In a year, the Los Angeles Galaxy may find forgettable, the one consistently bright point has been Landon Donovan. The U.S. national team star has been on a tear during the 2008 season -- his hat trick against D.C. United on Saturday brings his league-leading scoring total to 19 goals through 20 games, by far his career best in Major League Soccer.

Enjoy it while you can, because It’d be a real shocker if Donovan is still in the league next year.

Landon has made no secret of his desire to get another crack at Europe’s big leagues, and has dropped hints all season that he’s itching for a second chance. (He has often said he wouldn’t mind playing in the English Premier League or Spain’s La Liga.)

But with the rumor mill in high gear, I truly believe that the latest whisper out there -- that Donovan could end up at German Superclub Bayern Munich (originally reported by The Washington Post’s Steven Goff) -- is extremely realistic and there’s a good chance it could go down.

American players demand plenty of interest from European teams, but it’s rare for any of them to get any sort of sniff from one of the elite clubs. Donovan is simply the all-time leading scorer on the U.S. national team, and he’s helped his own cause further with his scintillating play this season. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that more European fans know it, thanks to his being the best player on a team featuring David Beckham.

Landon has another influential name in his corner: new Bayern manager Jürgen Klinsmann, an unorthodox soccer mind to begin with who isn’t afraid to shake things up. More important, the former German national team coach was also once an advisor to the Galaxy, is a big proponent of American soccer and knows Donovan’s game well. If ever there were a perfect storm for America’s biggest star to end up at one of the world’s biggest clubs, this is it.

"I would love for it to happen," Donovan told ESPN’s Andrea Canales. "It's up to the league, it's up to the Galaxy and it's up to me. I feel like I have a good relationship with all those parties, and if it were to happen, I think that would be great."

And how sweet would that be? Obviously it’d be great to see Donovan get a shot with the four-time European champions and compete for playing time with the likes of international stars Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski. But for Lando, it would also be the ultimate second chance. His spell with Bayern’s German rival Bayer Leverkusen is viewed as a failure, not least of all by Donovan himself, who says he wasn’t mentally mature enough for the demands of top-level soccer.

Now, everything’s different. At 26, Donovan is in the prime of his career. He is the mature leader of the Galaxy, the domestic face of MLS and perhaps the most talented American soccer player there is, period. He’s itching for his second chance, and he’s got someone with serious clout across the pond who can vouch for him. For Landon, it could soon be auf wiedesehen to MLS.