that summer's World Cup in South Africa. Hopes were high then. The U.S. had just come off an impressive showing in the 2009 Confederations Cup—a World Cup warm-up tournament of sorts—and the U.S. had a young and bright squad that included Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, and Michael Bradley, some of the most talented players the country has ever produced. However, the U.S. soon found itself on the verge of not making it out of the group stage for the second time in as many World Cups.

Time was dwindling and the U.S. needed a goal to beat Algeria to secure its passage through to the knockout stages. Then Donovan came sliding in with a clutch late rebound goal. The world seemed to stand still as all of Donovan's teammates piled on top of him. The U.S. was going through, and for the first time since 1930, it finished atop its group. There was hope.

It's October 10, 2014, the sky is gray and the foliage has started to turn. I arrive at Rentschler Field on the outskirts of Hartford three hours before the U.S. will kick-off in a friendly against Ecuador. The crowd began piling in and setting up at around 3 p.m. for a 7 p.m. start. They're here in droves for what would usually be a meaningless friendly. This is the last time Donovan will suit up for the U.S. Men's National Team. Donovan announced on August 7 that he was retiring at the end of the MLS season, and this is the last time America's first great American soccer player will suit up for his country.

Donovan is 32-years-old and has plenty of soccer to play, but he has decided it's time to call it a career. American soccer set this game up for him—lord knows it wasn't set up by coach Jurgen Klinsmann. His fans are here, waiting eagerly, drinking beer, playing flip cup, corn hole, beer pong, and eating grilled food in anticipation of a night of celebration. I'm here, waiting with a parking pass for a bus of supporters that are supposed to get here just before kick-off—they will never arrive, swallowed up by the black hole that is the Friday evening Connecticut commute.

When Donovan got his first full international cap 14 years ago, the crowds at U.S. games were predominantly rooting for the opposing side. Now, with the help of supporters groups like the American Outlaws, the U.S. has a vibrant and passionate fan base that travels the globe to watch their team play. On this night, I take note of all the Ecuadorian fans who travelled to the game decked out in their country's colors, but I also notice that a lot of them are wearing a USA t-shirt under their Ecuador national team jacket, or a U.S. track jacket over their Ecuador jersey, or a USA scarf draped around their neck. Times have changed.

After the game, which ends in a 1-1 draw, Donovan will stay on the field and sing and cheer and thank the fans. He only plays 41 minutes of the 90 minute match. but they're the only 41 minutes that matter. They're the minutes that people sat through hours of traffic or long flights across the country on a Friday in October to see. He's the man who has carried American soccer into the next chapter.

The Los Angeles Galaxy locker room was puddled with beer and champagne. It smelled like a frat party. Rap music bumped from the stereo system and the players were celebrating. Moments before the media descended into the madness, Donovan's teammates began cheering and chanting; they wanted him to stick around for one more year. It was teasing but also serious. All week the media had been asking Donovan if this was really it. At one point on Friday, during Donovan's last ever pre-game press conference, a reporter asked him what they, the media, need to do to make him stick around. The answer was nothing His mind was made up. His teammates knew that as well as anybody.

After the game, having lifted his sixth championship trophy,covered in confetti, doused in alcohol, and paraded in front of the media one last time, Donovan remained steadfast in his decision, even if unsure of what to do next. American soccer will move on without him, but the sport also moves on because of him. There is a new record TV deal for the league and attendance continues to rise. Support for the national team is growing.

But while Donovan, who has ushered in this era, is going to leave the pro game behind, he's not done with soccer yet. He's going to connect to the game in a more personal way again. He's going to finally get to kick around with his brother again.

"[Soccer has] always been a source of connection for us [Landon and Josh] because we shared this love and this bond for this sport. And that's why it goes deeper than playing a game for me because it's a connection with a lot of things, a lot of people," Donovan said after the MLS Cup. "The beauty now is I will get to play with him more and we will get to go play like when we were young."