June 23, 2010: The Landon Donovan Goal

June 23, 2010: Landon Donovan scores the most famous goal in the history of American soccer.

* More famous than Joe Gaetjens' goal to allow the U.S. national team to beat England in the 1950 World Cup, because nobody was watching on television.

* More famous than any goal ever scored in the North American Soccer League, during its run of 1967 to 1984.

* More famous than any goal ever scored in Major League Soccer since its debut in 1996.

* And more famous than the goals scored by Brian McBride and Donovan himself in the 2002 World Cup "Dos a Cero" win over arch-rival Mexico.

On that occasion, Donovan was 20 years old, and already the winner of an MLS Cup with the San Jose Earthquakes. He would win another with them, and then win one for the Los Angeles Galaxy. And he would help the U.S. team win 3 CONCACAF Gold Cups. He would also play for the U.S. in the 2006 World Cup, a disappointment for the team. And he had played in Germany's Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

The 2010 World Cup was held in South Africa. The U.S. team, led by Donovan and Clint Dempsey, was placed in a Group with England, Slovenia and Algeria, and it was expected that the 1st 2 games would be lost, and the U.S. would fail to qualify for the Knockout Stage.

But goalkeeper Rob Green's mishandling of a Dempsey shot gave the U.S. a 1-1 draw with England in Rustenberg. And they dominated Slovenia in Johannesburg, and should have won, but a goal, a Maurice Edu volley off of a Donovan pass, was wrongly disallowed, leaving a 2-2 draw, with Donovan and Marcus Bradley scoring the goals.

So the game against Algeria, at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria -- named for the founder of organized sports in that city, and home of the historically black soccer team Mamelodi Sundowns and the traditionally white rugby team Blue Bulls -- was huge. A win would send the U.S. to the knockout stage. A draw might, depending on who won between England and Slovenia, and by how much. A loss, and we were definitely out.

Loftus Versfeld Stadium

Oddly, only 35,827 fans paid to see the game. Loftus Versfeld Stadium, built in 1923 and substantially renovated in 2008, has a capacity of 51,752. But ticket prices for this World Cup were very high, pricing poor black South Africans out, and there weren't enough people from other countries willing to pay.

After an early Algerian shot hit the crossbar, the American defense settled down. Jozy Altidore missed a sitter. Dempsey scored, but it was disallowed for offside. The joke went around the world: Now, the U.S. is a true footballing nation, because they've gotten screwed twice at one World Cup.

At the end of 90 minutes, it was still 0-0. But the final had come in: England had beaten Slovenia 1-0. England were in. If the U.S. could not score in stoppage time, they would finish 3rd in the Group to Slovenia's 2nd, and would be out.

Three minutes were added on. Goalkeeper Tim Howard, of North Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey, threw an outlet pass to Donovan. He dribbled a bit, then passed to Altidore, who crossed to Dempsey. Raïs M'Bolhi, born in Paris but playing his national soccer for Algeria and his club soccer, at the time, for Slavia Sofia in Bulgaria, moved forward, and blocked Dempsey's shot.

But he only blocked it, unable to stop it. Donovan was moving forward, the ball came right to him, and he put it in the net. The social media reaction was delayed because fans all over America were pretty much still celebrating when the referee, Frank De Bleeckere of Belgium, blew his final whistle during the 94th minute. One-nil to the Stars & Stripes.

Those of us who are both Americans and Arsenal fans thought of the Michael Thomas goal that won Arsenal the 1989 Football League title against Liverpool, partly because that goal was also started by a goalkeeper's long throw, and was in the 92nd minute instead of the 91st.

Unfortunately, all the Donovan goal won was a World Cup Group. It didn't guarantee anything other than a place in the Round of 16. Although the U.S. held Ghana to 1-1 after regulation, with Donovan converting a penalty, they ran us ragged in extra time, and we lost, 2-1. Spain went on to win the World Cup, defeating Netherlands in extra time in the Final in Johannesburg.

Still, Donovan's goal, the win it secured, and the advancement that the win secured, was a huge moment for American soccer. The "Miracle On Grass" in 1950 was an anomaly: We didn't qualify for the Knockout Stage, and we didn't qualify for the World Cup again for 40 years. "Dos a Cero" in 2002 was a great moment, and we did advance to the Quarterfinal, but it had more of an effect on our reputation within the CONCACAF region (the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) than in the world at large. Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and even South America didn't particularly care that we embarrassed Mexico.

But 1950 was the dawn of the television era. It might have been different if the game had been covered on TV, but it wasn't. And 2002, while in the Internet era, wasn't in the social media era. In contrast, Donovan's goal was shared almost immediately. Almost: We did celebrate a bit before we tweeted about it. 

After the 2010 World Cup, Donovan won 2 more MLS Cups with the Galaxy, and 1 more CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also played in England for Liverpool-based Everton, and, with some irony, in Mexico with Club León. In 2020, the minor-league team San Diego Loyal was founded, and Donovan has been their manager ever since.

*

June 23, 2010 was a Wednesday. As I said, the other World Cup Group C game played that day was England's 1-0 win over Slovenia at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

In Group D, Germany beat Ghana 1-0 at FNB Stadium, a.k.a. Soccer City, in Johannesburg; and Australia beat Serbia 2-1 at Mbombela Stadium in Nelsprit.

American football was out of season. The basketball season had ended 6 days earlier, when the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Championship by beating the Boston Celtics. The hockey season had ended 14 days earlier, when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers.

These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-5 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Curtis Granderson won it with a home run in the top of the 10th inning, making Mariano Rivera a winner in relief of Javier Vazquez.

* The New York Mets beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-0 at Citi Field. José Reyes hit a home run, and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-6 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Tribe scored a run in the top of the 9th. But, Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Brian Schneider drew a leadoff walk for the Phils, and Jimmy Rollins hit a home run.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-5 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Washington Nationals, 1-0 at Nationals Park in Washington. Brian Bannister and 2 relievers pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 1-0 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Matt Holliday singled home the only run of the game in the top of the 9th, making a winner of Chris Carpenter, who had pitched 8 innings of a 3-hit shutout, with Ryan Franklin allowing a 4th hit but keeping the shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Mark Buerhle outpitched Tim Hudson.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 13-3 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-6 at Coors Field in Denver. Ian Stewart and former Yankee Jason Giambi (with Clint Barnes on base) hit home runs of Jonathan Papelbon in the bottom of the 9th to win it.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat their regional rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Both of the Halos' runs were scored in part due to errors.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Johnny Cueto and 2 relievers pitched a 7-hit shutout.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.