Photo/Corbin Elliot
What exactly is Major League Soccer hyped up about with the latest iteration of its All-Star game, which takes place on Thursday evening against Arsenal at Avaya Stadium in San Jose?
The All-Star game is not only a pointless event that risks injuring some of the league’s best players, but also a bad PR stunt.
If the league is trying to send a message or make a point with this game – beyond providing an exhibition match that is purely for entertainment and nothing else – it’s not doing it right.
On Thursday, a collection of MLS’ top players – a sizeable percentage of which have not been developed on either American or Canadian soil – will try to go toe to toe with a top Premier League team still in pre-season mode.
We’ve seen this before. It’s been this way ever since the game’s format changed in 2005 from a friendly featuring the best players in the Eastern Conference going up against their counterparts in the West.
The All-Stars, which this year are a 26-player outfit selected by fans, MLS commissioner Don Garber, and team coach Dominic Kinnear, are certainly talented athletes in their own rite.
Most of them are big names, if not key players, on their respective teams.
But they also prepare for the game and acclimate to one another in less than a week.
This creates a game that is often sloppy and contains almost no tactical strategy. The focus is more on the individual skill of the player rather than the cohesive, strategic approach that soccer requires.
Sure, All-Star games generally produce goals – since 2005, an average of 3.7 have been scored in the match – but it’s all better watched in highlight reels than over the course of 90 minutes.
The All-Stars have been victorious twice against Chelsea and have earned wins that also look good on paper against Tottenham, Bayern Munich, West Ham United, Celtic, and Fulham.
What message does that send? That MLS needs to field a team of its best players – many of which are aging stars that used to play in Europe – to beat top teams?
Then again, the All-Stars have also lost twice to Manchester United, once to Roma, and once on penalties to Everton.
What do those losses say? That MLS’ best players can’t compete with the big European teams?
Which is why it’s time for a moratorium on the All-Star game, at least in its current state.
It would perhaps be more advantageous for the league to encourage its teams to schedule international friendlies more often. Contrary to popular belief – both here and in Europe – MLS teams are no pushovers for overseas adversaries.
True, MLS teams are mostly outclassed when they play their international counterparts. This is a league, remember, that has yet to produce a CONCACAF Champions League winner.
But to say American clubs, in particular, can’t at least put forth a respectable performance against international teams is to ignore history.
In 2010, the Kansas City Wizards defeated Manchester United 2-1. The Los Angeles Galaxy beat Juventus 3-1 in 2013 and went down to the wire in a shootout loss to Manchester City in 2011. The New England Revolution defeated Sporting CP 2-1 in 2004 and tied Celtic 1-1 in dramatic fashion in 2006.
Beyond that, American soccer – as far as league play goes – would get to stand on the pedestal it deserves. International friendlies between MLS teams and those around the world put the spotlight more on US-born and bred players. Such matches would not only help develop MLS teams and their players and better prepare them for tournaments like, say, CONCACAF Champions League, but also create more buzz and excitement around the country rather than just one city – this year, San Jose.
Yes, one who argues that MLS is better in quality than top European leagues is mistaken.
But matches between MLS and European teams are opportunities to show the world that the gap in quality isn’t as big as some people, both here and overseas, think. Heck, it’ll be entertaining, too.
The MLS All-Star game does nothing further this narrative; all it does is undermine the perception of the league and its players.
Follow Julian on Twitter @juliancardillo
