UNWELCOME RETURN EARTHQUAKES FANS STILL UPSET AT GALAXY'S DONOVAN.

Byline: Scott French Staff Writer

They're calling him Judas. They're calling him Traitor. They're calling him Prima Donna Landy-cakes.

A lot of love has been lost between Landon Donovan, by nearly all accounts the most talented soccer player America has produced, and fans of the San Jose Earthquakes, the team he led to two MLS championships during a four-year tenure. That run ended last November, when Bayer Leverkusen - the German giant that had owned his rights since he was 16 - called him back to Europe.

Donovan's second stint with the Bundesliga power went much as his first - not well - and by the end of March, he was back home, back in MLS, but, to the chagrin of Earthquakes fans, not back in San Jose.

Savvy maneuvering by Anschutz Entertainment Group and the Galaxy, one of five AEG-controlled MLS clubs, brought Donovan to Southern California, closer to his family and girlfriend, actress Bianca Kajlich - but as far as possible from the hearts of those in the Bay Area who had loved him while hating the archrival Galaxy.

On Saturday night, Donovan - now the Galaxy's big-name star and top scorer - returns for the first time to Spartan Stadium, and he is understandably apprehensive about the reception he will receive.

``I don't know how they will react,'' he said. ``I'm not going to pretend it wouldn't bother me (if it is negative) because, of course, it will bother me. These are people you feel you've gained a relationship that is pretty intimate. You're sharing something with them. If people turn around and boo, I'd be a little disappointed, but I understand. ... I hope they respect me, at least.''

Don't count on it. Earthquakes fans, incensed by Donovan's move to the Galaxy, have been plotting for weeks - on Internet message boards, where the name-calling is prevalent, and at pregame gatherings - the perfect welcome for their fallen hero. One group has commissioned a pinata in Donovan's image and wearing a Galaxy uniform. Many are calling for fans to turn their backs and jeer when Donovan is announced during pregame introductions. Some think the best response would be to throw onto the field Earthquakes T-shirts, with Donovan's name and No. 10 on the backs, that were given out in seasons past.

Every time Donovan touches the ball, he can expect deafening boos.

``They are angry,'' Earthquakes coach Dominic Kinnear said. ``It's not going to be a warm reception.''

Donovan, 23, who was born in Ontario and grew up in Redlands, has been known in the soccer world since 1998, when he emerged during the first U.S. under-19 national team residency in Bradenton, Fla. He was the Golden Ball winner, as MVP, when the Americans reached the world U-17 semifinals in New Zealand the following year, and by then Leverkusen already had his name on a contract.

After an unhappy year in Germany, Donovan, in 2001, was loaned to the Earthquakes, who pulled a worst-to-first and won the MLS Cup title that fall with a victory over the Galaxy. He was the pivotal player in the playoffs, scoring five goals in six games. Two years later, San Jose won another title, with Donovan scoring twice in the title game against Chicago.

Donovan was a fan favorite for four years in San Jose, and when Leverkusen called him back to Germany last November, he told supporters he hoped to return one day. They never envisioned it would be in Galaxy threads.

Early this year, Donovan played in five Leverkusen games, starting one, but his career there turned sour after a poor showing in a UEFA Champions League loss at Liverpool. The team did not play well. Donovan's performance in particular was described by influential Kicker magazine as ``perhaps the worst'' by a playmaker in Leverkusen history.

``I immediately got this reaction,'' Donovan said, ``this sense that things were not good, like it was the end of the world, and it was all my fault.''

When he didn't play the following week, Donovan asked coach Klaus Augenthaler for assurance he would get another chance, and when that wasn't forthcoming, ``I read the writing on the wall very clearly.''

Donovan asked to leave, and MLS badly wanted him back. Leverkusen reported the transfer fee as $1.3 million, but other reports said it was closer to $4 million. The Galaxy traded standout forward Carlos Ruiz to FC Dallas for its allocation, and Donovan, with a reported five-year, $4.5 million contract, was headed home, where he most wanted to be.

The Earthquakes, and their fans, were undeniably peeved. Alexi Lalas, then San Jose's president and general manager, said in a statement that the club was ``disappointed'' and that Donovan's decision was ``difficult for many to accept.''

Earthquakes fans saw it as conspiracy - the Galaxy has been AEG's favored child and the company has been trying to sell the Earthquakes for more than two years - and surmised the deal had been in place since last fall.

Now they're ready to vent.

``They have a right to be mad,'' said defender Todd Dunivant, who was traded to the Galaxy from the Earthquakes during the offseason. ``And Landon had the right to do what he did. It was never premeditated, he didn't try to scheme (his way to Los Angeles). That's not how it was. And they need to understand that, too.''

Said Galaxy coach Steve Sampson: ``They're deeply hurt. And the competition between these clubs - I know the reception (the Galaxy) gets, the reception our players and coaching staff get when we go up there is not very kind. That's all part of the competition.

``But I think they also should respect the fact this guy gave them two championships and worked very hard on their behalf. Shaquille O'Neal was very well received when he came back (with the Miami Heat) to Staples Center. I don't know that it's exactly the same scenario, but he was a very important player who gave a lot to Los Angeles and he was very well appreciated.''

Earthquakes fans do not necessarily see it that way. ``He is a traitor and ALWAYS will be,'' said a post on a prominent Internet message board. ``Let LD know he has done a dastardly deed,'' posted another person.

``It was really kind of a slap in the face to have him, first off, return to MLS without missing a game after a big, heartfelt goodbye, then to return to the Galaxy,'' said Jay Hipps, a prominent member of the Earthquakes' Casbah supporters group. ``He was one of us. He hated the Galaxy as much as anybody.''

Donovan is surprised by the venom of some fans.

``But it's a good thing, right?'' he said. ``It's people caring about their team. That's not a bad thing. Sure, I'd like everything to be great and rosy and everybody be nice, but I am realistic.

``I can handle it. I just hope there's some level of respect for what I've done there, what I've given there.''

Scott French, [phone]

scott.french(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Landon Donovan has become a marked man in San Jose after trading his old Earthquakes jersey for a Galaxy one this season.

Getty Images

(2 -- color) Landon Donovan, center, has become the Galaxy's top scorer after returning to the MLS this year.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News

(3 -- 5 -- color) no caption (Landon Donovan)

Box:

(1) GALAXY at SAN JOSE

(2) DONOVAN IN MLS

(3) L.A.'S BEST