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MLS All-Stars fall to AS Roma

LandonDonovanMLSAllStarGame1 (USATodaySports)

By DAN KARELL

On a night that was supposed to be the highlight of a tremendous week for Major League Soccer, it was the visitors that stole the spotlight.

In clinical fashion, AS Roma dominated the MLS All Stars in nearly every aspect of the match, winning their first ever All-Star Game, 3-1, on Wednesday evening at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

New Roma signing Kevin Strootman scored just four minutes in, surprising the sold-out crowd at Sporting Park. Francesco Totti and co. began to ping the ball around the field in style, forcing the MLS All-Stars to chase.

The hosts were given a scare when midfielder Graham Zusi was substituted in the 24th minute, reportedly suffering a quad strain.

Just like the first half, it didn’t take long for Roma to score at the start of the second stanza. Two minutes into the half, Roma youngster Alessandro Florenzi scored inside the box on a great feed from his teammate Federico Balzaretti to make it 2-0.

With a few substitutions on both sides, including Landon Donovan’s inclusion, the MLS All-Stars began to pick up some steam. The All-Stars had a number of chances and opportunities, but the final ball was just missing, whether it came from Thierry Henry, Camilo, or Patrice Bernier.

In the 68th minute, just seconds after the All-Stars had their best chance of the game from a close range Donovan chance, 20-year-old Roma forward Junior Tallo scored from nearly the same spot as Florenzi, firing past All-Stars goalkeeper Nick Rimando to make it 3-0 for the Italian club.

With just seconds remaining, the All-Stars saved a bit of face on what was a fun evening as a whole, as substitute Omar Gonzalez sent in a perfect header off a free kick from Camilo, putting the hosts on the board before the final whistle sounded.

Comments

  1. This game was hard to watch. Frankly, I think it is unfair, thankless position for our players. I totally agree with the points made that putting a pickup game roster together to compete with an elite side is pure folly and to do so while interrupting more important pursuits even worse.

    MLS teams are operating on limited budgets, with limited depth and yet, are being asked to pursue/feed multiple aims/National Team, Gold Cup, US Open Cup, Champions League, in season friendlies, in season All Star games etc. as if they had world class rosters/budgets. Add to that the significant factor of travel that is unique to this league………. the players/teams are spread way too thin- particularly top players. The disparity in the burden placed on individual clubs also has too significant an influence on league results. Instead of trying to be all things to all audiences, MLS and players would be better served to concentrate their time, money and energy into fewer pursuits with better quality. Want credibility? Play at a high level in competition that is meaningful! Winning Champions League, and representing the region in club world cup with regularity should be goal number one. Help your clubs do so. Tweaking the schedule to at least get closer to being in step w/ the rest of the world would be a big help so we have in form sides competing in the CL finals, Gold Cup during a summer break would be nice and no mid week friendlies mid season jacking up league play! It’s a young league, a process I know…. just think it is time to take some additional steps.

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  2. M’eh…

    The entire MLS vs. The World is a joke to me. I don’t care how MLS stacks up against elite world powers that are operating at 50% in pre-season mode. I just want to see the best players from MLS in an exhibition game. East vs. West, or MLS American All Stars vs. MLS World All Stars.

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  3. First give credit to AS Roma for coming out and really giving the game a go….I was impressed by their form even in early season…if they can shore up their defense which was attrocious last year they have a chance of competing for the 3rd spot in Italy this year.

    Second lets forget about deciding where MLS teams/All-Star teams would finish or not finish in leagues around the world….the structure of those leagues is completely different than MLS and trying to compare a “salary capped” team to other non-capped leagues is pretty ridiculous. I’m sure if the Galaxy or RBNY were playing in the EPL or Serie A they would not be arbitrarily capping the amount of money they spend on their squad.

    Third the game is a money maker and isnt going away anytime soon so best to enjoy it for what it is …just a friendly that does give MLS some spotlight time…whether it is interpreted as a good or bad thing any attention is good attention.

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  4. MLS All-Stars looked awful. Aside from the Gonzo’s header, did they register a shot on goal? Roma looked amazingly sharp for a team that’s only had a few pre-season friendlies so far and a crop of new players. I actually think the MLS All-Stars looked better against Manchester United in 2011 when they got beat 4-0 than last night.

