Landon Donovan has played for Bayer 04 Leverkusen, but they dissed him in line with the article. But last year Bayern Munich was working very hard to grab him for at least a few months, so respect may be coming.
We simply will not have respect in soccer until we have world-class players. Europe isn’t so awed by big contracts and a flashy lifestyle, they care what you do on the field. And they’ll drop you like a hot potato if you lose it, just ask Ollie Kahn. He was once one of the greatest goalies and the German team captain, a national hero, but he lost it and they only let him play the third-place game in 2006.
I always thought Kahn was over-rated (being an ex-keeper, myself). Not that I disagree with the overall point of your comment or use of Kahn as an example. Your right on in that respect.
It may still be a little early for Adu, but you wouldn’t consider Donovan a world class player? Or at least talented enough that play regularly outside of the US?