By Ben Nicholson
August 8 – The mid-week MLS All-Star game set another high mark for this summer of US soccer that has seen all records being broken. Bayern Munich were defeated 2-1 in the 19th All-Star game in front 21,733 spectators at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, sponsored by AT&T.
The game was televised in more than 130 countries worldwide, broadcast in the USA on ESPN2 and UniMás.
Since 2005 the MLS All-Stars have played against select guest clubs. They have beaten Fulham (2005), Chelsea (2006 and 2012), Celtic (2007), West Ham (2008) and now Bayern Munich (2014). They have lost 4 out of these 10 games: against Everton (on penalties in 2009), Manchester United (2010 and 2011) and Roma (2013).
The game turned into more than just a showcase for the MLS All-Stars, who were clearly eager to make a statement against their multiple trophy winning opposition.
In the second half a few robust challenges had Bayern manager Pep Guardiola up in arms gesticulating his unhappiness. It seems that the MLS were unable to tame their mid-season roughness when confronted with the German’s pre-season timidity.
At the full time whistle Guardiola snubbed Caleb Porter’s, manager of Portland Timbers and MLS All-Star team for this match, post game handshake offer. He wagged his finger in refusal to indicate this unwillingness. However, he later claimed that “I didn’t see him [Porter]”, which makes the direction of his finger wagging an unfortunate coincidence.
Guardiola went on to say, “We tried to play, and we were not prepared for the situation. I expect MLS to invite us back for revenge, and we will prepare much better”, suggesting a grudge match may be on the cards in the future.
Bayern did not field a full strength side, though that does not take away from the impressive MLS victory. The 2014 world cup stars Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Muller, Robben, Gotze, Boateng and Neuer made brief cameo appearances toward the end of the game (Schweinsteger’s appearance was especially brief as he left the pitch just a few minutes after entering thanks to a dubious tackle that resulted in him limping back to the locker room), after joining up with the squad within only 24 hours prior to kick off.
A moment of interest for the American fans was the emergence of the USA 19 year old Julian Green, who Bayern have decided not to put on loan this season.
The USA had strong representation in the All-Star team with 12 players on the squad list. The other nations represented on the team were England (3), France (2), Australia (1), Nigeria (1) Canada (1), Mexico (1), Argentina (1) and Cuba (1).
Landon Donovan scored the game-winning goal, in the process becoming the top goal scorer in MLS All-Star game history. He has scored 6 goals in 11 games for the MLS All-Stars (which is also a record amount of appearances). He was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, even in spite of only being on the pitch for 23 minutes. After the game he announced that he would retire from football at the end of the 2014 season.
In a nice moment for the fans, Donovan replaced Thierry Henry during the second half, who is also expected to have played his last MLS All-Star game.
The activities surrounding the game provided the opportunity for prospect expansion bids to court their MLS suitors. It seems that Sacramento Republic FC made some headway as the MLS are planning a visit to the area to inspect potential stadium sites.
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