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    • they did look awful

      LD had a good chance and shot on goal, Magee fired a volley straight at the GK

      the second half squad showed better with the high pressure than the first half squad; first half squad got creamed on the flanks and thru the midfiled…all over basically

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  5. I don’t know how anybody else feels but this “all-star” format just needs to disappear. This does not reflect positively on the league or is it in any way a ‘celebration’ of talent.

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    • I agree. It serves no useful purpose except making money. Ditto for the silly in-season friendlies against European clubs in their preseason. It just clogs the MLS schedule and confirms the opinion that MLS will do anything just to get on the field with some big clubs. Win or lose, the result is meaningless.

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  6. Not being able to finish chances really hurt the All Stars last night. That’s the difference between Serie A forwards and the MLS forwards.

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  7. There is no reason roma doesn’t finish 3rd in serie a. Totti doesn’t age, very nice youth players, balotelli can’t carry milan again, fiorentina lost there best player. Plus bradley is by far the best player in the us team, jozy is a distant second

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    • Actually, there are several reasons why Roma might not finish third. Assuming Juve and Napoli are top two….Fiorentina lost Jovetic but signed Gomez and several others. Milan is more than Balotelli. Inter will rebound from a terrible season. And I haven’t even mentioned Lazio and Udinese. They could finish third but that is far from assured.

      As for Bradley, the manager Garcia was complimentary of his whole midfield, including MB. If he continues with a 3 man mid, I imagine MB will be a part of that, but will rotate with Pjanic, Strootman and DeRossi. It will be interesting to see Roma play with a legit forward. Tallo is 4th string at best. Adding Lamela or Osvaldo would have caused MLS cb’s a whole other level of stress.

      As for the game…I don’t take much from it.

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  8. This like most things with so many critics/fans of mls and us soccer is lose lose. If the all stars win, like they have in the past, then it is all about how the European side is in preseason and doesn’t take it seriously. If they get beat, like tonight it’s about how bad mls is. People just need to chill the f out.

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    • You rather argued the same side of the coin there.

      It’s always preseason for the European sides. Sometimes those teams don’t put even minimal effort in–as they don’t respect it and it’s pre-preseason.

      And then there are times when the European sides in preseason decide to give a little effort–and that’s happened more frequently than it used to.

      The All-Star team is now 1-3 in its last 4 games and conceded a ton of goals even with the opposing team pulling back and doing its best not to make it too bad. Even then Manchester United’s reserve team made the All-Stars look like high schoolers.

      And Roma came in to actually get a decent run out–and smoked us. They are starting to take it more seriously as a training match.

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      • You could argue a ManU reserve team has more to prove then an MLS All-star team. The reserve players are using any chance they have to impress to move up the depth chart.

      • Hispanic announcers on Univision made the point that the MLS add campaign for the All-Star game read something like this, “Rome was not built in a day, but Roam will fall in 90 minutes!” And that, apparently, burned more than a few of the Roma players and management – therefore provided a little extra motivation for Roma to strut their stuff and boss the MLS All-Stars around, all over the pitch, up and down.
        Francesco Totti was majestic and silky smooth on the ball, commanding.
        Bradley, pure class.
        The rest of the Roam squad played crisply, with hustle and precision. They completely outclassed the All-Stars.
        Though – yes, I agree if the All-Stars had had at least another 3-4 days to practice together, if Donovan’s chance goes in when the score was still 2-0, perhaps we would have seen a different game unfold.

      • You’re also talking about playing against a team that trains together for weeks/months before coming over. How long to these MLS “All-Stars” get to play as one team before being trotted out for an exhibition?

    • Petedx with the comment that makes the most sense. People, settle down. MLS is still a respectable league and nothing has changed about our league since yesterday. We aren’t going to win them all. This game was a friendly and for FUN.

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  9. Ives, curious to know the total salary of MLS all stars vs. total salary of Roma.

    On another note, MLS lost the game but they’ve had sweet jerseys for the second year in a row. Well done.

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      • Donovan and Yeldin should have scored, the lack of chemistry cost them 2 goals in the second but the MLS side were giving ASRoma fits in the second half. OT but Yeldin is a pure stud in the making.

      • Both are good American players, but it wasn’t lack of chemistry, but lack of quality finishing for those two.

      • “he’s not even in the starting 11 most of the time.”

