Landon Donovan believes Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard may have been unaware of the difficulties of adapting to Major League Soccer after joining Los Angeles Galaxy and New York City FC, respectively, in the summer.
Gerrard signed for Galaxy in an 18-month deal that started in July and Lampard agreed a two-year deal at NYC FC that began the same month. However neither has made an impact as, despite being designated players, neither of their respective franchises reached the play-offs.
Donovan, a former United States captain who played for Galaxy, Bayern Munich and Everton, said of Gerrard and Lampard: “They have been perceived well but it’s not easy. Sometimes people have this impression that you can go there and it will be easy – people from the outside. The players will tell you – and I think Steven has spoken about it openly – it’s quite difficult. Not because there is more quality from Liverpool but it’s difficult to travel and the pace of the game is fast.”
Donovan, who retired in December 2014, added: “The Premier League is probably the fastest in the world but the pace [in the US] is faster than you realise. There are a lot of different issues so I think both of them will come back next year and be more prepared and make a much bigger impact.”
Patrick Vieira has recently become coach of NYC FC after being in charge of Manchester City’s elite development squad. Again, Donovan thinks the Frenchman will have to adjust to MLS, which as a centralised league has a wage cap and transfer restrictions.
Donovan said: “I don’t know him personally. I am speaking as an outsider and I’m not an expert on coaching but I know he has done well at Manchester City. If he surrounds himself with people that can help him adapt and adjust to the rules of the league I think he will do fantastic. I think that’s where a lot of foreign managers have actually not done well in Major League Soccer because it’s not easy.
“There are a lot of restrictions. If you want to go and buy three players you can’t just do it. But if he surrounds himself with good people, which he will with Claudio Reyna [the director of football] being there, and perhaps others, then I think he’ll do well.
“Vieira’s move raised a lot of eyebrows. There was always a possibility because when Man City [who own NYC FC] came into the league you always thought something like that could happen. Everyone is curious to see how he does.”
Donovan played in David Beckham’s Unicef charity game at Old Trafford on Saturday. The Great Britain and Ireland XI and the Rest of the World teams included Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Ronaldinho, Patrick Kluivert and Edwin van der Sar.
On coaching in MLS, Donovan said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity. Just sitting in the locker room [at Old Trafford], a lot of guys want a chance to go to America and coach. They know the resources are now there. They have support and they know they can walk outside without people hounding them for autographs and paparazzi everywhere, so they enjoy that aspect and want to go and help out. Because there haven’t been a lot of foreign managers who have done well, the hope is that Patrick does well and continues to open that door.”
Donovan believes there is a desire to invest in MLS. “You’d be surprised,” he said. “The amount of emails I get – my agent gets emails from billionaire businessmen who now want to get involved because when you see franchise values of sports teams in America they skyrocket quickly.
“So Major League Soccer is still very relatively cheap to get into and they see there is a possibility not only to have a good business venture but to continue to help build something special. I’m surprised how many billionaires there are.”