Twitter Reacts to Landon Donovan's Performance from USA vs. Ecuador

After a controversial final year to his international career, it's only fitting that Landon Donovan was recognized by the U.S. men's national team as a legend during his final appearance Friday night against Ecuador.

The 32-year-old only played the first 40 minutes in his farewell moment (his Los Angeles Galaxy play Sunday), but he made them count. He had two shots—one clanking off the post—and helped set up a Team USA first-half goal in the fifth minute before leaving to a long standing ovation.

Donovan joined ESPN's set at halftime to discuss his career. SportsCenter and Ben Jata of Opta summed up Donovan's feelings after being subbed off:

Few were going to soon forget Friday's game just off the circumstances, but Donovan almost gave his U.S. career a storybook ending. He either created or nearly finished a scoring chance every few minutes he was on the pitch, and Klinsmann kept Donovan in 10 minutes longer than planned in the hopes he could score.

He wasn't able to, but with how dangerous he looked on the pitch, a few more minutes may have done it.

Friday night's match figured to be special from the moment it was decided Donovan would suit up for the last time, and it didn't disappoint. SportsCenter captured a photo of his locker setup before the match:

Not long after that, Donovan made the walk that he once dreamed of and one that he may have thought was out of the question some months ago—leading his U.S. squad to the pitch one final time, as U.S. Soccer recapped:

Friday's match was just an international friendly, but it became a must-watch event for even the fringe American sports fan with Donovan bowing out for good. Heck, ESPN even offered a "Star Cam" on Donovan for his performance online:

The Star Cam made for a funny moment after he left the match, as Sports Illustrated's Liviu Bird captured:

"

ESPN's "star cam" is still focused on Landon Donovan. Here he is, picking his nose. Was eating a banana earlier. pic.twitter.com/TVc7knoLjK

— Liviu Bird (@liviubird) October 11, 2014"

Despite matching up against Ecuador, among the USA's biggest continental tests, Donovan led the U.S. to a dominant first half.

The Americans controlled the pace from the start, and Donovan played a long ball across the box that helped set up Mix Diskerud's fifth-minute goal, as ESPN's Doug McIntyre noted:

Seeing Donovan play so effectively early on gave many Americans second thoughts over his World Cup snub, but Seth Vertelney of Goal.com noted he wasn't the only one in on the play that didn't make a Brazil appearance:

Donovan started off making an impact as a distributor like he's known to do, but it wasn't long before he was going for a goal himself. In the ninth minute, he was on the receiving end of a cross that went straight to the Ecuadorian goalkeeper.

Minutes later, Donovan had a perfect opportunity that hit the post, as Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated observed:

That was the best chance Donovan would get to end his U.S. soccer career with a score, but his teammates didn't stop looking for him. As the match passed the 30-minute mark, every offensive move—and there were many—seemed focused on opening up Donovan for his moment.

Jozy Altidore nearly made it happen, flicking a beautiful lofted pass to Donovan at the top of the box. It would have taken a spectacular shot, which Donovan nearly mustered, as NBC Sports' Joe Prince-Wright noted:

SB Nation's Spencer Hall praised Altidore for gift-wrapping a chance to Donovan:

A few minutes before the first half ended, Klinsmann took Donovan out, and he received a huge standing ovation from the crowd. SportsCenter captured the moment:

Paul Carr of ESPN noted one of Donovan's ridiculous career numbers with the national team:

Fittingly, Joe Corona came in for Donovan, and that spurred a play on words from Andy Glockner:

Donovan couldn't net the goal everyone wanted, but it's safe to say the 57 he scored in his Team USA career were more than enough to cement his legacy as perhaps the greatest American player in the sport's history. Plus, his first and last ones came against USA's North American rival, per Adam Serrano of the L.A. Galaxy:

The public feud between Donovan and Klinsmann reignited leading up to Friday's game, according to MLSSoccer.com, so you knew every interaction between the two on Friday would be closely watched. Yahoo Sports' Joe Lago was among those watching:

Hindsight is 20-20, but Ben Jata of Opta wondered what many may have been thinking:

But while drama and second-guessing were the storylines for Donovan and Team USA for most of the last few months, these few days have been all about his achievements. No American player has played a bigger role in helping the sport expand in the States than Donovan.

Friday was a tribute to Donovan's career success but also a reminder of how much he can still provide to a team. Against a World Cup squad, the 32-year-old was one of the best players on the pitch, and it showed despite playing fewer than 45 minutes.

After his professional season concludes, however, we won't get another chance to see him in action. And while the MLS will surely have something in store to pay tribute to him, his moment on Friday night should stand alone as the final chapter of an unforgettable career.