Canales Corner: Stranger In His Own Land

Even among the American fans who do know Donovan, there's often resentment among the ranks of USA supporters against the player, because so many are hungry for recognition on the global level that they refuse to grant Donovan respect as long as his achievements are mostly centered with the national team and in Major League Soccer.

It's like the girl who won't date a guy unless another friend admits she'd like to go out with him.

Two months at Everton won't compare in any way with what Donovan has already accomplished, but some U.S. supporters will still wait for that time span on which to judge Donovan worthy of praise.

Others elsewhere have already made their judgment and freely express their appreciation for Donovan's talent.

After a vacation in Cabo San Lucas a couple of years ago, Donovan told me he was surprised by how often the Mexican locals not only recognized him, but excitedly stopped him to ask for an autograph or to take a photo. I asked Donovan if that happened in his regular residence of Manhattan Beach.

He laughed a little. "Not very often."

Nike is a big American company who does sponsor Donovan, and they did shoot a commercial a while back that included him. He wasn't exactly a star, however, just one of a number of athletes featured. Donovan wasn't in any way a centerpiece of the ad - blink and you might miss him saying, "My better -". That's it - all he got was an incomplete sentence. The lacrosse players got more airtime.

Of course, Donovan's recognition in Mexico isn't just due to the fact that he has scored against the country more than any other USA player.

Donovan is the go-to guy for the Spanish press, as he speaks decent Spanish. He's given countless interviews, and though he knows better than to make the mistake that gives him away in the GanaGol commercial,  (saying, 'Mex-i-cano' instead of 'Me-hi-cano') he'll often make small errors, such as saying "expectamos" when he means "esperamos".

That doesn't really matter, as the Latino media are generally happy that Donovan makes the effort and gives them a soundbite for the evening sports report.

It's not unusual, then, to see America's top player featured more often in news reports across the border than in his own homeland.

That some savvy marketer finally tapped into Donovan's value as a pitchman in the place where he is well-known makes perfect sense.

What doesn't make so much sense is how many of his own country's fans don't value Donovan.

Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com North America

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