        You’re obviously talking out of your butt, so save us your opinions on “quality”.

      • Ummm. Actually…last year he started 24 of 38 Roma league games, appearing in 30. But he missed 5 games for a groin injury and 1 game for yellow card accumulation. So…that is 24 of 32 possible starts, or 75%—or “most of the time.” And Bradley had 30 apps in 32 opportunities.

        In the Coppa Italia, Bradley started all 5 games, including the final against Lazio—100%.

        All total in league and cup games, that is 29 of 37 possible starts—79%—and 35 of 37 possible appearances.

        He has started all the friendlies this preseason.

        Bradley is a first-choice midfielder for AS Roma. At 25. (Well, today is his 26th birthday.) We should be proud.

      • It will be interesting to see what happens with Strootman, since him and MB essentially play the same position. If they keep De Rossi, they could play five in the midfield, which could suit them in Serie A. Either way, MB is definitely in the picture – it’s a long, grinding season and he will have plenty of opportunities to prove he belongs in the first team. Roma did well this off-season, I was impressed by their quality and movement last night.

  10. Oooof. Pretty awful effort by the MLS all stars. I mean, I don’t expect them to be able to play as a cohesive team or anything but I’d like to have seen a couple more moments of individual cl@ss or combination play. But whatever.

    On the bright side, Michael Bradley was pure cl@ss.

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  11. Donovan needs to bugger off. Give a chance to young guys like Bruin, McInerney, Agudelo, Salgado. We should be thinking for the future not the past.

    dude flopped in Germany. Dempsey is way better anyway

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  12. MLS needs 24 teams. In 40 years we might become the best soccer league on the planet but we need to grow. Raise that salary cap to 5 million within a decade.

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    • no need for s salary cap. Not one league in Europe, South America, Asia, Central America, Mexico etc has one. And not one of these leagues has collapsed.

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      • To play devil’s advocate, not one of those leagues is the 5th most popular sport for tv ratings in the respective country. MLS has had to be more careful.

      • what does that have to do with it? You put in Financial Fair Play and you prevent the league from folding. All the salary cap does it prevent clubs from fielding balanced rosters. They are forced to pick 2 stars and pair them with a team of lower quality players.

        Also, soccer is the #3 sport in Japan and they don’t have a salary cap. It’s working fine for them.

      • “You put in Financial Fair Play and you prevent the league from folding.”Financial fair play will only creat more gap between the rich clubs, and the poor. Not to mention Loop holes in financial fair play, they can still get clubs in debt.uPure Related Party transaction e.g. PSG sponsor
        uMixed Related Party transaction e.g. Etihad deal
        uDeclared Related Party transaction e.g. City sale of ‘intellectual property and know how’
        uNon football-related income e.g. Real’s Dubai complex, Trabzonspor’s Hydro-Electric power plant
        uChanging accounting duration e.g. Liverpool
        uTransactions & costs outside club accounts
        uPlayer write-down in season prior to FFP e.g. Man City
        uCancelled provision e.g. Ancelotti at Chelsea
        uExclusions e.g. Youth/Community spend
        uAccount auditing issues
        uState Subsidies
        uMembership fees
        uTax differences

      • Japan has a population of 100 plus million people, and soccer has risen as their number 2 sport, very different from not only the 5 major sports, but also college athletics as well.

      • Man Citysold Tevez at a £35m loss, Then City £50m on Fernandinho and Navaz. Man City are ‘laughing in the face of FFP’.

      • Growing sports need parity more than mega-teams. Once there is a fanbase built across the nation, then there’s room for one or two dynasty teams to raise the profile of the league.

      • “Growing sports need parity more than mega-teams. Once there is a fanbase built across the nation, then there’s room for one or two dynasty teams to raise the profile of the league.”

        This comment is the opposite of reality.

        NFL built on early dynasties like Packers/Bears (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_champions_(1920–69)). 49ers, Cowboys, Steeler, Patriot dynasties have made new fans.

        NBA Lakers/Celtics have won half the titles. Ratings for the league go up when past champions are really good.

        MLB check Yankee-Red Sox ratings versus everything else

        NHL post lockout parity and the league is less relevant (Golden opportunity in the 90s to pass the NBA post-jordan. They botched it.)

        Dynasties bring in CASUAL fans. And casual fans out number hard-core fans. Stop listening to Garber.

