Donovan surprised by Ibrahimovic's Galaxy move: 'It's going to be a spectacle'
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's transfer to the LA Galaxy on Friday led to much debate about how he can impact Major League Soccer at the age of 36, and whether it was a simply a move to reclaim the spotlight from newcomer LAFC.
One particularly interested spectator will be Landon Donovan, the legendary forward who played alongside the biggest signing in MLS history, David Beckham, at the Galaxy. Donovan is interested to see the reception Ibrahimovic receives and, more pertinently, how he can fit into and perform in Sigi Schmid's side.
"I was pretty surprised by it," the Club Leon veteran told ESPN's Jeff Carlisle of Ibrahimovic's switch. "I mean, L.A. needs big personalities, so it's going to be a spectacle to watch. I'm curious to see how he's recovered, and then how much he has left.
"He's someone who's the same age as me going through the same thing. It will be interesting to see how can actually contribute on the field, but it's exciting."
Related - Man to fear: Don't mistake Zlatan's MLS move for a retirement tour
The capture of Ibrahimovic garnered less media attention than Beckham's 2007 entry, but it was arguably more explosive. His arrival was marked with a full-page advert in the Los Angeles Times on Friday morning, and a few hours later he appeared in a video cavorting with a lion and announcing: "Los Angeles, welcome to Zlatan."
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
The Swede has never shied away from center stage, but there are some critics who believe he could have a detrimental effect on how the club's Designated Players - Romain Alessandrini, and brothers Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos - and Ola Kamara, the striker who only joined in the offseason, function.
Schmidt will face a difficult task in shoehorning all of these names into one lineup, and Kamara produced a timely reminder of his goalscoring abilities with a hat-trick for Norway against Australia the day Ibrahimovic was unveiled.
"I'm just fascinated to see how it all plays out," Donovan continued. "Where's (Ibrahimovic) going to play, how's he going to play? Who is going to come out of the team? How's he going to perform? How's the reception going to be?
"David came in very humbly and was great in the locker room and nice with his teammates. I don't know Zlatan at all, so it's just going to be really interesting to watch these things and how it all unfolds."
Donovan was in his native United States ahead of Leon's meeting with his former side, the San Jose Earthquakes, on Saturday.