San Diego Loyal head coach Landon Donovan will soon see familiar faces when S.D. Loyal faces off against Los Angeles Galaxy in 2 weeks.
On Tuesday, April 19th, the San Diego Loyal are scheduled to play away against the Los Angeles Galaxy in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
This won't be any other match, however, as Loyal's team manager and Executive Vice President of Operations will be visiting the city where he turned into a club legend for the Los Angeles Galaxy during his career.
This comes as a great opportunity for the San Diegan team, which currently seeks to become a powerhouse in the USL Championship, which is recognized as the second division soccer league in the United States, second to Major League Soccer (MLS).
Donovan was the major offensive star for Galaxy for a decade, in which he led the club to three MLS titles as their main offensive weapon, and eventually became the Galaxy's all-time leader in goals scored before retired from the MLS in 2014.
Just last year, the Galaxy unveiled a statue of Landon Donovan outside of Health Dignity Sports Park, to pay homage to the legacy left behind by the now head coach for the San Diego Loyal.
However, Donovan isn't getting caught up with the hype in this very meaningful visit for him, but rather, he wants to make sure that his players leave Los Angeles with "incredible memories" when they make their way back to San Diego after that April 19 match.
“I spent 10 years of not only my career but my life there,” Donovan said, “but, honestly, the role I’m in now, I don’t get to, nor do I want to, think about myself anymore. I want to make sure my team is as well prepared as possible so they potentially can have an incredible memory coming out of that game.” he added.
The San Diego head coach is well aware of the massive amount of talent they will be facing in this highly-anticipated game, recognizing that there will be opponents who are worth millions of dollars in today's soccer market.
“We all are fans of MLS,” he said. “They have very good players. They have guys they could sell for millions and millions of dollars, if not tens of millions of dollars.”
April 19 could go down as one of the most historic dates in San Diego Loyal's history, if they could leave the "City of Angeles" with a win in this U.S. Open Cup match, an opportunity that doesn't come often around for an USL Championship team.
“We only get so many opportunities in life to do something special,” said Landon Donovan on this particular match. “So, there’s no point in changing who we are just because we’re playing a much better team than we’re used to.”
