Donovan has seen California Clasico from both sides
Of all the rivalries in Major League Soccer, the California Clasico between the Earthquakes and the L.A. Galaxy is among the most spirited.
Just ask Landon Donovan, who played for both sides during his career.
His favorite moment in the enduring series came in the two-legged 2003 Western Conference semifinals. The Quakes dropped the first leg 2-0 on the road before returning home for the second.
“We were down 2-0 after the first 15 minutes, down 4-0 on aggregate, and then in the next 75 minutes we scored four goals, then scored in overtime to beat L.A.,” he said. “So that’s probably the most exciting game, in that way, of my career.”
Donovan was among the Quakes who scored in that second leg, but Rodrigo Faria had the golden goal in the 96th minute to advance San Jose 5-4 on aggregate.
The rivalry itself predates Donovan, going back to 1996 with a two-year break in the mid-2000s. Los Angeles leads the all-time series 34-25-21.
The 81st edition of the California Clasico will be played Sunday in Carson (Los Angeles County).
Donovan, 35, started his MLS career with the Earthquakes from 2001-04, on loan from Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen.
He helped the Quakes to MLS Cup titles in 2001 and 2003. In the latter championship, he scored two goals in a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Fire and was named man of the match.
He played for the Galaxy (with a few stints in Europe) from 2005 until his first retirement at the end of the 2014 season. He came out of retirement for six Galaxy matches at the end of last season.
Donovan’s marks with MLS are numerous, including a record 145 goals and 136 assists. He was on six MLS Cup-winning teams. The league’s MVP award was renamed after him.
He said the California Clasico is about more than just a NorCal-SoCal rivalry. It’s a timehonored tradition.
“In Major League Soccer, early on it was hard to develop rivalries because there were only 10 or 12 teams, and because of that there weren’t many teams that were close geographically,” he said.
The Clasico was also boosted by competitive games.
“When Chivas and the Galaxy began (a) rivalry back in the day, it never really developed because the games weren’t that good,” he said. “The Galaxy won pretty easily most of the time.”
The California Clasico has had its share of memorable moments, including Dwayne De Rosario’s golden goal that handed the Earthquakes the 2001 MLS Cup. De Rosario also had a free kick in 2005 that stands out.
And Galaxy star David Beckham bent it like, well, Beckham, with a free kick over the wall in a 2012 match.
So since he played for both teams, who does Donovan root for in the rivalry?
“I spent 10 years with the Galaxy, so that’s a huge part of my heart. I had four of the best years of my life, the most formative years of my life, in San Jose,” he said. “I always want the Quakes to do well, but in this particular instance I’m Galaxy all the way through.”
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