      • Brett said: “Growing sports need parity more than mega-teams. Once there is a fanbase built across the nation, then there’s room for one or two dynasty teams to raise the profile of the league.”

        dsgntd_plyr responded with “This comment is the opposite of reality…….NFL built on early dynasties like Packers/Bears…blah blah.”

        dsgntd_plyr you are flat-out wrong man. Not calling you out, but you’re just wrong. Pete Rozelle — NFL Commish from 1960 to 1989 — is responsible for transforming the NFL into the most watched, most popular sports league in the U.S. by far. How did he do it? His vision of (paraphrasing) “all teams playing competitive games in sold-out stadiums.”

        Basically, his philosophy relied on parity amongst the teams. How do you make every team’s fans support that team? You create parity so that all teams (or at least 80% in any given season) believe their team can and will compete for a playoff spot and championship. The complete fairness of the draft (worst gets first pick, best gets last pick) helps maintain parity, as does the salary cap…no one can outspend the other drastically like in baseball. Also there’s revenue sharing. He got all NFL owners to agree to pool revenue. Thus, Jacksonville gets the same share of the TV deals and league income as the NY Giants do. Parity (along with TV broadcast enhancements like slow-mo replays, the yellow first-down line, many camera angles) is what made and continues to make the NFL so successful. MLS needs parity not 1-2 dynasties.

        No one will see this post since this thread is old news. But I’m proud of it 🙂 lol

      • “no need for s salary cap”

        This statement is simply false. The salary cap keeps ownership groups from putting their franchises underwater with bad business decisions. As a whole, the league is profitable. When you break it down to individual teams, there are quite a few who don’t earn money. Around the world, it’s ridiculous how small the profit margins are for some of the big teams (~5% of what they earn a lot of times). A lot of big teams with history are also bankrupt (e.g. Valencia). The salary cap is absolutely necessary for now.

        That said, I wouldn’t mind seeing it get raise by 50% or so when MCFC NYCFC join.

      • Salary caps aren’t needed. Your budget is $10M for players? Ok, then, you know………..spend =< $10M. Every other business in the world does that.

  13. Oooof. Pretty awful effort by the MLS all stars. I mean, I don’t expect them to be able to play as a cohesive team or anything but I’d like to have seen a couple more moments of individual class or combination play. But whatever.

    On the bright side, Michael Bradley was pure class.

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  14. Entertained me. I really like Roma’s midfield. MLS have to stop with the trophy presentation. That was so awkward to watch.

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      • The ‘many downsides’ are far outweighed by what he’s done for the game. The league hasn’t even been playing games for 20 years and look where it is. More importantly, he has a plan for where it’s headed.

  15. besides why was Donovan there, he didn’t earn the right to be on the team this season. I mean for christsake, why must he always be there. Give another guy a chance

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  16. The All Star Game should be meant for only a few teams

    Club America, Man United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, biggest club in Brazil, biggest club in Argentina

    basically the biggest clubs in the world. Roma is a big club but it’s kinda like Spurs/Everton. It will sell some tickets but you won’t get the kinda excitement or media play that a Barcelona or Juventus would bring you

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    • Watching Bayern Munich pick apart our boys would not be a lot of fun. And watching Barcelona have 85% possession while we chased them around starved for a sniff of the ball would be a terrible all-star game. I think it was cool to have Roma here, particularly with Bradley going 90 minutes.

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      • The point is they need a great opponent to build the game around. Messi would sell out a 100,000 arena

      • The all-stars isn’t about selling 100,000 tickets. It’s a celebration for MLS and rightfully should be played in a soccer stadium, not a retrofitted football one.

        Roma was nice. Bradley made the difference, and I hope in the future, we continue choosing teams with American players.

        Spurs next year?

      • “Roma was nice. Bradley made the difference, and I hope in the future, we continue choosing teams with American players.”

        While it’s nice to see an American/MLS alum, to base an opponent around that seems a bit ridiculous.

  17. Games like this are a solemn reminder of the enormous gulf between MLS and European leagues… and something of a warning that any of these teams could put average effort into the match and blow us away.

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    • I kind of think RSL alone would play a better game than the all starts. There’s something to be said for a team that trains together even if there is a talent gap. You’re right though, an MLS all star team playing a full season together probably would only have an outside chance at getting a champion’s league spot.

