Donovan wins MLS MVP award for first time
Fox Soccer - 11/19/2009

Los Angeles forward Landon Donovan was named the Major League Soccer most valuable player on Thursday after helping to lead the Galaxy to the final for the first time since 2005.

Despite being a six-time national player of the year, it's the first time Donovan has won the top award in MLS.

Los Angeles will face Real Salt Lake in the MLS final on Sunday in Seattle. Donovan beat out Dallas' Jeff Cunningham, the league's scoring leader with a career-best 17 goals, and New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph for the award.

It's already been the longest and most trying year of Donovan's career.

Donovan, 27, was instrumental in the Americans' successful qualifying campaign for the World Cup and its trek to the Confederations Cup final, large factors in him winning an unprecedented sixth player of the year award last month.

He scored 12 times in the MLS regular season despite missing a month in helping lead the U.S. at the Confederations Cup. That total followed up on last season's league-best 20 goals, but he missed out on the MVP award as Los Angeles finished last in its conference.

This year, Donovan was the leader. Los Angeles was the best team in its conference, overcoming a remarkable 11 draws in its first 13 games to take the top spot and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since its run to the title in 2005.

"He's grown on the field as a player. He's a more mature consistent player, but his role off the field with this team has been perhaps even better, remarkable," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said recently. "The things he did to help build this team to have the right kind of team chemistry, to be a leader ... Landon was consistently here every day and taking the responsibility of a captain. He's been doing a fantastic job."

Donovan's 2009 season grabbed plenty of attention for what happened away from his time on the field with the Galaxy. He spent three months on loan to German powerhouse Bayern Munich and was not offered a full contract. His marriage, to actress Bianca Kajlich, dissolved.

And he was a major figure in Grant Wahl's "The Beckham Experiment," a book chronicling and critical of David Beckham's first two seasons with the Galaxy. Donovan criticized Beckham's leadership and effort in the book, and he apologized to the English star for airing his thoughts in public.

Since Beckham returned to the Galaxy from a loan deal to Italy's AC Milan, he and Donovan developed a strong partnership that has helped fuel their run to the MLS final.