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San Diego Loyal SC manager Landon Donovan has been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame with the class of 2023.
Donovan joins a list of the greatest players, coaches, referees, owners and administrators in the U.S. history of the sport for his accomplishments.
Donovan, also the team’s executive vice president of soccer operations, joins Loyal Vice President of Community Relations Shannon MacMillan, who was inducted as a player into the Hall of Fame in 2016.
On Sept. 7, Donovan was named as a finalist among the former players, veterans or builders who were part of Major League Soccer or U.S. Soccer. He was one of five players selected to the final ballot in their first year of eligibility and ultimately one of two first-ballot players, alongside DaMarcus Beasley, to be voted into the hall.
Donovan and Beasley will be joined by Lauren Cheney Holiday, of the U.S. Women’s National Team, as 2023 inductees.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for May 6.
Donovan is coming off his third season as a Loyal manager and executive. He led the club to the USL Championship postseason for a second consecutive year in 2022 after a second-place finish in the Western conference standings, including a club record 60 points.
He is considered one of the best players to ever step on the pitch in MLS and for the U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team, on which he played with Beasley.
During his 19-year professional career, played for six professional teams, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Bayern Munich (Bundesliga), Everton (Premier League), San Jose Earthquakes and LA Galaxy (Major League Soccer) and Club León (Liga MX).
He played in six MLS Cups, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and earned two MLS Supporters’ Shields.
Donovan’s contributions to the U.S. national team continue to dominate the record books. He leads the USMNT in goals (57) and assists (58), is second in appearances (157) and is the only player to surpass both 50 goals and 50 assists in his career.
He played for the U.S. in three FIFA World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010) and was the fastest American to earn 100 caps.
The Galaxy inducted him into its team Hall of Fame in 2021.
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