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      • a Champions League spot? lol. Are you serious?

        this MLS team would get relegated in the EPL. They are mid-table Championship quality.

      • Ok. Lets look at this as a legit idea. The starting defenders are weak for sure. That’s clearly the biggest flaw. Besler and Gonzalez have only played in MLS. Both have done very well but neither has gotten substantial Euro offers either. Collin played for Mallorca in La Liga, but also was passed over on a few Championship opportunities. That defense could by themselves get a team relegated from the Championship.

        Rimando could do well in the championship. Henry, DiVaio, Donovan and Zusi would do well in a front five and would be able to keep a team from relegation in the PL.

        It’d be rough for an MLS team to stay up in the PL. The defense is the real problem. It’d just have to be full of holes. The MLS has been bringing in big name attackers as DPs. It hasn’t done the same for defenders, so while the defense around the league may not be far behind the offense, the top defenders aren’t as strong because of this.

      • No mention of Ashe? The guy was the biggest liability to the MLS defense last night. Just pathetic.

        Also, Besler passed up an opportunity to go to the EPL this past offseason to sign a new deal with Sporting KC.

      • I’m an MLS fan just like the next guy, but unless you’re talking about a CONCACAF Champions League spot or a Champions League spot from the Maltese League, you’re dreaming.

    • I think this is most ridiculous logic and it annoys me when these All-Star games roll around.

      There is such a thing as chemistry and I don’t see anyone saying the same thing when our MLS clubs beat European clubs in friendlies. Why? Because the games don’t matter.

      Throw together 11 random guys, regardless of talent, and throw together 11 teammates and you’re going to see a distinction. If you don’t understand that, you don’t understand team sports.

      The entire grading or judgement off this exhibition is ignorant.

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      • There is more to soccer than chemistry and team work and tactics. The technical differences were astounding. The speed on the ball alone and the foresight in p@ssing was well beyond the All-Stars.

        The MLS players could not mark their attacking players. That has nothing to do with team work or chemistry. They literally lacked the ability to mark properly and instead just “chased shadows” as Adrian put it.

      • Adrian didn’t say that, Twellman did.

        I’m aware there’s more to the game than just tactics, chemistry and practice. However, this is an exhibition between a team and a collection of players.

        I don’t care what skill set of players you have…the team will always have the advantage. Period.

    • You realize that the MLS all star team practiced for less than a week together while AS Roma practices all the time together right? I by no means think MLS is better than Serie A but to say that the Galaxy wouldn’t be able to avoid relegation in most leagues around the world is silly.

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      • Honestly, that depends on which Galaxy you are talking about.

        The LA Galaxy of late–without Keane or Donovan–would get relegated in every top league on a consistent basis. With Keane and Donovan they probably only find themselves relegated from the Big 4 on some occasions.

      • I am a due hard MLS fan, but I think right now only RSL and Sporting KC could avoid relegation in a top 4 league.

      • LA Galaxy would not only get relegated from every top 4 league, but they’d do so in record breaking fashion. MLS teams do not have the quality or depth to play in a 10 month league, mixed with tournament fixtures.

        Even if our all-stars created a team and were able to train together on a consistent bases, they would still get relegated. We bash the likes of Beckerman and Wondo for only doing well against “B” international teams. Imagine them chasing around Manchester United, City, Spurs, Chelsea, etc. And they’d potentially be starters.

        Our teams are lower level Championship squads, and teams like my beloved DC United would do well not to play in League 2.

        Yes, a few players make the jump abroad and astound MLS naysayers. But we do not have a 30-man squad of EPL-level players in MLS. We would bring together has-been oldie veterans, solid MLS-level players, and crazy youths whose zeal for the game allows them to flourish in MLS, but whose lack of soccer IQ would cost them over and over in the EPL.

        Take a look at Collin tonight. One of our top four MLS CBs, a would-be starter for the team. He was scorched left, right, and center. He couldn’t keep up with the one touch passing. Look at how long it’s taken for us to compete down in Mexico. Imagine going up to Stoke or Newcastle for an away match.

        I love MLS. I’m a 96’er. But there’s no denying that in a competitive game, we’d struggle mightily. And there’s no shame in admitting it. We’re continually pushing our quality and with proper academies, that level of quality will not only improve, but get younger.

