Landon Donovan gets day he deserves as LA Galaxy statue unveiled

For most MLS teams, it would be tough to figure out enough players to really merit a ring of honor, let alone a statue at the stadium. For the LA Galaxy, it’s quite possibly the opposite problem, with the club’s history and pivotal figures offering plentiful options to honor those deserving.

Obviously Landon Donovan is an absolute no-brainer to be honored by the Galaxy, as the league’s best-ever player got his full week of lifetime achievement at the club culminating on Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Park, with the ex-player’s statue and place in the Ring of Honor unveiled.

Donovan, of course, is the second player to have a statue at the stadium, following former teammate David Beckham.

Now that it looks pretty safe the 39-year-old won’t be making another comeback as a player — remember, he came back multiple times before hanging up his boots for good — Sunday was a day to honor the legend, with Galaxy fans turning out in droves to watch the statue unveiling and chanting for him throughout the day.

The love was reciprocated by the star, who thanked the fans for their support, not to mention high standards, over the years.

“To all the Galaxy fans, I love you,” Donovan said at the statue unveiling. “You guys made this my home away from home. I grew up an hour and a half away from here, but every time I showed up to the stadium, you guys made me feel accepted, wanted, desired to be out there on the field and you pushed me. And I love seeing the league what it is today, but you guys were all here from the beginning, and I appreciate you guys.”

And while the day and week of festivities were all lovely to see and spend some time reminiscing, there was some fun to be had. Notably, it seems rather tricky to really get a face in bronze just right.

Bronze Landon’s face does look pretty...intense, but he joins a long list of soccer luminaries whose faces look a bit different in bronze than in real life.

The high water mark remains Cristiano Ronaldo’s goofy visage, so bad it was actually redone:

But don’t forget this entry, of Brandi Chastain’s National Soccer Hall of Fame plaque aging her about 30 years into the future:

So hey, LD may look like a “weeping angel,” but he’s the Galaxy’s weeping angel. And it was great to see him get the honors he justly deserved after a stellar career in LA. It’s funny, he was certainly never a one-club man — obviously he didn’t only play for the Galaxy in MLS — but he’s definitely associated first and foremost with the G’s, and he’ll always be the LegenD.

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