Landon Donovan may be one of the most recognizable American men’s soccer players of all time.
Donovan was a part of the 2002 World Cup that made it to the quarterfinals and helped them get out of the group stage in 2010 following a disappointing outing in 2006. He scored one of the most memorable goals in 2010 in extra time to put the U.S. over Algeria and advance to the knockout stage.
With the highs that carried Donovan to newfound fame, there were also tremendous lows.
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Donovan details his bout with depression, reconfiguring what success meant to him and his incredible soccer career in his new book, “Landon: A Memoir,” which is set to be released Tuesday.
He opened up to Fox News Digital about his mental health struggles and what depression looked like for him.
“I had two different types of experiences with depression,” he said. “I realized through therapy and in retrospect that I’ve had an underlying depression, low-level depression my whole life that I deal with today. So, there are days where I wake up and I just feel down and sad and that is very manageable for me now. I’ve learned how to live with that.
“But then I’ve also had three episodes in my life of very serious depressive episodes that have lasted weeks that have been really, really hard to get out of. So, what that looked liked for me – not being able to get off the couch, not wanting to eat and just feeling like there’s a massive blanket on top of you that you can’t get off and that’s a horrible feeling.”
The former American soccer star said he’s found ways to pull himself out of those moods, along with the help of therapy.
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“I say the three Ms for me,” he explained. “Medication has helped a lot in my life. Meditation helps a lot. And then, in some cases, my mom. Just my mom being there next to me has helped me. And so, I’m at a point now where, knock on wood, it’s been a long, long time since I’ve had a major depressive episode. But medication and meditation keep me calm and exercise really – these are the three things now that really keep me sane.”
Donovan mentioned that he really began to struggle after the 2006 World Cup and failed to score or provide assists for the team. He took the brunt of the criticism from the media at the time. He was also left off the 2008 Olympics roster, though the team featured a U23 roster.
The silver lining to that is no one was going to Donovan’s MySpace page to unload furious comments or even death threats similar to what professional athletes hear now.
In that way, Donovan told Fox News Digital he feels “very fortunate.”
“We see so many people who are in the public eye who have to deal with social media hatred, criticism, critiquing all the time. And this would have all been exacerbated for me had that all been around,” he said. “I feel very, very fortunate for a number of reasons that social media didn’t exist at that time, but it is a very real thing.
“People assume that because we’re in the public eye and we make money and we have fame and our lives should be easy. And by the way, compared to the person who’s struggling to put food on the table, it is easy, so I’m not minimizing that. But it is difficult at times to deal with that. We are, as humans, social creatures. And we want to be liked, we all want to be liked, that’s normal. And to open your screen every day, your phone or your computer, and read people disparaging you, is really hard for humans. And sadly, we’ve seen it take many, many lives.”
Donovan retired as one of the greatest Major League Soccer players the league had ever seen. He helped the U.S. to four Gold Cup titles and the LA Galaxy to four MLS Cups.
Success in 2026 compared to 2006 looks a little different to Donovan right now.
“Success for me now is peace,” he told Fox News Digital. “I am at peace when I’m with my children. I’m at peace with my wife, when we get to travel, when I get to play golf. It’s sometimes crazy for me to think that a kid who grew up in a 900-square-foot home is flying to New York, staying in a Ritz-Carlton overlooking Central Park and to think back at like, how did all this happen? But it wasn’t always easy along the way. And so, for me today, peace is all about doing the things that I love.
“Sadly, my dad is a big part of the book. He’s a big character throughout the book and he wasn’t around growing up. I was able to reconcile with him at 25 years old, so almost 20 years ago. He passed away in December, and it was very eye-opening for me to be next to someone as they’re dying. You start to realize that when I am there one day, what is really, really, gonna matter to me? So, when I think about it that way, and try to think about that every day, what today is really gonna matter? Most things aren’t gonna matter. And so, the things that bring me peace are the things I’m gonna put my energy and effort into.”
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