        Simply though, we’ll never know what it’s like to play a truly competitive game against a European club team. They don’t even take the World Club Cup seriously.

      • LA Galaxy would not only get relegated from every top 4 league, but they’d do so in record breaking fashion. MLS teams do not have the quality or depth to play in a 10 month league, mixed with tournament fixtures.

        Even if our all-stars created a team and were able to train together on a consistent bases, they would still get relegated. We bash the likes of Beckerman and Wondo for only doing well against “B” international teams. Imagine them chasing around Manchester United, City, Spurs, Chelsea, etc. And they’d potentially be starters.

        Our teams are lower level Championship squads, and teams like my beloved DC United would do well not to play in League 2.

        Yes, a few players make the jump abroad and astound MLS naysayers. But we do not have a 30-man squad of EPL-level players in MLS. We would bring together has-been oldie veterans, solid MLS-level players, and crazy youths whose zeal for the game allows them to flourish in MLS, but whose lack of soccer IQ would cost them over and over in the EPL.

        Take a look at Collin tonight. One of our top four MLS CBs, a would-be starter for the team. He was scorched left, right, and center. He couldn’t keep up with the one touch p@ssing. Look at how long it’s taken for us to compete down in Mexico. Imagine going up to Stoke or Newcastle for an away match.

        I love MLS. I’m a 96′er. But there’s no denying that in a competitive game, we’d struggle mightily. And there’s no shame in admitting it. We’re continually pushing our quality and with proper academies, that level of quality will not only improve, but get younger.

        Simply though, we’ll never know what it’s like to play a truly competitive game against a European club team. They don’t even take the World Club Cup seriously.

      • Right you are on all accounts.

        And it’s kind of disappointing. I want to see a Barcelona or Manchester United actually go into a match with an MLS side as they would with each other in the Champions League final.

        I have an inkling that the MLS side might lose by 10 or more goals, but it would be fascinating to actually get a grasp of where that gap is at the moment.

      • The Premiership director was at the NYRB/ RSL game, he stated both RSL and NYRB would finish mid level championship, not lower. I would say DC united is lower Championship/top league 1 level at the moment.

      • Good insights.

        Although that’s very generous for DC United. I’d bet there might be some League 2 teams that would be competitive with them.

      • “Look at how long it’s taken for us to compete down in Mexico.”

        Huh?

        What does competing IN Mexico have to do with skill? That’s one of the most hostile venues in all of soccer/sports.

        Countless nations struggle there and despite recent results, I don’t think the struggles are suddenly disappearing…that place is a dungeon.

      • He’s talking about the CONCACAF Champions League.

        The point is, nobody’s arguing that the average Liga MX squad could hang in the EPL, yet MLS is demonstrably inferior to the Mexican league.

    • Yeah, tough one to watch. To listen to as well. Seriously, can someone please send Taylor Twellman out to pasture? Poor guy has nothing intelligent to say or pleasurable to add to the experience. He’s also often simply wrong in his analysis.

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    • lol, MLS sent me an email that said something along the lines that “Rome was not built in one year, watch it fall in 90 minutes.” The arrogance of this league’s high brass is astounding.

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      • By “arrogance” you must mean solid promotional materials. However overmatched you might be, you don’t advertise a product as “come see us lose!” By “high br*ss” you must mean PR department, which is considerably lower down the food chain. Ambition doesn’t equal arrogance, even if the league gets humbled now and then.

        We get it Eurosnob… you’re proud of supporting teams you’re likely to never see more than a handful of times (if that) in person and have zero interest in supporting or growing the local product. I’m sure you find the vocal minority of MLS fans with delusions of grandeur amusing. That said, you contribute very little to any conversation about anything MLS-related, so you shouldn’t even bother wasting anyone else’s time.

      • Oh, well, the fanboys are out. There is a fine difference between ambition and arrogance. Ambition can be projected without trash talking or being disrespectful to your opponent. If you want to talk trash as part of promoting yourself, that’s fine, but you’d better back it up on the field. Your “solid promotion material” made the league look like a laughing stock after the game. I bet these soccer geniuses thought Roma finished out of top five last season, Roma is in the preseason form, etc. As for you attempt to shield the MLS’ high brass and blame their PR department, sorry, it does not work. You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility.

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